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Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Their Role in Climate Change Education

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Climate Action

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

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Definitions

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are open, scalable eLearning courses, aimed to serve a large number of participants. Because they are open, these courses are intended for all individuals, without the requisition of any entry qualifications, and they provide the experience of a complete, totally free online course (EADTU 2015).

Climate change has been defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as “any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity” (IPCC 2014). Following the fifth IPCC report, the future impacts of climate change, although in different degrees of severity, will affect societies all over the globe (IPCC 2014). Climate change is a key topic of sustainable development, where public awareness, literacy, and education are crucial.

Massive Open Online Courses, Their Impacts, and Challenges

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have, since their origin, received particular attention for their...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Science and Technology, Universidade Aberta, Lisboa, Portugal

    Paula Bacelar-Nicolau & Sandra Caeiro

  2. CFE, Center for Functional Ecology, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Paula Bacelar-Nicolau

  3. CENSE, Centre of Environment and Sustainability Research, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

    Sandra Caeiro

Authors
  1. Paula Bacelar-Nicolau
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  2. Sandra Caeiro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paula Bacelar-Nicolau .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-ALS, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences FTZ-ALS, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Ctr Neurosci & Cell Biology, 1 Floor, Univ Coimbra, Edf Fac Medicina, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  4. Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökcin Özuyar

  5. International Centre for Thriving, University of Chester, CHESTER, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. School of Urban and Regional Planning, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    S. Jeff Birchall

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Bacelar-Nicolau, P., Caeiro, S. (2019). Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Their Role in Climate Change Education. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P., Wall, T. (eds) Climate Action. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71063-1_32-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71063-1_32-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71063-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71063-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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