Hi everyone,
Here are already the last days of our online course, which will be closing on November 15th on the edX platform …
You will not be able to access the quizzes anymore but do not forget we made all the videos uploadable so you can watch them later on if you are late!
The team of instructors will also be less available, but our social network accounts on Twitter and Facebook will stay open.
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About 700 of you have followed our MOOC for this first session and we hope you will help us improving it by answering our final survey and leave us your feedback in the discussion forum.
Hope this was an experience as fruitful and entertaining for you as it was for us! Take care of you (and the atmosphere)
The MOOC Air Quality Team
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Dear all,
For those of you who have completed the MOOC this week, a big part of our goal with this course has been to try to raise awareness about the causes and impacts of air pollution worldwide (we have learners from at least 92 countries by now!). We hope we have been successful but do not hesitate to fill up the final survey and leave us your feedback in the discussion forum so that we can improve the course for the second session!
We are glad that people are still joining. Even if the schedule is a little bit tight, you have all the videos at your disposal and can pick up the topics which interest you most!
Do not forget you can also contribute in two different ways:
1) through the #HowBlueIsYourSky thread: do not hesitate to add a picture of where you live/work/travel (and air quality data if you have any)!
2) in the discussion forum to share your ideas on how YOU could contribute at your level / in your community to reduce air pollution.
If you have missed these, you can just click on the links above to take part in the discussion! We will publish a map with all these pictures at the end of this first session ;-)
Good luck!
The MOOC Air Quality Team
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Hi everyone,
Learners who enrolled early may have already completed the MOOC after this 3rd week ending with health and society issues. We hope you had a fruitful learning experience with us, do not hesitate to tell us how we have been doing and to suggest what we can improve for the next session in our online survey and on the forum thread.
For those of you or who have been delayed a little bit or who are just joining us following the advertisement in the last edX newsletter, good news! The course is open until November 15, all the content is readily available for you, and a highly-motivated team of instructors is at your disposal should you have any question!
If not done yet, our preliminary survey is here and you can introduce yourself there.
In addition to the discussion forums (see below each video for dedicated threads), you can also use external social networks and meet us on Twitter or on our Facebook page.
The content of each week (topic, number of videos and their total length) is described here and you can read previous news messages there. At the end of every week, you will be able to test your knowledge with a quiz (see Grading Policy).
The course is free but you can also earn a Certificate of Achievement for a minimum fee (49 $US). If interested, you can learn more about Verified Certificates by following this link.
Thanks for your participation and best wishes!
The MOOC Air Quality Team
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Week 3
Hi everyone,
During last week, you have seen the impacts of air pollution on our planet, in particular those that are easily observed in many parts of the globe such as photochemical smog and impacts on ecosystems.
You were also given the possibility to contribute in two different ways:
1) through the #HowBlueIsYourSky thread (thanks to Kevin who was the first to share a picture - from a hazy day in Dubai). Do not hesitate to add a picture of where you live/work/travel (and air quality data if you have any)!
2) in the discussion forum to share your ideas on how YOU could contribute at your level / in your community to reduce ozone concentrations responsible for smog formation. If you have missed these, you can just click on the links above to take part in the discussion!
This week deals with issues that affect us! It will start at the individual level with 2 videos from Assistant Professor Laurent Alleman showing the health impacts of air pollution. Two more videos, presented by Assistant Professor Esperanza Perdrix, explain how bad air quality impacts our societies and economies.
This week is also the last where new content will be added to edX, although the course will stay open for newcomers until November 15. If you like what you have learnt so far, do not hesitate to share it with your friends to raise awareness about air pollution causes and impacts!
Keep up the good work!
The MOOC Air Quality Team
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Just as a reminder:
If not done yet, our introductory survey is here and you can introduce yourself there.
In addition to the discussion forums, you can also use external social networks and meet us on Twitter or on our Facebook page.
The content of each week (topic, number of videos and their total length) is described here. At the end of every week, you will be able to test your knowledge with a quiz (see Grading Policy).
The course is free but you can also earn a Certificate of Achievement for a minimum fee (49 $US). If interested, you can learn more about Verified Certificates by following this link.
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Week 2
Dear all,
We have now finished our first week. If you have just joined us – welcome! You still have time to complete this 3-week course since it will stay open until November 15. Thanks to those who have contributed in the Discussion forums and shared their questions last week, we are convinced it was helpful for many others.
During this past week, we have introduced a few basic notions on the structure of the atmosphere, the distinction between primary/secondary pollutants and natural/anthropogenic sources. You now know that pollutants can come in various chemical forms, as gases or particles, and even switch from one to the other … You have also been able to discover more about their sources by exploring the three environments proposed in the Practice activity.
Veronique and Stephane, your instructors from last week, will stay available while the MOOC is open in case of any additional question on this first part, so do not hesitate!
Since we cannot meet in person and have a group picture of our community, we have also started a General discussion in the forum to remind ourselves we all share the same planet under the same blue sky (or so it should be). Being connected with people from all over the world is indeed one of the opportunities provided by a class like this so we hope you take advantage of it. Go check the #HowBlueIsYourSky thread and do not hesitate to contribute by sharing a picture of your location (and air quality data if you have any)!
We hope you are now ready for this second week dealing with the impacts of air pollution on our planet!
You have very likely heard about the IPCC special report published last week ... No doubt climate change is a hot topic, but do you know that air quality and climate change are strongly interconnected and that tackling one could help solve the other as well? This topic will be addressed by Assistant Professor Manolis ROMANIAS through four videos.
To end the week, Dr. Aude BOURIN, Research Engineer, will focus on the end of the pollutant cycle since deposition processes can strongly affect ecosystems. Her video will detail these impacts and how they are assessed.
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Just as a reminder:
If not done yet, our introductory survey is here and you can introduce yourself there.
In addition to the discussion forums, you can also use external social networks and meet us on Twitter or on our Facebook page.
The content of each week (topic, number of videos and their total length) is described here. At the end of every week, you will be able to test your knowledge with a quiz (see Grading Policy).
The course is free but you can also earn a Certificate of Achievement for a minimum fee (49 $US). If interested, you can learn more about Verified Certificates by following this link.
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Enjoy Week 2!
The MOOC Air Quality Team
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Welcome message
Hi everyone,
Thanks for joining us for the first session of this online course focusing on air quality. Our course starts today for three weeks. It will close on November 15 to allow you enough time to catch up with videos or quizzes you may have missed. The course is free but you can also earn a Certificate of Achievement for a minimum fee (49 $US). If interested, you can learn more about Verified Certificates.
Each Monday, new content will be released on edX. You will be able to share your thoughts, comments and questions, and interact directly with the instructors and other learners during the entire week through the discussion forum.
You can also use external social networks and meet us on Twitter (@MOOC_AirQuality) on our Facebook page.
The content of each week (topic, number of videos and their total length) is described in the ‘Course organization’ page.
At the end of every week, you will be able to test your knowledge with a quiz. The grading policy is explained in detail here.
For this first week, we will introduce basic knowledge about the atmosphere and air pollution, including the main species involved. Besides, a practical activity will allow you to explore different environments to discover the main pollution sources. Your main instructors for this week will be Professor Veronique RIFFAULT and Associate Professor Stephane SAUVAGE who are presented on this page.
We would also be happy to know more about your motivations: Where are you from? What interested you in this course? Use the “Introduce yourself” topic in the discussion forum to let us know more about you and answer our survey.
Looking forward to interacting with you, we are thrilled to have you there!
The MOOC Air Quality Team