UB website includes a new section on MOOC
The University of Barcelona (UB) has included a new section on its website to announce and give information about all the massive open online courses (MOOCs) offered by the University. This learning model was born in the United States and it is used by world's leading educational institutions. MOOCs disseminate knowledge in the form of online content with open and free access.
The University of Barcelona (UB) has included a new section on its website to announce and give information about all the massive open online courses (MOOCs) offered by the University. This learning model was born in the United States and it is used by world's leading educational institutions. MOOCs disseminate knowledge in the form of online content with open and free access.
The first MOOCs organised by the UB are the Barcelona World Race Ocean Campus (BWR Ocean Campus), an initiative promoted by the UB, the Barcelona Foundation for Ocean Sailing (FNOB) —organizer of the Barcelona World Race (BWR)—, and El Far Consortium. The main objective of the BWR Ocean Campus is to create a platform of open educational courses to disseminate the broad knowledge based on ocean sailing within the rigour and structure of university learning. The BWR, the first only double-handed regatta around the world, is the central theme of the five MOOCs offered by means of the platform Canvas Instructure.
Chronobiology and extreme sailing injuries
Registration is now open for the course The brain in a non-stop round the world regatta. Chronobiology and sleep management, coordinated by Ana Adan, professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology of the UB. The course begins on 26 January.
In this course students will learn the foundations of the biological patterns governing sleep and performance, in general, and their application to solo and double-handed ocean sailing. Students look at how circadian rhythms are disrupted as one sails round the world, after months of environmental changes. Students examine the distribution of the activity-sleep rhythm and what strategies sailors employ to sleep and adapt to the gruelling course. In a round the world regatta, participants race around the globe from west to east for three months, sailing in watches of four hours. A situation like this takes its toll on their biological clocks and sleep patterns and their cognitive capacity and physical performance are affected.
The first MOOC offered by the BWR Ocean Campus was Strategies for winning. Meteorology in a round the world regatta. It was led by Tomàs Molina, lecturer in the Department of Astronomy and Meteorology at the UB. The course Injuries, illness and telemedicine in extreme sailing is now taking place. It is coordinated by Belén Gualis, attending physician of the Intensive Care Medicine and Coronary Unit at the Quirón Teknon Hospital and medical director of the Barcelona World Race. In the course, students will learn about the basic medical techniques for the prevention of medical problems that may arise during a two-crew round the world regatta.
The BWR Ocean Campus is going to offer two other courses: “Gastronomy and the high performance diet for a round the world regatta” and “Oceanography: a key to a better understanding of our world”.
The UB, together with Inlea —an organization specialized in designing e-learning programmes—, will provide certificates to those students who ask for them. Payment is only required if the student asks for an academic certificate.
New section of the UB website (in Catalan)