Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The Year of the MOOC

Give me an M, Give me an O, Give me an O, Give me a C... Let's Go Communists and Cheats!  I'm pretty sure many think those would be appropriate cheers for OSU: Open Source University, the newest kid on the block in higher education in 2012.

Did I just piss you off?  Before you rant ~ I'm completely kidding about the Communist part, though I'm sure many out there feel exactly that way about open source learning products and platforms.  Learning?  For Free?  For the MASSES???  From textbooks to full courses, free online educational resources are popping up on the inter-webs left and right and people have some OPINIONS about this, your truly included. 

There are REAL, amazing experiments currently happening in bringing education to the masses through the internet.  But in years, these new online learning platforms could change the face of higher education, something that entire communities and economies of our country are built upon.  As with many new creations, a rush to produce can sometimes lead to calamity.  While providing college level material by college professors for free to the world is undoubtedly a great thing (as great as Khan Academy is, its just a dude with a camera... who made him an Art History, Economics and Thermodynamics expert?), I still wonder, is regulation where we need it to be with these new platforms? 
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I am filled with both amazement and trepidation that many schools around the world are joining the tide of online open source Higher Education.  Paulo Friere would be so proud.  But might we be rushing it?

In September of this year, The Chronicle of Higher Education (CHE) released an article about Stanford University's new online Open Source University Platform called Class2Go.  Currently, Stanford is offering two new MOOCS for fall term 2012 through Class2Go in computer science/technology based disciplines, which is along the lines of many other MOOCS out there.
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Alphabet soup making you hungry?  Familiarize yourself with this term.  MOOCS stands for massive open online courses. Stanford's Class2Go might be a great example of how to proceed in the experimentation phase we currently find ourselves in, as it is a collaboration between multiple constituents and has the capacity to be adapted and altered by outside users such as other universities.   This is not Stanford's first foray into MOOCS as they have used Coursera and other platforms to approach this new educational product and market in the past.
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I know you might be thinking, none of this is new... I remember when MIT and Harvard released OpenCourseWare and EdX way back when.  But the main difference in modern MOOCS is that they are not just written copy or content anymore.  MOOCS are actual courses in that they are attempting to assess comprehension and mastery and in some cases, create a space for multimedia learning and dialog.

Sounds pretty nifty, doesn't it? So far, completion of most of these online courses doesn't grant participants college credit.  But that can't be too far off.  Because this is a burgeoning field, there is nothing but research, opinions and commentary on all of this experimentation.  Perhaps this is an over generalization but it seems the majority of proponents of MOOCS are non-academics while those in the ivory towers are a bit on edge.  This makes a lot of sense if you think about the fear of their field falling out from under them.  Nonetheless, this is a fast growing area of higher ed that will be both exciting and nerve-wracking to watch from the inside.
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Curious to read more? The CHE offers a fairly comprehensive walk down the exploding path of Open Source University politics and platforms here. 

What do you think are the pros and the potential cons of expanding Open Source U?
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6 comments:

  1. chanks777.wordpress.comOctober 10, 2012 at 12:01 PM

    First, I want to say that I love your passion. Well spoken, by the way. Were you ever a cheerleader? :)

    As I was reading your post, one of the thoughts that came to mind was that I, myself, am going to graduate school, getting an education from a highly sought after program at a presigious university, and I am thinking, "How can what I am earning be on the same level as those people?" And then I read your statement "completion of most of these online courses doesn't grant participants college credit..." yet! So, for now, this comforts me. However, you do bring up some good points, one of which being "as with many new creations, a rush to produce can sometimes lead to calamity." I believe that we need to tread lightly when putting together something without the proper knowledge, research, and understanding. Good point there.

    I do see that a positive would be that "it is a collaboration between multiple constituents," but again, it's very important that we know the credentials of whom we are dealing. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  2. MrsFordOctober 10, 2012 at 5:16 PM

    Thanks for your feedback Cindy! I appreciate you taking the time to read through my posting and provide your thoughtful response. No, I wasn't a cheerleader by the way :)

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  3. UnknownOctober 10, 2012 at 5:38 PM

    I really enjoyed reading your post this week. I definitely learned something new and the topic is so relevant. I know that I am personally intrigued by open source content, particulary MOOCS. There is so much potential knowledge that can become available to people with limited resources. I am one to always want to further my knowledge base, but a lot of times I do not have the money or time to pursue learning as much as I would like to. MOOCS makes resources quicker, cheaper and easier to access. I hope to eventually be able to earn college credit using this avenue and it is especially useful for teachers who need to stay current on their content, but do not have excess time to expend.

    I enjoyed reading your comment that "Perhaps this is an over generalization but it seems the majority of proponents of MOOCS are non-academics while those in the ivory towers are a bit on edge." I can understand the concerns of educational institutions who rely on money to operate, but I still feel that our society could really benefit from open source alternatives.


    Thanks for your post about such an important, emerging topic.

    -Erin

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  4. MrsFordOctober 10, 2012 at 7:17 PM

    Hi Erin,

    Thank you so much for your feedback. Currently, a lot of the MOOCS out there are in relation to techy subjects but hopefully that will expand in the near future. I agree with you that sometimes we just want to learn for the sake of learning (we are SO teachers) and enrolling in a couple thousand dollar course is just not in the cards for us. So glad you enjoyed reading my blog posting.

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  5. AnonymousOctober 11, 2012 at 1:04 PM

    First, I love your sarcasm.

    I have been interested in looking at these free university courses on line. I think (THINK)once my degree is finished here at UCF I might look into these. I mean, my time is valuable and all...but a free class from some of the top universities in the world? Who could pass it up!?

    Expanding open source classes and resources wouldn't be a bad thing, would it? I mean, just because it is available doesn't mean everyone will take advantage. And it may just be that extra spark...FREE spark that piques the interest of a student who is on the fence with college or graduate school.

    I would like to see schools actually offer college credit in the future...but then that would lead to free education. And we wouldn't want everyone to get educated for free, now would we? After all, you and I are paying for this class (at least I am).

    Thanks for the entertaining post!

    Mike

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  6. AryOctober 12, 2012 at 11:30 AM

    Education is the key to the future. As long as it is being monitored and we are getting it for free, why not take advatage of it. I am sure that these big universities are tracking the free courses. They are not going to risk having their reputation tainted in any way. Unfortunately not everyone will take advantage of this opportunity.

    Thank you for sharing.

    If you have a chance please comment on my post.

    ReplyDelete

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