MOOC Who?
- Mr. Gyles
- Jun 10, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 10, 2020
When I first heard MOOC I had no clue what it meant. It sounded like an acronym I heard in Chemistry 20. However, a MOOC actually stands for a Massive Open Online Course. MOOCs are typically ‘free’ but require some type of payment for completion. Yet, what MOOCs do is that they provide distance education for anyone. MOOCs are not open, not peer-to-peer learning but are lectured lessons from professors (Davidson, 2013). What is funny is that before even knowing what a MOOC was I took one this summer. CS50 is an on-campus Edx online introductory course on computer science taught at Harvard University and offers beginning coding for free. Just like me, people around the world also have taken this class and furthered their personal and intellectual growth. By having classes that are in the interest of people, education is taking a major step forward in providing learning tailored to individuals’ needs. Finally, MOOCs only require wifi and a computer to learn. No longer are people required to pay expensive tuition or sit in a class to learn but can learn from the comfort of their home.
In the past decade, “certificates and entire master’s degrees have become available through MOOCs and there are now 45 online at-scale master’s degrees” (Schroeder, 2019). By creating fully-functioned degrees and classes MOOCs are serving a community where University or other schools may not be possible. MOOCs are providing opportunities to millions of people worldwide in a new learning environment over the internet. More so, MOOCs are self-paced. The online engagement of MOOCs allows students to hit the pause button when needed and rewind on the content they did not understand (TED Guest Author. (2014, January 31). As well, it was noted that active learning is also a key to the growth of students in MOOC classes. It allows them to follow the content when actually performing the task creating a connection of what they see then do. In a final note, MOOCs are changing the traditional ways of learning. No longer are we sitting in rows of desks taking notes. Trying to listen and copy what the teacher writes on the board and then missing something. The power now relies on the palms of our hands and the technology of a computer. We can choose what we want to learn and start to develop real skills.
In addition, here is a link for PD for teachers. It is a five-week course to help teachers with emerging technology.
Signing off,
Mr. Gyles.
Resources
Davidson, C. (2013, June 11). Clearing up some myths about MOOCs. Retrieved from https://www.hastac.org/blogs/cathy-davidson/2013/06/11/clearing-some-myths-about-moocs
TED Guest Author. (2014, January 31). The attack on our higher education system — and why we should welcome it. Retrieved from https://ideas.ted.com/the-attack-on-our-higher-education-system-and-why-we-should-welcome-it
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