As I entered the edX Demo, I felt overwhelmed. There were many links to click and plenty of information to swallow. I felt like I was entangled in a spider web until I reached one point where I could not figure a way to return to the main class. I got stuck. This is when I entered the Learner's Guide and I could not find my way back to the class. I am sure that I could start over, if necessary, just to get back into the class.
I do not foresee MOOCs becoming the future of learning, but I can see elearning (such as this class) being successful at all levels. I feel that MOOCs are geared towards so many people that I would be lost in the mix. Granted these are go-at-your-own-pace classes, it feels impersonal to me. This is coming from a person who got her Bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University (Go Bucks!) which is a huge campus. The difference is that at the university, I was able to communicate with someone firsthand. I did not find this with the MOOC.
During my second quarter of college and with perfect attendance, my grandmother passed away unexpectedly. I had to miss class, thus giving up my perfect attendance. Once I returned to class, I explained to my professor what had happened and she had allowed my work to be turned in late. With a MOOC, there is no explanation allowed. Assignments must be turned in on time, period. No late assignments allowed.
MOOCs would be beneficial for people who just want to gain extra knowledge for themselves or for employees of a company in which particular MOOCs would be advantageous to their work. I do not believe MOOCs are meant for people pursuing degrees.
MOOCs may have success in the K-12 classrooms since these classes are interactive and they provide worksheets/tests to find out how much students have learned. This is obviously better than showing YouTube videos since the interactivity can make learning more engaging. I do, however, think that it should be teacher guided since students could get off task easily and/or skip important steps.
One reason that I am not keen on MOOCs could be that I am older so learning in a way where I am in control of everything as opposed to a teacher/professor guiding the class makes me feel uncomfortable. I prefer a teacher/professor who is providing personal feedback.
I must say that there were some features I appreciated. For example, I liked that the lecture was closed caption and that I could click on any word and it would take me right back to that place in the class. Also, I liked the way the speech could speed up or slow up. These were nice features.
Whether MOOCs become the future of education or not, I can see both pros and cons. I am not totally against MOOCs, but it just does not feel like a good fit for me.
Hope,
ReplyDeleteIt seems you and I agree on some areas of MOOCs. I don't think I would ever consider a MOOC to be personal, ever. I first letter, M, stands for MASSIVE, and that alone means anyone taking the class will just be a counted number. And firsthand communication doesn't look like an option, any time.
I also agree that MOOCs are great for people wanting to learn a bit more, or fill in some gaps on the subject of choice. I guess it is even possible to imagine that a student could just take the MOOC to listen, and not even worry about the grade, as they are just looking to enhance their knowledge. I didn't think a degree could be supplemented by a MOOC, since there is no standard, that I could see, for MOOCs. With no standards, I questioned the value of a MOOC to another education institute, or a potential employer.
As I stated in my post, I do not see where MOOCs are going to work in K-12. Those students, I believe, require, or work better, with a leader/class role. Yes, MOOCs have that, but not to the degree of K-12. It is my opinion that K-12 requires someone to start from the beginning of the class subject. In K-12 many subjects are required by the state, where in higher ed, the student has an idea of what the class will be.
The way I see it, until MOOCs are "standardized" I cannot see them for more than checking out what else may be available for a certain subject, or to possibly fulfill a curiosity. I cannot see where someone in brain surgery could say "yeah, I did a MOOC on the frontal cortex, I am good". OK, a little extreme, but hopefully you get my point.
Hope,
ReplyDeleteIt seems you and I agree on some areas of MOOCs. I don't think I would ever consider a MOOC to be personal, ever. I first letter, M, stands for MASSIVE, and that alone means anyone taking the class will just be a counted number. And firsthand communication doesn't look like an option, any time.
I also agree that MOOCs are great for people wanting to learn a bit more, or fill in some gaps on the subject of choice. I guess it is even possible to imagine that a student could just take the MOOC to listen, and not even worry about the grade, as they are just looking to enhance their knowledge. I didn't think a degree could be supplemented by a MOOC, since there is no standard, that I could see, for MOOCs. With no standards, I questioned the value of a MOOC to another education institute, or a potential employer.
As I stated in my post, I do not see where MOOCs are going to work in K-12. Those students, I believe, require, or work better, with a leader/class role. Yes, MOOCs have that, but not to the degree of K-12. It is my opinion that K-12 requires someone to start from the beginning of the class subject. In K-12 many subjects are required by the state, where in higher ed, the student has an idea of what the class will be.
The way I see it, until MOOCs are "standardized" I cannot see them for more than checking out what else may be available for a certain subject, or to possibly fulfill a curiosity. I cannot see where someone in brain surgery could say "yeah, I did a MOOC on the frontal cortex, I am good". OK, a little extreme, but hopefully you get my point.