MOOC in physics as an additional resource for the fundamental training of would-be engineers

Abstract

Physics is one of the key disciplines stipulated by the curricular of engineering majors. Despite a sufficient amount of academic hours dedicated to this discipline at schools and universities, it is necessary to expand the opportunities for applying additional learning tools, autonomous studies of the most important areas of physics. One of such tools is mass open online courses (MOOCs). The article analyzes open online courses in physics provided by foreign (Coursera and EdX) and Russian (Open Education and Stepik) platforms. The criteria for analysis were the courses duration, the required level of training, the scope and content, as well as the features of pedagogical design of the courses. The demand for courses (number of learners), the universities developing them and the language of teaching were also taken into account.