The first-ever massive open online course – or MOOC – launched at a law school by Professor Karl Okamoto in 2012, was cited by the National Law Journal in an article on Sept. 10. 

Noting that MOOCs are now being offered at several other law schools: Harvard Law School, Northwestern University Law School, the University of North Carolina School of Law and John Marshall Law School, the article observes the challenges inherent in offering free and widely available courses online. 

When Okamoto offered a MOOC using his video-based LawMeets platform last year, 800 law students and practicing attorneys signed up to hone their skills in transactional law, the article noted, but just 120 submitted their own video exercises and only 30 completed all four of the simulations in the course. 

The article notes that Okamoto is encouraging law professors to incorporate the “Basics of Acquisition Agreements” MOOC into their own classes to provide an incentive for students to complete all of the exercises this fall, while the course is being offered again.

“We think the exercises are the most important part,” said Okamoto, who directs the law school's Business and Entrepreneurship Law Program.