BBC News - MIT launches free online 'fully automated' course

BBC News - MIT launches free online 'fully automated' course:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the world's top-rated universities, has announced its first free course which can be studied and assessed completely online.

An electronics course, beginning in March, will be the first prototype of an online project, known as MITx.

The interactive course is designed to be fully automated, with successful students receiving a certificate.

The US university says it wants MITx to "shatter barriers to education".

This ground-breaking scheme represents a significant step forward in the use of technology to deliver higher education.