Mountains 101

If you enjoy the great outdoors, stunning scenery or learning about a variety of plants, animals and geological processes, this course could be for you! Not only does it explain how mountains are formed and degraded, it also teaches us about glaciers, the water cycle, and why mountain habitats change as the elevation increases. Mountain ecosystems are visited and adaptations of plants and animals to life in the cold, rugged landscape and sparse atmosphere are described. Various specific mountains are featured in the discussion of mountains in folklore and legends. The effect of climate change on the world’s mountains is analysed. As well, each week features a short video with practical tips on a different aspect of hiking and camping in the mountains.

An interactive world map is available most weeks to locate mountains and ranges discussed in the course videos, and the weekly course notes are a handy memory-jogger of many main points. Specialists in a range of fields provide short segments and there are even visits from two well-known public figures. Although it is a 12-week course, the weekly time commitment is not large.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course.

(Much of this review has already been published at the Institute for Mountain Research's site, mountainresearch.org.)

Mountains 101 is a great introduction to the growing young field of mountain studies by one of the best academic programs.
True to its promise as an introductory and interdisciplinary course, the class builds slowly from a basic foundation and draws from many different disciplines. The course begins by defining mountains in geological and topographical terms, while always keeping their signicance to human cultures in the mix. One possible definition of “mountain” is premised on locals calling the high point near them a “mountain,” whatever its measured height might be. Lesson 2 discusses physical origins and historical theories of mountain building. Next comes climate, especially mountains’ effects on atmospheric pressure, weather patterns, and tree lines. Lesson 4 describes physiological effects of high altitudes and the varied ways that humans have adapted to alpine environments, both long and short term. Other lessons tackle the water cycle, glaciers, mountains in the human imagination, natural hazards, biodiversity, preservation/conservation, and the uncertain future that mountains face.
The lessons are visually gorgeous, with dozens of photographs and video of mountainous places, especially the instructors’ home Canadian Rockies. The pace and tone are about right, with clear, straightforward explanations of topics. One of my few complaints about the course is that photos, often projected in the background behind the presenter, are not identified. Captions might be distracting, but I constantly find myself wondering just what and where are these enticing places we’re looking at. Expert guests sometimes make appearances; for example, Martin Price, who directs the Centre for Mountain Studies at the University of Highlands and Islands in Scotland. Each lesson includes a “tech tip,” in which two experienced guides give practical advice on planning and preparing mountain trips, as well as an interactive map that highlights mountains featured in that lesson. The course is part of Coursera.org’s offerings; so far it’s been technically flawless.
Mountains 101 is well worth the time of anyone who lives, works, or plays in and around mountains. Some of it may seem basic to specialists, but it’s meant to be an introduction. I’m learning (and re-learning) a lot, despite my slipshod study habits (I keep finding myself up against the Sunday deadline for each chapter). While always mountain-centric, the course also functions as a remedial lesson in a variety of topics (e.g., geology, meteorology, the respiratory system).
I will pretend that I have passed each of the lesson-ending quizzes on the first try.

This course is fantastic:

- It has passionate instructors: thank you, David and Zac!

- It has a fascinating subject: I'll see mountains differently from now on.

- It's beautifully produced: well edited, nice music, crisp sound, beautiful image.

- It's well taught: the topics are chosen carefully, include variety, and strike a good balance between concision and detail.

- It has just-for-fun components: the interactive maps and Tech Tips are great.

- It's culturally sensitive: beyond science, it also shines a spotlight on mountain people and culture, and does so on a global scale.

- It brings together many researchers: I honestly couldn't count them all.

- It covers interesting topics: some of my favorite include volcanoes, mountain animals, the human body response and evolutionary adaptations to high elevations, and glaciers.

I wholeheartedly recommend the course. And I look forward to a potential follow-up course.

A great class! I got the recommendation for this class from the Class Central cohort initiative! I am glad I joined this class and completed it. Well, this is one of those classes that I will keep visiting again and again and certainly keep learning as I explore mountains.

It is for everyone, those who love to explore mountains and those who may want to learn about mountains. Whatever is your learning goal, you are going to love this class. This class is from the U of Alberta in Canada. Both the instructors are amazingly passionate and they also brought many other types of professionals working in the mountain environment.

