Associate Provost and Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor, Greg Heileman, is launching a new specialization comprised of 5 Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and a capstone project through Coursera, a company developed by Stanford University professors to reach out to learners around the world.
The specialization named “Web Application Development: Modern Full Stack Architectures” builds on the skills taught in the first MOOC at the University of New Mexico, launched in Spring 2014. It was a huge success, drawing 48,123 enrollments from 187 countries around the world. Subsequent offerings of the course reached over 100,000 additional learners.
The original course provided an introduction to the concepts and was only offered in English. This year, however, additional courses will expand on the concepts in the first MOOC, and will also be offered in Spanish, making them accessible to even more people around the globe.
“Web Application Development: Modern Full Stack Architectures” in English and “Arquitecturas Modernas de Diseño Integral para Desarrollo de Aplicaciones Web” in Spanish, consist of five classes, each being four weeks long. At the end of all the classes, a ten-week long Capstone project will also be offered, which is an assignment designed to apply the skills learned throughout the courses.
Students can choose to take these courses for free, or pay to receive graded assignments and a certificate for the entire “Specialization”, which is proof that a student has completed the entire sequence of courses. The first class begins February 9th, 2016.
A background in programming is strongly recommended before taking the specialization. The classes focus on the development of web application architectures from an engineering perspective. Students will use a hands-on approach to learn the context of web applications, web application frameworks, data modeling, database design, middleware, presentation, security, testing and more. By the end of the classes, students will be able to create a modern database-backed web presence that is able to link to other internet-related infrastructure.
Students who are currently enrolled in a tech program will benefit from learning special skills for their career, while entrepreneurs can use the knowledge to expand their online business.
Students interested in registering for this MOOC can visit the website at https://www.coursera.org/specializations/web-app-architecture.