Having demonstrated the reach of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), edX has recently partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to explore the potential for edX to provide an augmented blended learning curriculum to students within a community college setting. 

During the Spring 2013 semester, two community colleges will offer students an opportunity to participate in a blended implementation of the course 6.00x, Introduction to Computer Science and Programming.  This application of edX provides a rich and unique opportunity to examine the scalability and feasibility of the program in a community college setting serving low-income students.

Damian Bebell will lead an external program evaluation on the pilot implementation of the 6.00x course during the Spring 2013 semester at two community colleges.  The purpose of the evaluation will be to help determine the scalability and feasibility of using MOOCs in a community college setting serving low-income students. 

edX (main website)

Practical Python Programming course at:

MassBay Community College

Bunker Hill Community College

Adapting to Blended Courses, and Finding Early Benefits
(Apr 29, 2013 New York Times)

Twice as Many MOOCs (Feb 21, 2013 Inside Higher Ed)

edX Blends Remote Learning and On-site Instruction with Community College Partnerships
(Nov 20, 2012 boston.com)

MOOC Provider edX Partners with Community Colleges to Improve Workforce Readiness
(Nov 18, 2012 Forbes)

MOOCs Gaining Popularity, But New Frontier For Scaling Up Online Classes Is Course Credit
(Nov 18, 2012 Huffington Post)

Gates Backs MIT Online Course Offering at Community Colleges
(Nov 18, 2012 Bloomberg Businessweek)

Why Are So Many Students Still Failing Online
(May 22, 2011 The Chronicle of Higher Education)