Rachel Bernstein in Cell provides a perspective on where the online courses in biology are heading. Interesting story:

EXCERPT

The MOOC [massive open online courses] platform also offers a fantastic opportunity to deliver innovative multimedia tools, both in the lectures and in the evaluation materials. For example, the problem sets for MIT professor Eric Lander's edX introductory biology course require students to modify molecules, manipulate genetic pedigrees, and use a simplified version of the Broad Institute's Integrated Genomics Viewer. "We spent a tremendous amount of time building on-line tools to let the students really dig much more deeply into biology," Lander says. "A great side effect is that we now have these tools for use in our own classrooms."

SOURCE

http://www.cell.com/fulltext/S0092-8674%2813%2901524-9