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Jennifer Henson

MOOCs: Changing the world - 20 views

MOOC

started by Jennifer Henson on 08 Oct 13
  • Jennifer Henson
    #1 Jennifer Henson on 08 Oct 13
     
    Hi All,
    I'm one of this week's hosts and thought I'd see what you think about MOOCs. According to this article from the New York Times, 90% of people who start MOOCs don't finish. Still, I think it's a great way to try out a topic about something. Or to try out college without signing up. My son, for example, is not ready for college but is eager to see what Coursera's course on Beethoven's sonatas is all about. I love, love, love the possibility that MOOCs can provide high-quality education to people no matter where they are, how much money they have, and what they are interested in. It breaks down all the walls, and that makes sense to me for the 21st century!
    Your thoughts?
    Jen
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/26/technology/personaltech/a-surge-in-growth-for-a-new-kind-of-online-course.html?smid=pl-share
  • Maria Austin
    #2 Maria Austin on 08 Oct 13
     
    I completely agree. I always find something truly interesting and exciting offered in the different MOOCs. I just wish the day had 48 hours.
    Another very interesting aspect of the classes is how varied the students and the cultures they come from are. You get to interact with people from countries all over the planet and that is an experience that many colleges cannot offer to the extent "an online classroom" can.
  • shaila a
    #3 shaila a on 08 Oct 13
     
    I don't have any experience taking any of these classes but I would love to take one (just to try it) in the future. More people would definitely be interested in taking the MOOCs classes if it was available for credit- but I guess that would put a lot of the private institutions out of business. In my opinion, flexibility would be MOOC's key to success.
  • Richard Wilson
    #4 Richard Wilson on 08 Oct 13
     
    Sometimes its a good day to look at the percent. Sometimes, its a good day to look at the numbers. If 300,000 sign up and only 10% finish, in the end, that's 30,000 enriched people or roughly the equivalent of 1000 instructors teaching 30 students at a time. Sounds pretty good to me.
  • Richard Wilson
    #5 Richard Wilson on 08 Oct 13
     
    An alternate viewpoint is that 75% of the San Jose State students fail certain courses.

    http://www.ecampusnews.com/online-learning/2013-udacity-sjsu-mooc/
  • Katy Lu
    #6 Katy Lu on 10 Oct 13
     
    I've took two coursera courses before I enrolled to the EDTC program.
    One is "Internet History, Technology, and Security" offered by University of Michigan.
    https://www.coursera.org/course/insidetheinternet
    I was fully participated the class and received a completion certificate signed by the professor. (not the University)
    The other course I took was "Introduction to Finance" , unfortunately I was not qualified to receive the certificate.
    Although I was fully participated the course ( no absence - students are required to watch the lecture videos)
    and taken quizzes. However the students are required to receive a final grade of 85 and above to receive the certificate.
    I've got a 79 for the final. (The professor didn't even consider I had fully participated the course, and have had an average of 95 on my quizzes).
    It was upset.

    So, I am among the 10% students who can successfully completed the MOOC courses. :)
    In fact this is really worth a try.
    First of all, it's tuition free. Secondly, this is a unique opportunity to having lectures from professors all over the world. (last year was only some schools in the States, now they are having more global partners.)
    So many interested topics and classes are offered in this program, such as "Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society" hosted by U Penn, and "What a Plant Knows (and other things you didn't know about plants) hosted by Tel Aviv University. Human-computer Interaction hosted by Stanford.
    Give it a try when you have time.

    https://www.coursera.org/
  • Jennifer Henson
    #7 Jennifer Henson on 10 Oct 13
     
    Thanks so much for your first-hand accounts, Katy! I'm sorry it didn't go fully as you'd hoped, but I'm betting you learned a lot, and there's definitely some value in that--especially when the courses were free! I am looking forward to trying one when I've finished the Ed Tech program. I'm with Maria--unless they add more hours in the day, I'm afraid I can't swing it until then. So thanks so much for the vicarious experience! (I'm sure you fared much better in the Finance class than I would have, so I'll definitely run with that!)
  • Jackie Byford
    #8 Jackie Byford on 13 Oct 13
     
    Taking a MOOC course is on my list of to do's. I think it is a great opportunity to look into a subject of interest to see if it is right for you. I am curious if this venue will stay free or as the popularity goes up if universities will start to charge. Either way I think it is a great idea and I will definitely look into taking some courses as soon as I have those 48 hours a day...(:
  • Katy Lu
    #9 Katy Lu on 13 Oct 13
     
    Dear God,
    Please give me 49.5 hours a day. I would need an extra 1.5 hours to play on Star Stable. I just love my horse PeacePetal.
    http://www.starstable.com/en/
  • Jaime Villanueva
    #10 Jaime Villanueva on 14 Oct 13
     
    Katy,
    I completed a Mooc course last semester and did receive my certificate.The problem I encountered was the same that you stated I was half a point from receiving a certificate that stated exemplary certificate. I was very disappointed because I was always on task and never late in any of my assignments but to no avail.I feel your pain Katy!

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