Mayor Emanuel praises flexible, high quality online learning opportunity
The MIT Office of Digital Learning has announced a collaboration between MITx, edX and the City of Chicago that will bring a six week MOOC-style course to that city’s high school students during the Chicago Summer of Learning. The course, A Taste of Python Programming, was developed under the leadership of Professor John Guttag and is based on materials from the popular MITx offering 6.00x Introduction to Computer Science and Programming. A Taste of Python Programming will run from June 25th to August 2nd and covers the first four weeks of materials from 6.00x.

“This course is a great opportunity for these kids to get a sense of how computer scientists think about solving problems,” said Professor Guttag in describing the class. “And they get the chance to learn by doing, writing basic Python code.” Video lectures for the course were recorded by MIT Chancellor W. Eric Grimson and EECS Senior Lecturer Chris Terman.

The Chicago Summer of Learning is a new initiative launched by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to engage students in learning opportunities throughout the summer. It pairs more than 120,000 learning opportunities operated or supported by City agencies such as the Chicago Public Libraries and the Chicago Park District with additional opportunities from participating non-profit organizations.

In a statement released today, Mayor Emanuel welcomed the involvement of the MOOC providers. “With MITx and edX joining us in this effort, we are able to provide a flexible, high-quality online learning opportunity to Chicago students as part of the Summer of Learning.” Read more.