Createquity.: In the simplest of terms, a MOOC is an online mechanism for teaching and learning that (metaphorically) blows the walls off the traditional classroom, and the gates off the traditional campus. In a MOOC, the instructor still stands at “the front of the room” and delivers content, but the audience has expanded to hundreds of thousands of people. And most of those people haven’t had to go through an arduous admissions process or, better yet, pay a nickel to get in the (virtual) door.
It’s important to pause here and stress what a MOOC is not. The online course you took for credit three years ago? Not open to everyone and probably didn’t have enrollment surpassing 100; not a MOOC. The free webinar your local funder hosted about a new grant program? While informative, it was not a sequential, structured course offering, therefore not a MOOC. The free course material, including videotaped lectures, course notes and reading lists you happily lap up on MIT Open CourseWare or Open Yale Courses? The content may be fascinating, but as it is posted in bulk without a registration process, live instructor, or formal assessment systems, it is also not a MOOC.
1 comment:
MOOCs! I think that philosophically MOOCs can be fantastic -- for someone who wants to learn something for the pure joy of learning, this is a perfect opportunity. For more regulated courses for credit…It think there are a lot of problems that need to be worked out. An online course like that just doesn't have the weight that a physically attended course has. You also don't get the same mental stimulation that comes with interacting with others personally in the course. On the other hand, if it's taken seriously it seems like it could be just as effective. It really depends on the student. Making education available to anyone and everyone, for free, is absolutely fantastic. I think it's good to challenge our current educational system and really make people think about what we're doing, what works, and what needs to be done. Arts on a new platform? Definitely something that needs to happen in order to keep up with changing times. Nothing can ever replace meeting with people in person and interacting creatively with one another…but, there are some positive outcomes of living and working in the digital world too. I think a great example is YouTube -- so much amazing art, particularly in entertainment and music, comes out of collaborations on YouTube. One is able to play in a band with folks from all corners of the world, sharing ideas and art, without ever meeting in real life. However, you still need to play music with people in real life -- there's just something there that can't be emulated with technology and it's so important. I think there is huge potential for the arts in MOOCs, but we have to be careful not to loose other facets of it, rather just enhance it with this new platform.
The "flipped classroom" is a fantastic idea. We need to keep trying new things in education, keep pushing, and keep being creative. I love the idea of teachers as partners in learning; I think this has huge potential. I could see this being incredibly effective for all sorts of learners as well -- instead of forcing a child who learns better visually instead of aurally to learn aurally, a child can really learn by the best method for them, creating more effective and productive school time and letting kids just plain learn rather than learn the system.
Post a Comment