Maybe MOOCs need more marketing?

Would you take a free, 12-week online course at Duke or (insert top-tier university here) in reasoning and data analysis or (insert special interest here) for free? Yes, free! Well if you go to www.coursera.org, you just may find yourself signing up for one.

And if you did, you would be part of the MOOC (think mooooook) madness. A Massive Online Open Course is a relatively new venture in the world of higher learning. Now if you are like me, many of those in my grad program, or all of the people I have asked so far, you don’t know what a MOOC is. Well the acronym lends to the words that give its literal meaning. So, it’s a MASSIVE, (averaging around 40,000 students per one course) OPEN and free to anyone who can get ONLINE and sign up for the COURSE.

At Coursera.org, they offer nearly 10,000 courses from 117 partners including Stanford, MIT, Princeton, and Harvard, just to name a few. Their website boasts of providing a world-class education to anyone, for free. Some courses offer certificates for successful completion. I almost signed myself up; then I thought, what are you, crazy!? Let’s finish grad school first...but someday!

Now this may sound all nice and dandy, but MOOCs have many critics, and their effectiveness is highly debatable. Some experts say the lack of interaction and socialization is why there is such a poor completion rate, while others say it is a knowledge-building network suited for those wanting to learn and connect. Information dispersal versus education mastery, rigorous intellectual experience versus the inflation of facts and techniques.

Because of the nature of MOOCs, the motivation (at this point) is purely intrinsic for the learner. There are options to earn credits and validation, but hopefully the intrinsic motivation will always remain at the forefront. Isn’t that what I am trying to instil in my students? How to be self-regulated, life-long learners...and that learning is even more rewarding when we learn with each other and from each other. Learning for learning’s sake! I would jump at the opportunity to be in a MOOC taught by George Siemens and Stephen Downs on Connectivism--for free! Yes, please! For me, the motivation would be in the opportunity to connect and learn with the authors of Connectivism in a way that was not possible before.

I can’t say for certain but, so what if you don’t finish the course. Does that mean you didn’t learn anything? Does it mean your network disappears? When you pursue things that interest you and you put effort into learning more, it’s possible to stumble across your passion. It’s probable that you get out of it what you put into it. Same as a university, but without the debt slavery. MOOCs provide a learning space hosted by top university professors for free. Sounds like a great start to thinking outside the box of traditional learning. I am all for that!

#MOOC #connectivism #coursera #lifelonglearning