“Bioinformatics: Introduction and Methods,” a Bilingual Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) as a New Example for Global Bioinformatics Education

Bioinformatics is a fast-growing interdisciplinary field in which the demand for quality education exceeds the supply, especially in developing regions and countries. A massive open online course (MOOC) is a new model for education that delivers videotaped lectures and other course materials over the Internet for all interested persons around the globe to learn for free. Here we present our MOOC ‘‘Bioinformatics: Introduction and Methods,’’ which is the second bioinformatics MOOC in the world and one of the first batch of seven MOOCs from China. In the first two runs of this bilingual MOOC, more than 30,000 students with diverse backgrounds registered from 110 countries and regions. In this manuscript, we present the content design of the MOOC, the demographic profiles and learning patterns of the students, the requirement for English support, and feedback from on-campus students. We offer a few suggestions to other scientists who may be interested in creating a MOOC. We also remember the S* course, a successful open online bioinformatics course that ran from 2001 to 2007, long before the current wave of MOOCs. We believe that MOOC education has great potential to enhance global bioinformatics education.