I also learned about the mountain day and celebrated the mountain day on December 11, 2021, along with class central cohort alums. Happy learning Mountains 101, I am sure, you will enjoy and learn a lot while having a lot of fun! :)

This is the single best MOOC I've ever taken. The instructors and those behind the scenes put in mind boggling amounts of effort in order to source inspirational and engaging images and videos of mountains, to design interactive and unique assessment ( I love the world maps!!), to include hiking tips, to go to the effort of recording interviews with people all over Canada and academic experts from many universities, as well as simply creating the most holistic education about a topic I've ever experienced. From culture to geology to hydrology to art, I have learned so much about mountains. This course is so interesting it hardly feels like learning. It's like what Planet Earth would be if it was a course. Everyone would benefit from taking this course. The course also went to some lengths to be inclusive, in terms of including aboriginal perspectives, addressing poverty and privilege in mountain landscapes, and roughly an equal amount of male and female experts. This allowed me as a young woman to truly engage with the content and feel like mountains are for me, too. This course epitomises the very best of what can be done in a MOOC. It is the gold standard. All courses could learn from this course. Instructors on other courses do sometimes struggle to take criticism from students regarding the accessibility and structure and approachability of their online courses, and excuse themselves by saying the MOOC format is simply limited and too hard. Those instructors have much to learn from this course. It can be done, and those who worked on Mountains 101 should be incredibly proud.

I will not complain and fully welcome any assessment that this is one of the best, if not the best, MOOCs in existence. I am simply in awe of the subject matter, the presentation of the material, and the heartfelt dedication that obviously went into creating this course. The course creators truly gave mountains justice and the respect these formations deserve, and have exceeded in delivering what the course title indicates. This is the most complete and well-rounded MOOC I have taken so far - the natural science, social science, art-humanities, spirituality and practice (i.e., tips on conducting a successful mountain recreational activity) involving our species's relationship with mountains are all adequately covered here. I highly recommend this course to everyone.

I really enjoyed this course. I have taken other MOOCs and this was definitely up there in quality. I've read a lot of the reviews and I agree with almost all of them. There are some areas that could be improved: Quizzes, pdfs of course notes, tech tips, background photo locations, etc. Pop quizzes were kind of weird. Asking me questions about what you're going to discuss, and then making me get the right answer before I can proceed? Kind of a strange teaching methodology.

I am quite familiar with travel in the mountains and fairly on top of mountain ecology but I wasn't as deeply familiar with the actual formation of mountains. It was also interesting to think about mountains from the point of view of peoples and cultures that have lived most of their lives there. I have been in mountains mostly for recreation and pleasure, The Sublime, as was referred to in the course. And it was a kind of constant reminder that you always keep in the back of your mind when you're in mountains, that they have their own micro climates and weather systems and you need to be prepared to fend for yourself in all types of situations.

I would highly recommend this course to anyone who wants a good foundation in what it takes to make and be in mountains, not only for humans but all the other biota, too.

Like many other reviewers, I'm definitely interested in a follow up course that goes into more depth on some of the topics just scanned.

Well done guys!

This is by far the best free online course I have studied through MOOC, and I have done several in a range of different subjects. The subject of the course is of course fascinating, and essential learning in these times. The course relates mountains and their nature to the current issues surrounding the global ecosystem, climate change etc., giving a very sound elementary education in how this all works, as well as covering every aspect of the alpine environment from how it's formed to what lives there, how and why. But the main reason I rate the course so highly is that the production values are by far the best I have seen for a course of this kind. I don't know what budget they had but they certainly made the most of it. The course has some stunning visuals and includes a high standard of professional location shoots. It also gives interviews with a host of professional scientists and other experts in various fields around the world. By the time the course is done a relative beginner to the subject will not only know a lot more about mountains, but will really want to continue learning and above all, get out and enjoy them.

This was an AWESOME course! I am a high school biology teacher and love hiking. I thought I knew a fair bit about mountains, but I learnt so much on this course. The scenery is amazing, the lectures are really clear and really interesting. I found that I looked up research papers on some of the things that were mentioned to investigate it more deeply. It was a truly an absolute pleasure and I felt a bit emotional to finish it. We are in lockdown and I've chosen to watch Mountains 101 above any movies. I have suggested that my A level students also take the course and I tell my students the top things I've learnt this week. This was the best MOOC I've done to date.
I loved the layout: excellent lessons, in manageable chunks with videos. I liked the course notes, which I had open at the same time, so if there were bits not included (and diagrams) I made my own notes at the same time. The interactive map was awesome. Good top tips for going into the mountains (although bear spray is not common in the UK, maybe I could use it to encourage social distancing on my walks!) The quizzes were relevant, motivating and a good spread of questions.
I recommend this course 100%. Thank you for taking me on a journey during isolation - I am very motivated to come and visit Canada and be a steward!