Futurelearn - online classes on your CV

[qkhitai]

Someone I know tweeted about a course on Futurelearn.com, which seems to be a website where anyone can go and study a short class online for free (or pay and get a certificate upon completion). The courses are - as far as I can tell - taught by professors at decent universities, which piqued my interest. I actually signed up for the course, because it does look quite interesting and actually somewhat relevant to what I research. Aside from asking whether anyone has any experience with this site, my question is: as a grad student, would putting something like this on a CV look tacky? I've seen people in my field put down similar things (brief classes or courses) in their own CVs, in sections such as 'Other Study', 'Extra-curricular Activities', 'Professional Activities', but I can't remember the last time I saw an online course - and not one free and open to the public. Any thoughts?

[datik]

MOOCs are all the rage these days, with LinkedIn opening its own service that you can then validate in your profile. As for putting it in your CV when you apply to jobs, then I'd say the answer depends on your field, the relevance, and the position you are applying to. I'd imagine for a more academic position it may look like fluff but for a more practical position where you need specific skills, it would be helpful to know you were proactive enough to take a course (while naming the institution and professor).

I keep all the extra courses I make in my all-purposes CV in any case, because I can always take it down later. Remember that you should always, always, always revise your CV to fit the particular use you have for it at any given time.

[fuzzylogician]

What is the purpose of the CV? For fellowships, grants, job applications, or really anything else academic, I can't see an online course making its way to one's CV (nor in-person classes, for that matter). For industry purposes, it probably depends on the job requirements, and I would think that for it to be taken seriously, you'd want to have the certificate (and list that somewhere, rather than the class per se). 

[Eigen]

The only things like this I would add to my CV are those that I consider particularly applicable. For me, this pretty much boils down to pedagogy courses (since I'm in the SLAC market). 

So when I take a short course or MOOC on, say, integrating research into the undergraduate curriculum, it goes onto my CV under professional development, and shows that I'm making an effort to grow and keep current in pedagogical strategies. It's the same heading I put in-person workshops and short courses under.