Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer, Coursera
Every learning journey begins with an excellent teacher. On National Teachers’ Appreciation Day, we celebrate educators who inspire, shape and empower learners in a rapidly changing world.
This belief in the power of learning led two educators Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller to establish Coursera in 2012. Today, as AI reshapes the workforce, teachers remain essential to help learners stay ahead and prepare for leadership goals.
In the first quarter of this year, college and company lecturers have attracted more than 7 million new learners to the platform, helping them start looking for new skills, qualifications and career opportunities. Only one course – the introduction of Generative AI (Google Cloud) – has attracted learners from 120 countries this year, which proves the global impact of teaching on Coursera.
Lead by the teacher
The highest instructor likes Barbara Oakley (University of Auckland), Laurie Santos (Yale), and Jules White (Vanderbilt) is behind the transformational courses that attract millions of learners, who continue to develop the catalogue.
“What makes the most sense is knowing that my course is helping people unlock new possibilities in their lives,” Oakley said. “The scale of the impact on Coursera is different from anything I’ve seen in traditional education.”
We are honored to work with over 6,700 teachers who are expanding their educational opportunities – from top professors to industry experts and first-time educators. Lecturers come from around the world and reflect our mission to build a more inclusive, equitable learning ecosystem.
Tools to help educators educate and lead in the AI era
To help teachers prepare for students’ AI age, Coursera offers a range of courses designed specifically for educators. explore:
These courses can help educators understand the ever-evolving landscape of technology while providing them with skills to create dynamic, engaging and future classrooms.
In addition to content, Coursera’s platform also provides instructor tools to build and scale effective learning experiences:
- dialogue: Educators can embed interactive, AI-powered conversations in the course to help learners think critically and get real-time feedback.
- Course builder: This powerful tool enables instructors to create, personalize and adapt content at scale, which is especially useful for maintaining the skills needs that develop rapidly.
Educators like Vic Strecher (University of Michigan) is an early adopter of the conversation and is redefining possibilities in online education. Similarly, Jules White (Vanderbilt) uses tools such as coaching to provide learners on every continent with high-quality work-related content.
From helping someone learn their first programming language to intermediate professionals preparing for new roles in AI, educators shape the future. Whether taught in classrooms or online, in colleges or companies, their impact is beyond the reach of students.
For all educators who build a more skilled, adaptive and fair world: Thank you.
