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CORVALLIS, Ore. - More than 3,187 students from around the world have enrolled in Oregon State University's first massive open online course, or MOOC.

The free, eight-week course, Supporting English Language Learners under New Standards, is offered in partnership with Stanford University and is funded by the Oregon Department of Education. The enrollment exceeds the expectations of the course developers and instructors.

"We can tell from the feedback that the course is addressing a real need educators have, providing opportunities to learn more about supporting English language learners," said Karen Thompson, one of the course's three instructors and an assistant professor in Oregon State's College of Education.

Although it is particularly relevant to K-12 educators in the 11-state ELPA21 consortium, the class has attracted learners from most states in America and participants from Vietnam, Syria, Ecuador, Spain, Brazil, Ukraine, Libya and other countries. Participants work in teams to gather and analyze language samples from their students.

Oregon State Ecampus is also a partner in the MOOC and has provided multimedia and support services for the course. Educators can still register online.