The exponential technological advancement that has
characterised the past century has seen educational institutions change
dramatically, with the contemporary classroom crammed full of gadgetry that
largely, in my opinion, is yet to entirely justify its implementation. Massive
open online courses, or MOOCs, attempt to break free of traditional teaching
techniques by removing the classroom entirely, providing a non-linear learning
experience that harnesses the wealth of information available via the internet.
Cormier (2010) concisely characterises MOOCs in the video below, so there is no
need to comment on it’s content other than to note the obvious technological
optimism that I believe is both the driver for the widespread utilisation of
MOOCs and the reason they will not be as revolutionary as some believe.
Countless courses are available online through a number of
providers, ranging from start-ups such as OpenClass (Pearson 2012) to respected
institutions like M.I.T. (Goldberg 2001) and Harvard (Ho et al 2014). The noble
notion of disseminating knowledge as broadly as possibly resonated with
academics at M.I.T. when MOOCs were first theorized (Goldberg 2001), but more
than 10 years on, the first year of Harvard and M.I.T.s open online courses
doesn’t seem to be as ‘massive’ as planned. While 841,687 individual
registrations across 16 subjects is indeed massive, this number dwarves the
43,196 total certifications that resulted (Ho et al 2014, pp.14), and this has
been offered FOR FREE by two of the most respected academic institutions in the
world!
Ho et al’s (2014, pp.2) report into this project’s first
year points out that a large number of non-certified registrants accessed
substantial amounts of course content, and I think this is the key area where
MOOCs have missed their mark, but have the potential to be a valuable resource
nonetheless. Nathan highlighted the research habits of the digital generation
in his seminar presentation, noting that the average dwell time on W3 Schools
is a measly 6-minutes, suggesting that participants seek specific information
and participate only until it is found.
I believe that those seeking information independently do
not wish to have their hand held through the research process, rather using
their skills to quickly find the information they seek in a particular resource,
and then leave. I would argue that for this reason, the intensive environment
created by physical contact in traditional education (Goldberg 2001) is the
only way to nurture completion in those who are anything but 100%
self-motivated. I can envisage MOOCs becoming a valuable supplementary resource
or an educational avenue for those without access to more traditional forms, but
believe that the overload of information presented (ironically demonstrated by The
Chronicle of Higher Education 2014) will continue to be off-putting and hinder
growth in completion rates.
References:
Cormier, D 2010, What
is a Mooc, online video, 8 December, University of Prince Edward Island,
viewed 15 April 2014, <http://youtu.be/eW3gMGqcZQc>
Goldberg, C 2001, ‘Auditing Classes at M.I.T., on the Web
and Free’, The New York Times, April
4, viewed 16 April 2014, <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/04/us/auditing-classes-at-mit-on-the-web-and-free.html?src=pm>
Ho, AD, Reich, J, Nesterko, S, Seaton, DT, Mullaney, T,
Waldo, J & Chuang, I 2014, ‘HarvardX and MITx: The First Year of Open
Online Courses’, HarvardX Research
Committee at Harvard University and the Office of Digital Learning at MIT,
viewed 16 April 2014, <http://ssrn.com/abstract=2381263>
JoinOpenClass 2012, OpenClass
2012, online video, 9 November, Pearson Learning Solutions, viewed 14 April
2014, <http://youtu.be/S5sgoo9uWJ0>
What You Need To Know
About MOOCs 2014, The Chronicle of Higher Education, viewed 16 April 2014,
<http://chronicle.com/article/What-You-Need-to-Know-About/133475/>
