MOOCs for Credit

           As someone who falls more in-line with the constructivist point of view, in my opinion, learning occurs through learner experiences, and how those experiences are connected with prior knowledge.  As such, the best learning experiences are those in which the learner has the opportunity to engage with the content material and interact with others.  I do not necessarily think that the definition of learning changes meaning based upon the type of learning environment in which it occurs.  Learning within a MOOC environment occurs in the same manner as learning in a traditional class setting.  Learning is learning, and I think learning can occur almost anywhere, when designed properly. With little actual MOOC experience, I do worry about the rigor that is available in MOOCs.  If a MOOC course is simply watch a video and pass a test, then I would place little value in the learning experiences. I think there is a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of these MOOC instructors to ensure that they are generating a constructivists learning environment.

            The issue of course credit seems to be a pivotal one for MOOCs as they move forward.  Although I would like to think that people will attend college simply for the love of learning, truth be told, many students (probably even myself) would not go if they were not able to obtain the necessary credentials needed for their career.  The reality is that credit for learning is important.  I think this is why MOOCs have such a low completion rate to this point.  I believe that in order for MOOCs to become a fixture in the online education environment, a solidified credentialing structure will need to be established.  To me, this is what makes this new push for awarding transfer credit for learning through MOOCs so appealing.  I think this is a positive step in the right direction for MOOCs; although think there are several hurdles that will need to be cleared. 

            While reading for this week’s assignment, I became particularly interested in reading about those institutions which are awarding transfer credit to students who can demonstrate prior learning (Rivard, 2013).  The prior learning portfolios that demonstrate student knowledge is a fascinating concept, and I have never heard of it being used quite like this before.  Fain (2012) described a process known as prior learning assessment which allows students to receive credit for college-level learning outside of the traditional setting.  While I think this is great, I can foresee a series of hurdle that could be problematic in the quest towards offering MOOC credentials.  As Krause (2012) pointed out, the “credit for prior experience” mentality is one that utilized by those institution which he labels as diploma mills.  To me, it appears like it will be difficult to determine the level of rigor in these assessments, making it difficult to determine whether to award credit. 

References

Fain, P. (2012, June 15). Making it count. Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/06/15/earning-college-credit-moocs-through-prior-learning-assessment

Krause, S. (2012, June 15). Moocs and “prior learning assessment”making it count. Retrieved from http://stevendkrause.com/2012/06/15/moocs-and-prior-learning-assessment/http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/06/15/earning-college-credit-moocs-through-prior-learning-assessment

Rivard, R. (2013, August 8). Rubber hits the road. Retrieved from http://stevenhttp://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/08/researchers-wait-see-if-students-want-transfer-credits-moocsdkrause.com/2012/06/15/moocs-and-prior-learning-assessment/http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/06/15/earning-college-credit-moocs-through-prior-learning-assessment

Monetizing MOOCs

         As I stated in an earlier posts for this class, I don’t think that MOOCs will bring about the end of brick and mortar higher education institutions.  However, I do think that they could provide competition that could force the traditional higher education institutions to alter their business models in order to remain competitive.   Regardless of whether MOOCs ultimately materialize as a stable educational opportunity, their presence in the educational industry, just like the emergence of online institutions, could affect the traditional institutions.  As Salerno (2012) points out, MOOCs have a fatal flaw at this point; in most MOOCs, students do not earn any credentials for completed coursework, which is a factor in why many students attend college.  Unless this flaw can be resolved in a way that does not place the financial burden on the students, MOOCs will remain limited in their potential impact.  To this point, it seems unlikely that MOOCs offered through companies such as Courseara and Udacity, among other, will forever be available to students at no cost.  As Dellarocas (2013) bluntly stated, “MOOCs lose money”.  At some point in time, it seems logical to assume that the financial investors for these projects will require a return on their investments.  At that point, the future of MOOCs is unclear. No one knows exactly how MOOCs will become monetized (Holmes, 2013).  The ideas for monetizing MOOCs are varied and plenty.  There are options to have MOOCs charge students for additional resources such as library resources and tutoring.  In addition, charging students for a certificate of completion is a viable option as well.  Regardless of exactly how the MOOC phenomenon evolves, it seems likely that they could lose their greatest appeal; free cost to students. 

            Last year I created an online course using Blackboard Learn as part of a course assignment.  I wanted to see how easily I could export that course into CourseSites, so I created an account today.  The export process was simple, and it seems to offer all of the functionality of Blackboard Learn.  I think that this product would have great potential in a MOOC environment, assuming you have no more than five classes you need to teach (the maximum number of courses allowed).

Resources

Dellarocas, C. (2013, August). Money models for moocs. Communications of the ACM, 56(8), 25-28.

Holmes, D. (2013, August 22). How will the moocs make money?. Retrieved from http://pandodaily.com/2013/08/22/infographic-how-will-the-moocs-make-money/

Salerno, C. (2012, August 9). Bitter reality of mooconomics. Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/08/09/real-economics-massive-online-courses-essay

Paradigm Shift or Merely Another Blip?

