A free online course about mountains has been heralded as an unparalleled success by the University of Alberta and the government parks service. Over 18,000 people from Canada and 140 other countries have registered for the course and more than 3,000 have completed it.
The course was created by the University of Alberta with input from the Alpine Club on Canada, Parks Canada, Indigenous Peoples, environmental historians, glaciologists and government scientists. It offers 12 lessons over 30 hours focusing on the physical, biological and human dimensions of mountains in Alberta and around the world.
‘Mountains…define Alberta’
Mountains 101, as it is called, was ranked the number one course in the world for both science and environmental science according to an online catalogue of free courses and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course).
“Mountains, in large part, define Alberta, and Mountains 101 has been a successful innovation in taking the knowledge of mountains resident at the University of Alberta and giving it, literally, to the world,” said the university’s dean of physical education and recreation, Kerry Mummery.
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