Karen Francis, CEO of AcademixDirect, parent company to CourseTalk, expresses her views on the future of online education.
MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, do not and likely will not replace the traditional college experience. The courses, however, do and will continue to provide learners with a virtually unlimited number of educational options. MOOCs are a valuable asset to the opportunities of blended learning, allow for improved job training, and serve as a resource for global development. Rather than becoming a substitute for a four-year degree, MOOCs are poised to impact and enhance students’ lifelong learning experiences.
Imagine your neuroscience professor has a colleague at a foreign university who specializes in behavioral neuroscience, the current topic of your course. Although unable to travel to campus, with the help of blended learning, your class can listen to this specialist guest lecture and ask questions through an interactive online platform. Students can thus engage with online material and then return to campus to discuss it face-to-face with their professors and peers. MOOCs and the traditional classroom learning may coexist in an innovative way.
In this way, the brick and mortar school can become a sort of “learning village,” a place that brings people together who are learning in completely different ways. MOOCs can guide students through preliminary and intro courses, giving students more time to take higher-level classes. Pre-med students will be able to get basic requirements out of the way, leaving room for a possible second major or an interesting internship.
MOOCs can give students who are unable to study abroad access to highly-regarded foreign professors from around the world, letting French language students hear from an expert in Paris. Although creating your own “MOOC degree” may not currently be a reality, these online courses are beginning to provide learners with personalized educational paths that fit their individual needs.
Beyond higher education, MOOCs put a new spin on vocational training. The importance of on-the-job training cannot be downplayed, but MOOCs provide an alternative to resource-costly orientations and entry-level training programs. The “corporate MOOC” provides for a simpler onboarding process, potentially saving large companies millions of dollars in the long run.
Job-seekers and professionals can also use MOOCs as the solution to a skills gap. Learners can piece together a series of 3-5 courses, for example, to prove competency in a certain area. A student might pay $300 dollars in course certificates for their achievements, much less than they would have had a traditional school. These courses could potentially be the difference in garnering a promotion or landing an important interview.
On a larger scale, countries around the world are investing in MOOCs to strengthen their education offerings. The courses continue to gain in popularity in China and various European countries. The global interest in MOOCs is clear on our website, CourseTalk, an aggregator and review site for online courses. MOOCs have clearly exposed a global audience of eager learners to a vast range of topics.
MOOCs are truly starting to serve as a workforce training solution in many developing countries. Learners from around the world are tapping into a resource that they did not necessarily have access to before. With an internet connection, students can now explore an unlimited amount of high quality information from universities like Harvard and MIT.
The key word here is “enhance”, not “replace.” While traditional distance learning with online degree programs work well for many students, MOOCs serve a different purpose. These courses can and will serve to fill gaps in education worldwide and augment the opportunities currently in place. They will allow for a more personalized and flexible approach to education for many different groups of learners.
Source: http://press.coursetalk.com/post/10...in&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=LinkedIn MOOC
MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, do not and likely will not replace the traditional college experience. The courses, however, do and will continue to provide learners with a virtually unlimited number of educational options. MOOCs are a valuable asset to the opportunities of blended learning, allow for improved job training, and serve as a resource for global development. Rather than becoming a substitute for a four-year degree, MOOCs are poised to impact and enhance students’ lifelong learning experiences.
Imagine your neuroscience professor has a colleague at a foreign university who specializes in behavioral neuroscience, the current topic of your course. Although unable to travel to campus, with the help of blended learning, your class can listen to this specialist guest lecture and ask questions through an interactive online platform. Students can thus engage with online material and then return to campus to discuss it face-to-face with their professors and peers. MOOCs and the traditional classroom learning may coexist in an innovative way.
In this way, the brick and mortar school can become a sort of “learning village,” a place that brings people together who are learning in completely different ways. MOOCs can guide students through preliminary and intro courses, giving students more time to take higher-level classes. Pre-med students will be able to get basic requirements out of the way, leaving room for a possible second major or an interesting internship.
MOOCs can give students who are unable to study abroad access to highly-regarded foreign professors from around the world, letting French language students hear from an expert in Paris. Although creating your own “MOOC degree” may not currently be a reality, these online courses are beginning to provide learners with personalized educational paths that fit their individual needs.
Beyond higher education, MOOCs put a new spin on vocational training. The importance of on-the-job training cannot be downplayed, but MOOCs provide an alternative to resource-costly orientations and entry-level training programs. The “corporate MOOC” provides for a simpler onboarding process, potentially saving large companies millions of dollars in the long run.
Job-seekers and professionals can also use MOOCs as the solution to a skills gap. Learners can piece together a series of 3-5 courses, for example, to prove competency in a certain area. A student might pay $300 dollars in course certificates for their achievements, much less than they would have had a traditional school. These courses could potentially be the difference in garnering a promotion or landing an important interview.
On a larger scale, countries around the world are investing in MOOCs to strengthen their education offerings. The courses continue to gain in popularity in China and various European countries. The global interest in MOOCs is clear on our website, CourseTalk, an aggregator and review site for online courses. MOOCs have clearly exposed a global audience of eager learners to a vast range of topics.
MOOCs are truly starting to serve as a workforce training solution in many developing countries. Learners from around the world are tapping into a resource that they did not necessarily have access to before. With an internet connection, students can now explore an unlimited amount of high quality information from universities like Harvard and MIT.
The key word here is “enhance”, not “replace.” While traditional distance learning with online degree programs work well for many students, MOOCs serve a different purpose. These courses can and will serve to fill gaps in education worldwide and augment the opportunities currently in place. They will allow for a more personalized and flexible approach to education for many different groups of learners.
Source: http://press.coursetalk.com/post/10...in&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=LinkedIn MOOC
