Featured Free online course: Antiquities Trafficking and Art Crime

Looks interesting, just wanted to share:

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/art-crime

 

I'm highly tempted. Have you ever joined in on one of these? Is it all reading on your own schedule at your own pace (within limits of free offer) or do you need to be at your computer at set times?

 

Sounds interesting...

 

Good question! I've not yet taken one of the courses so I don't know.

 

It says "Access to this course for 5 weeks" is free. It also says "By the end of the course, you'll be able to... "
According to the University of Glasgow, the entire course is a 12 month postgrad course costing £5000:
https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/antiquitiestraffickingandartcrime/

So with this free course you don't get to the end of the course. What does access mean exactly?
And what do you get to see or learn during those 5 free weeks? Maybe about as much as any documentary series on antiquities and art theft?

 

There's a paid version that gives you, think it was, unlimited time access, will issue you a certificate & allow you to print out the certificate. Did not sound like a bargain to me. But for free, anything you might get out of it seems like a good deal. Knowing myself, I'd sign up with best intentions, then keep forgetting or putting it aside to do other things.

 

Sounds like the same course I took a couple years ago. I didn't pay much if anything. I can't remember. Mine was 3 weeks online. GREAT class!

 

I think this is probably what's known as a MOOC (massive open online course). A colleague from the university library and I were asked by the library dean to research these about 4 years ago. And I also took one. The one I took was offered by the University of Edinburgh and was an Introduction to Philosophy course. It was all taught through recorded videos, with quizzes to pass if you wanted a printable certificate. The one I took was 6 weeks, I think. Each lecture was recorded by a different Univ of Edinburgh professor. There were also a lot of readings, and it was optional to participate in online disussions with other students. I had a very busy job at the time, and took most of the class outside of work time. I loved it. I was too busy to do much more than the minimum, though.

It's just a coincidence that this one and the one I took are both from universities in Scotland. MOOCs are an international phenomenon. I have not kept up with how they have changed in the past few years.

Oh, and the reason I took a class was just to experience it as part of the work project. I took the philosophy one because I had never taken a general basic philosophy class at any level of education.

Maybe I'll sign up for this one!

 

I just took a quick look and did not find dates the course begins and ends. So maybe it's an ongoing course that a person can sign up for at any time, with the materials already online? So the "access for 5 weeks" might just mean that when you sign up you will be signed out after 5 weeks? Not sure...

Update: I just signed up, and it does seem that this particular course is not happening on particular dates. It's online and they give you five weeks of access. Unlike the course I took before it also only offers a "certificate of completion" if one pays extra.

 

Possibly... If I make it through I'll update. Or maybe @Cris Drugan ISA-AM can give more information?

 

This one does seem to be a bit different than the one I took. Mine was a "live" webinar with set times to log in and a real instructor and online study groups. It was available for review for like 2 weeks after the course ended. It was still free, but the certificate still cost $28 bucks if I remember right.
This course may cover the same info but on a "self-study" format?

 

Thanks for the info Fig and Cris.

 

I could certainly use tips on how to be a better criminal.
I watch police programs to see what did not work for others.

 

I registered and looked at the intro last night. That seems to be the case. I learn well in that sort of format so it should be fine. My access expires November 9.

 

Just as an update, I never did finish this course. There was a lot of content and I just didn't have time to go through it all. I think I finished the first week of it. If one has more concentration and patience than I did, it could be rewarding. Although much of the content is probably findable online without taken the class, not all of it is. And you'd have to know where to look!