            With the increasing number of MOOCs being offered by higher education institutions around the globe, many within academia have debated the potential impact that MOOCs will have on the traditional higher educational model.  On one side, there have been many MOOC proponents publishing articles and posting to web sites and blogs that have proclaimed MOOCs as the harbinger of revolution (Friedman, 2012).  Many of these scholars site the altruistic potential of MOOCs to provide quality learning experiences to people that otherwise would lack the opportunity (Sharma, 2013).  In addition, Chahine (2012) points out that the MOOC initiative is rapidly multiplying, and labeled 2012 as the year of the MOOC.

            In contrast, there is also no shortage of scholars who are skeptical that the emergence of MOOCs will usher in a new era of higher learning.   Sharma (2013), among others applaud the altruistic nature of MOOCs, but describe the disruptive belief in the MOOC revolution as delusional.  According to Sharma (2013), despite the inherit goodness of the altruistic benefits; there are still unresolved complications that have arisen concerning how thousands of students can be taught within in a single class.  In addition, he sites the extensive use of video recorded lectures as a primary method of instruction as one example of inherent problems with the design and delivery of MOOCs.  In addition, Kolowich sites other concerns with MOOCs, including the “increasing political, regulatory, administrative and faculty barriers” (2013) that have arisen, which have started to limit the freedom that is at the core of the MOOC phenomenon.

            In my opinion, MOOCs have great potential to deliver learning opportunities to a vast audience globally.  However, I do not think that the MOOC phenomenon will evolve into a real disturbance of the higher educational model as we know it.  Just as online education has developed into a viable method of education; within a niche, but it has not diminished the need for the traditional educational setting.  I can easily view the future of MOOCs in a similar fashion.  I believe that MOOCs could potentially develop into viable option for offering learning opportunities for people that might not have the opportunity to attend a traditional college, but due to the extensive cost of offering MOOCs, and serious concerns regarding the validity of teaching thousands of people at once, I believe the limitations they face will prevent them from dramatically altering higher education.

References

Chahine, T. (2012, December 27). Pushing moocs the last mile. Retrieved from http://chhttp://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/pushing_moocs_the_last_mileronicle.com/article/MOOCs-May-Not-Be-So-Disruptive/140965/

Friedman, T. (2012, May 15). Come the revolution. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/opinion/friedman-come-the-revolution.html?_r=2&

Kolowich, S. (2013, August 8). The mooc 'revolution' may not be as disruptive as some had imagined. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/MOOCs-May-Not-Be-So-Disruptive/140965/

Sharma, S. (2013, July 15). A mooc delusion: Why visions to educate the world are absurd. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogs/worldwise/a-mooc-delusion-why-visions-to-educate-the-world-are-absurd/32599

Types of MOOCs: xMOOCs & cMOOCs

                                                Types of MOOCs:                                               

xMOOCs & cMOOCs

            With the development of the MOOC phenomenon moving at a rapid pace, experts in the field have now created two distinct classifications of MOOCs commonly offered by MOOC providers.  XMOOCs and cMOOCs are the two terms mentioned among academic circles, and they are primarily distinguished by the style of learning theory upon which they are created.

            The term cMOOCs was selected as a label to indicate a specific type of MOOC that emphasizes the connectivist learning philosophy. According to Downes (2012), connectivist learning theory maintains that “learning is the creation and removal of connections between the entities, or the adjustment of the strengths of those connections”. Within the cMOOC environment, the teacher is not the center of attention.  Breaking away from the traditional centralized instructional model where the professor is the holder of knowledge, and transfers that knowledge to students, cMOOCs employ more decentralized learning experiences that foster an environment in which the students act as both the teacher and student.  Typically, students engage in joint teaching ventures in which collaboration and social networking between faculty members and students is a key component of learning.  George Siemens, an expert in the field of MOOCS states that “these MOOCs are structured in such a way as to emphasize creativity, student autonomy and social networked learning” (Freedom, 2013).  According to Caulfield (2013), cMOOC communities have a greater chance to persist beyond the end of the course and do meaningful things. 

            In contrast, xMOOCs is a term that is often used to describe the type of course that is most commonly associated with the courses offered by Courses, Udacity and edX (Moe, 2012).  This current breed of hyper-centralized courses are distinguishable from the cMOOCs by the more teacher centered approach they employ (Caulfield, 2013).  In the xMOOC environment, learning opportunities are more focused around the instructors, whom commonly utilize recorded videos, quizzes and tutorials.  This type of instruction commonly fosters less interactivity and more independent study.   Many critics of the xMOOC structure point out that they typically lack the robust sense of community typically found in cMOOCs, which have been lauded as meaningful and capable of establishing connections that persist even after the course is complete (Caulfield, 2013). 

            The video embedded below is a description of cMOOCs provided by Jeannie Crowley.

 

References

Caulfield, M. (2013, July 11). xmooc communities should learn from cmoocs. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/blogs/mcaulfield/xmooc-communities-should-learn-cmoocs

Crowley, J. (Performer) (n.d.). cmoocs: Jeannie crowley [DVD]. Available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13ZLVa-AY8o&feature=youtube

Downes on connectivism and connective knowledge. (2012, May 21). Retrieved from http://www.connectivism.ca/

Freedom, D. (2013, April 29). xmooc vs. cmooc. Retrieved from http://degreeoffreedom.org/xmooc-vs-cmooc/

Moe, R. (2012). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://allmoocs.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/mooc-or-xmooc/

Siemens, G. (2013, September 3). How Large Systems Change. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/