Schools, colleges, and universities have played (and are continuing to play) a huge part in human history and have served as monasteries for academics for centuries. In particular, faculty of these institutions are truly dedicated to their teaching, research, and service. But in the last decade there have been major strides in technology and innovation. Specifically the creation of the internet allowing access and spread of information, global communication, and much more with just a few button presses. More importantly, it allows for faculty to conduct educational outreach to a much broader audience. One form of this outreach lies in massive open online courses (MOOCs).
MOOCs are platforms where many educators (university affiliated or not) develop a course in the subject(s) they are experts in where many students from around the world can learn. Below is a list of a few current MOOCs at the writing of this post:
While this is not an exhaustive list it shows a great deal of platforms that (by nature) are the same but are different in how content creators can engage with the audience and spread knowledge. Faculty and educators are reacting positively to MOOCs because it allows them to keep doing what they are passionate about on a grander scale: create and spread knowledge. Dr. Tom Sanchez, a professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech, co-designed with Dr. Jennifer Evans-Cowley a course named “TechniCity” where. Dr. Evans-Cowley states:
“We were inspired to engage with thousands of students across the globe who share our passion for cities and want to think creatively about how technology can improve our quality of life.”
This is one of many examples of academic faculty taking to MOOCs to fufill their passion in their respective fields.
Over that last couple years, MOOCs have taken to the scene as a way to learn new subjects without investing into higher education. Below are some interesting graphics on MOOCs:
Of course we should consider where MOOCs stand in the field of education. With MOOC’s rapid growth there implicitly brings into question the future of traditional education as a whole. Is it threaten or does it strengthen education? The first infrographic expresses an opinion that MOOCs are in no way a threat to traditional higher education. I personally agree with this assessment. It is hard to believe when courses are made online by verified, PhD holding instructors of the course that the credibility should be under increased scrutiny. I believe MOOCs should be leveraged and continue to be seen as a worthy opportunity and investment that faculty play a part in.
This plays into the next two infographic on how MOOCs are being viewed as a credible way in getting a well-round education. Now with universities like Harvard, Standford, MIT, and others supporting this effort it is hard to deny MOOC’s long term future. With the support of universities coming back full circle, then faculty have a much easier path to reach out. There is a staggering set of courses showing enrolled in the hundreds of thousands across many platforms and there is no sign of MOOCs of slowing down. Regardless of the location of the student’s background, it has been shown that access to such material allows for students to develop their education and skill set.
MOOCs do not come without their problems. Completion rates of most MOOCs are low. One theory suggests that without proper expense from the student there leaves little motivation to complete the course (without 100% relying on willpower and dedication). Another issue is understanding the grey area of quality of a given course. Traditional universities have their own quality criteria that can assess a course in their curriculum while MOOC platforms have general guidelines to produce a successful course. Although, I believe the feedback from the students help create a culture and a bar that courses must maintain to be a useful learning experience.
Will MOOCs be the way of the future? I believe that MOOCs with compliment the existing higher educational system but will forces positive changes. One big question is if MOOCs be viable for college credit? A major topic for debate. Chances are it will not replace the traditional university setting because such “brick and mortar” universities have fostered a culture that is synonymous to nationalism for alumni. My university, Virginia Tech, is ingratiating the idea of MOOC with the traditional setting by offering online degrees. I would argue that these online degrees are not the same as MOOCs but I would be remiss to not at least consider their similarities. Either way, faculty have an outlet to project their knowledge beyond the physical walls of a classroom.
A special post I read: please check out more of Joshua’s article here. This article inspired me to write this post. It comes with a cool opening video on Bipedalism: The Science of Upright walking hosted on edX by Jerry DeSilva, an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth.
Sources of Infographcis:
Thanks for reading~
Tim