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Colleen van Lent
The decision to complete a course is very dependent upon why you are taking a course. For instance, if you are taking a course for self-enrichment, or to answer a particular question, you may not need to complete the course to obtain benefit from it. I often start crossword puzzles, but I rarely complete them. I am still proud of myself for trying. I would worry about incentivizing course completion… are we here to provide access to education or meet benchmarks? I vote for the former. Someone who watches every video but never completes an assignment may have achieved their definition of success in the course. While someone else who watches none of the videos but works out the exercises may have obtained everything that she needs to master the concepts.
As far as evaluating how good a MOOC is, this is still a big question mark. A single success metric is not possible for many reasons. For instance, no course can provide the same experience for everyone taking it. There are too many different learner motivations to evaluate a MOOC with a single score. Some people are looking for exposure to new ideas, some are looking for specific job-related training, etc. My only advice is to explore the many different options and be clear about your goals when you ask for recommendations.
I think the new micro Masters courses under development are an interesting new twist and clearly a response to students’ desires for something with established rigor. They are offered by a handful of universities and you can see more about one at the University of Michigan School of Information here.
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The decision to complete a course is very dependent upon why you are taking a course. For instance, if you are taking a course for self-enrichment, or to answer a particular question, you may not need to complete the course to obtain benefit from it. I often start crossword puzzles, but I rarely complete them. I am still proud of myself for trying. I would worry about incentivizing course completion… are we here to provide access to education or meet benchmarks? I vote for the former. Someone who watches every video but never completes an assignment may have achieved their definition of success in the course. While someone else who watches none of the videos but works out the exercises may have obtained everything that she needs to master the concepts.
As far as evaluating how good a MOOC is, this is still a big question mark. A single success metric is not possible for many reasons. For instance, no course can provide the same experience for everyone taking it. There are too many different learner motivations to evaluate a MOOC with a single score. Some people are looking for exposure to new ideas, some are looking for specific job-related training, etc. My only advice is to explore the many different options and be clear about your goals when you ask for recommendations.
- I am looking for a course that can teach me skill X
- I am looking for a course that will expose me to general new ideas…
- I want a hands-on course that focuses on…
- I enjoy courses with peer-graded assignments, anyone have a recommendation?
- I dislike having to interact with others, can you recommend a course in …?
I think the new micro Masters courses under development are an interesting new twist and clearly a response to students’ desires for something with established rigor. They are offered by a handful of universities and you can see more about one at the University of Michigan School of Information here.
See Questions On Quora
Continue reading...
