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VMware to provide software for HarvardX CS50x

VMware to provide software for HarvardX CS50x

EdX and VMware, Inc. announced an agreement yesterday to provide VMware software to those taking HarvardX’s CS50x course, Introduction to Computer Science. All students enrolled in CS50x will now have access to VMware Fusion 5 and VMware Workstation 9 — virtualization software that allows users to run different types of virtual machines (Windows, Linux, etc.) on their computer — for the duration of the course at no charge.

“We’re very excited to join edX in its mission to deliver high quality online education,” said Dr. Stephen Herrod, VMware Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Research & Development, in the press release. “By providing VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation products to all CS50x students at no cost, we’re helping to remove the barriers to obtaining a top-flight computer science education online. Students around the world will get to use the world’s best virtualization products to support their learning.”

This announcement comes on the heels of a partnership with Cengage Learning, who now provides online access to Principles of Biostatistics, the textbook for HarvardX’s PH207x — Health in Numbers: Quantitative Methods in Clinical & Public Health Research. MIT offers VMWare to enrolled students already, but now anyone enrolled in the edX course (which is open to everyone) will have access to it as well.

—Stan Gill