Gates, MOOCs and
Remediation
September 14, 2012 - 3:00am
By
Paul Fain
Early returns show that massive open online courses (MOOCs) work best for
motivated and academically prepared students. But could high-quality MOOCs
benefit a broader range of learners, like those who get tripped up by remedial
classes?
That’s the question the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation wants to answer with a newly announced round of 10 grants for
the creation of MOOCs for remedial coursework.
“We’re trying to seed the conversation and seed the experimentation,” said
Josh Jarrett, the foundation's deputy director for education and postsecondary
education.
MOOCs tend to provoke strong feelings in the academy, and in the wake of
Gates's announcement this week, some observers questioned whether free, widely
available online courses could be tailored to students with remedial needs. But
others, including experts on developmental learning, welcomed the attempt to
tackle one of higher education’s most vexing problems.
“This has the potential for raising the quality of instruction in
developmental education, if used properly,” said Hunter R. Boylan, director of
the National Center for Developmental
Education.
Cached
Colleges aren't the only enterprises interested in the possibilities of free, online courses. Publishers have begun to investigate whether so-called MOOC's, or massive open online courses, can help them reach new readers and sell more books.
