Abel,

It's an interesting concept. However, I don't believe MOOC's are anywhere close to challenging standard universities at the moment. I would say give it a decade, at least, before MOOC's gain the necessary financial backing, acceptance from the masses, and most importantly, accreditation. I have had an opportunity to take several MOOC courses, and have mixed feelings about the experience. I like the concept of a free, or relatively inexpensive cost, of a higher education; however, I would have concerns about the quality of the course, the assessment criteria, and the standards that different MOOC institutions (if there every becomes one) may offer. If University X offers a great Instructional Design MOOC, but everyone gets an A regardless of effort, it might raise some eyebrows as to the validity of the overall learning experience. Perhaps that might be too jaded a response, but I think it best to approach it as cautiously optimistic. The standard brick and mortar institutions of higher learning have their place, and hopefully MOOC's will also find their niche. Regardless, I believe it is the student experience that would become the overall winner.

Rene,

This is great! Although not currently in a classroom, I see a great deal that my company's training group uses. In particular, the usage of a variation of an interactive whiteboard is huge in department meetings. Whether creating departmental or product status briefings, it allows everyone involved to play a role, immediately share content, and regardless of physical location, we regularly include our international counterparts from their home countries. As technology continues to grow and push the established boundaries, I have no doubt that education will reap the benefits (we just need to be ready to find new and inventive ways to use it). There is also a push to get our training department certified due to continual customer demand that they only want "certified" instructors. It makes perfect sense, of course.

In terms of a classroom, I'm actually starting to see my kids' daycare incorporating technology into their daily routine. They have something called "Learning Technology" that may include reading a story with interactive components that the kids love (animals, sound effects, etc.). Very well done, and sparked a renewed interest in learning on the iPad from my son (in lieu of Micky Mouse Clubhouse and Phineas and Ferb on YouTube).

I am also closely watching the development (and growing pains) of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) with a great deal of interest. My dad was telling me that he recently took a course from Stanford, and had nothing but positive things to say about it. If MOOCs end up allowing students to get credit for certain courses, it will be interesting to see how universities (and student loan providers) try to offset the loss of potential revenue of students preferring a free and accredited alternative.

I think educational reform can work, but all parties involved must be willing to compromise. As Jose previously mentioned, trying to teach the same way you may have 20 or 30 years ago most likely won't be as successful. This is due to the continual change in teaching techniques, technology, and the evolution of our learning audience. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just means that we need to keep our minds open, and not be afraid to embrace new techniques to try and best practices.

While I am not currently teaching in a classroom, I do coordinate efforts with the training team to help create/teach certain courses in my company. I am one of the newest employees to work in this capacity, and after nine months, I have finally begun to convince people that Microsoft PowerPoint isn't the "be all end all" presentation tool. Training material can go beyond simply PowerPoint slides. I think you just need to approach everyone with the knowledge that exchanging the known for an unknown and unproven alternative can be daunting. While people may fear the unknown, there are definite benefits to constantly evolving with technology and the learning audience.

Maricela,

An interesting (and apt) topic. Although I'm not currently in a classroom, my company is broken down to divisions, then further broken down to Scrum teams, and then by departments. Needless to say, it can get pretty confusing. I've noticed that communication regularly breaks down, with one team not knowing what the other needed or completed. Likewise, I have been put on the spot when I have been asked to brief a status update on something I wasn't aware. While painful, my organization now uses a combination of wiki programs that allow multiple users to post updates for their respective teams, organizational updates, goals, and anything that might be helpful to know (similar to Google Docs). However, we also use virtual meeting spaces, videoconferencing, and other helpful programs that bring our global operations to a single conference room or meeting space. Without getting too far off topic, I think Web 2.0 tools are not just a helpful tool for a classroom. They are helpful in business environments that are helping to make our world into a much smaller, more accessible environment.

I found myself fascinated by the concept of gamification. The more I read about it, the more I can see it being applied to not only the classroom, but also to the corporate audience. By increasing engagement and retention of learning material, I see it as a win-win situation. Do you see it as a viable solution to your classroom? Why or why not? What ways do you currently use aspects of gamification in your professional life?