Massive Open Online Course: Where will they lead us…
Photo Copyright: http://edudemic.com/2012/10/moocs-past-present-future/
MOOCs: Are these Massive Open Online Courses simply a catchphrase that will someday fade away like the laserdisc and Disco? Or are MOOCs a permanent fixture in our future education? As Dunn’s article points out, MOOCs will likely lead to more startup schools that will compete with current teaching standards. More competition will create more options, including for-profit MOOC options and companies who build MOOCs for institutions or even run the MOOCs for institutions. Yet, this article also hints that there is a possibility that we could drown in the MOOC technology and end up coming back to our current ways. Mazoue’s article points that MOOCs won’t really take off until they can lead to a degree from an accredited institution. That is in the works, but we aren’t there yet. So do we board up the brick and mortar schools and go 100% online with MOOCs? Dunn does not foresee this being the case, at least not in this lifetime. Mazoue does point out that MOOC’s do help higher education with their current issue of “access and cost”. Writing that MOOCs could help institutions with tuition increases and reaching out to broader audiences. While this is good news, the big question about MOOCs is their quality. Are MOOC courses of the same quality as instructor-led courses? Mazoue even states that brick and mortar intuitions have something that MOOCs cannot easily duplicate, that is “socialization and networking opportunities”. While MOOCs won’t bring an end to traditional learning as we know it, it will lead to “Precision-built MOOCs” that will integrate with traditional course work all leading to a degree.
One option will be along the lines of a MOOC2Degree http://bcove.me/nwtcjvxz. This idea isn’t so different from the curent practice of attending a 2 year community college with the intention of moving into a four year degree institution. In fact, that is how I (Tamara) paid for my undergrad education. The four-year college I wanted to attend had a partnership program with the local community college. Upon acceptance, I had a pre-planned course track that would ensure my acceptance into the four year college at the junior level (of course I had to have a certain GPA). That saved me tens of thousands of dollars and I still received a BA from the four-year college. Just for kicks I went to my old community college website to see if they were still offering that program and found that they are: http://www.monroecc.edu/auditsheets.nsf/Welcome?OpenPage. I found it interesting though that the program information was buried deep within the website. I would have thought that it was a huge selling point for attending that community college.
Bill Gates has an interesting take on the subject: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1399136188?bctid=1706796439001 He brings up the point that right now what is important to education is directly related to what is important to businesses. And he goes no to say that right now businesses place a heavy focus on degrees – and if fact some candidates are not considered for positions because they lack the degree – positions that they may have the knowledge and expertise required. So he proposes that what we need to think about is a move toward needing to prove your knowledge rather than HOW you acquired your knowledge. I find that very apropos of the discussion considering he himself only has a high school education. And with that line of thinking, whether or not MOOCs carried credits would be a moot point.
Referenced Articles
Dunn, J. (2012, October 04). 5 Potential Ways MOOCs Will Evolve. Retrieved from edudemic: http://edudemic.com/2012/10/moocs-past-present-future/
Mazoue, J. (2013, January 28). The MOOC Model: Challenging Traditional Education. Retrieved from Educause Review: http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/mooc-model-challenging-traditional-education
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Issues and Trends in Media 
You raise some good points. In particularly, should we get jobs based on knowledge or paperwork. How can you demonstrate knowledge without a paper trail of degrees, transcripts, etc. As I work through this program and look at jobs, employers are more interested in my experience and products than actual GPA. As business become more involved in education, such as evidenced by the development of the Common Core and the recent musings of Gov. McCrory, this could change.
However, one thing the paper degree and transcript do represent is discipline. The concept of actually doing the work in a timely fashion is important. I could have an awesome portfolio, but what if it took me years to do it? Employers want employees who will complete work in a timely manner. Having to deal with lateness of employee’s work ethics takes time away that could be used more productively.
Good thoughts here! There is a lot to think about with what you are finding out. I agree that MOOC’s really do have to have some sort of carrot at the end of the stick (i.e. a degree) before they can really take off, as was expressed in this posting. The fact that these could also fall into the world of for-profit is something to think about since often the educations from a for profit organization are not seen as highly as one from an established university.
I liked your thoughts and am personally quite fascinated to see what becomes of MOOCs over the years. I really like the idea from Bill Gates that one needs to prove their knowledge, not where they got the knowledge from. Where I live overseas the WHERE is what really matters. Employers never check transcripts (I don’t even think such a thing exists, people just graduate and get a diploma). No one seems to require any sort of CEUs for anything. All that matters is that you got a degree and you got it from a good school. No one cares how hard you worked or how much you learned or whether you are still trying to learn. MOOCs require that people have a desire to learn and the opportunity to prove that knowledge if MOOCs are going to be successful.
I like – and agree- with Bill Gates on this one…
Many (or most) of us work in jobs we would not be able to work in without a college education. We wouldn’t have met the basic standards for an interview. However, I find it troubling that there are sometimes educated professionals without a lick of intelligence. I have “a friend” who works in an a school system with department leaders who have earned graduate degrees and cannot write grammatically correct emails – or cannot multiply three digit numbers. So the degree can get you in the door- which is what Bill Gates is saying – but can it keep you there?
There is a lot to be said for leadership, management and the difference between the two.
The point about “what is important in education is directly related to what is important to business” is a statement that is very true. It has been that way since factories needed disciplined workers, who responded to bells and walked in lines. The current trend in education is pushing more advanced material for children to learn and pushing students to gain common computer skills at much younger ages. It will be interesting to see how businesses will respond to the applicant pool when today’s kindergartens are looking to begin their careers.
Great feedback everyone. And yes, it is true that the degree often gets you in the door. The scary thing is to think about the surgeon who graduate, but did so by “just meeting” the minimum requirements. I don’t know, should we start asking our surgeons where the ranked in their class or what their GPAs were? I certainly don’t wan the slacker operating on me. ; )