Last spring semester, Harvard Law School Professor and Berkman Center for Internet & Society Faculty Director William Fisher debuted CopyrightX, a free, online, noncredit course that explores copyright law and the ongoing debates concerning how that law should be reformed. Unlike other MOOCs—massive open online courses—CopyrightX limited enrollment with a formal application process and included an online discussion dimension led by teaching fellows. It was offered through edX and attracted 4,100 applicants, of whom 500 were accepted.
The course is being offered again this semester, writes Berkman Project Manager Nathaniel Levy for a recent blog post on Inside Higher Ed, expanding and improving on its unique format thanks to valuable student feedback and data from last year, which has helped refine teaching methods and materials. Levy, also the lead coordinator for CopyrightX, said they felt that the inaugural version of the class was a success. And they had plenty of data to back it up.