A few years ago, I wrote an article on MOOCs and online education. MOOCs were seen as the wave of the distance learning future but what happened to that notion?
I think it has been like a deflated balloon. MOOCs by higher education were thought to be the perfect solution for adults returning to school and wanting to obtain their degrees while working full-time and raising families. What happened to this notion? I think that MOOCs by schools like Harvard Business School, Yale and Stanford University offer great courses online but that this is no replacement for courses on those campuses.
I think it has been like a deflated balloon. MOOCs by higher education were thought to be the perfect solution for adults returning to school and wanting to obtain their degrees while working full-time and raising families. What happened to this notion? I think that MOOCs by schools like Harvard Business School, Yale and Stanford University offer great courses online but that this is no replacement for courses on those campuses.
What do colleges get out of having MOOCs?
Theoretically, one could see MOOCs being an opportunity for increased enrollment in colleges on physical campuses. In reality, MOOCs do not have enough appeal to be a throughput to enrollment in degree programs. Actually, what works better is graduate certificate programs that lead into Master's degree programs.
So, what would the benefits of MOOCs as replacements for online courses be? Think about taking MOOCs for a degree program as opposed to regular online courses. What would this be like? Personally, I don't think most students would be interested in studying with thousands of students as opposed to 20-30 students per semester. Even though MOOCs are free and promote open education, I think students would miss the interaction and closer guidance from faculty members.
Problems with Current MOOCs
So, just why hasn't the MOOC model of education not been as impressive as first imagined. In my opinion, there have been several reasons for this. First, I believe that MOOCs do not have enough enabling technology to deal with the massive number of students who often take these courses. Second, the MOOC course offerings in a given semester are limited. I am on the mailing list for several MOOC courses but noticed that there are only a few courses of interest each semester in my area. Third, although most MOOC courses have a team of faculty members teaching them, they lack adequate teacher interaction. This is not intentional as faculty members cannot keep up with the number of students. Fourth, MOOC courses are not recognized by most employers. This reason is probably the most troubling, since most MOOC students are working and would want look for a return on their investment in MOOC courses for work.
So, just why hasn't the MOOC model of education not been as impressive as first imagined. In my opinion, there have been several reasons for this. First, I believe that MOOCs do not have enough enabling technology to deal with the massive number of students who often take these courses. Second, the MOOC course offerings in a given semester are limited. I am on the mailing list for several MOOC courses but noticed that there are only a few courses of interest each semester in my area. Third, although most MOOC courses have a team of faculty members teaching them, they lack adequate teacher interaction. This is not intentional as faculty members cannot keep up with the number of students. Fourth, MOOC courses are not recognized by most employers. This reason is probably the most troubling, since most MOOC students are working and would want look for a return on their investment in MOOC courses for work.
Future of MOOCs
So, will MOOCs continue to be around? I do think MOOCs will be around in some form as we move more towards open education. I think open education is the future as open education resources are becoming more and more available by colleges and companies together. So I think the future will include students engaged in more competency-based education using open resources that are made with custom learning pathways for students to complete at their own pace.
Will MOOC replace traditional online courses? I say no. A MOOC is not a good fit as a replacement online course in all situations. Although MOOCs are free and convenient for students, the negative is the lack of interaction, lack of administration and lack of acceptance by potential employers. While MOOC supporters do not hold MOOC courses to the standard of making students job ready, it is still a primary of need of students to take courses that forge a pathway to employment.
Additional Resources
Free Online MOOCs
http://www.trendingineducation.com/2014/02/free-online-moocs.html
So, will MOOCs continue to be around? I do think MOOCs will be around in some form as we move more towards open education. I think open education is the future as open education resources are becoming more and more available by colleges and companies together. So I think the future will include students engaged in more competency-based education using open resources that are made with custom learning pathways for students to complete at their own pace.
Will MOOC replace traditional online courses? I say no. A MOOC is not a good fit as a replacement online course in all situations. Although MOOCs are free and convenient for students, the negative is the lack of interaction, lack of administration and lack of acceptance by potential employers. While MOOC supporters do not hold MOOC courses to the standard of making students job ready, it is still a primary of need of students to take courses that forge a pathway to employment.
Additional Resources
Free Online MOOCs
http://www.trendingineducation.com/2014/02/free-online-moocs.html
