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Ben Y. Zhao
There are some great insights in the answers already here, and they cover quite the spectrum of opinions and observations. I'm unlikely to offer much new, but will try my best.
It's probably fairly obvious from my other answers that I'm a skeptic of MOOCs, not of the technology itself, but in the ridiculous expectations and hype that it has been associated with. It certainly has great uses, most obviously just spreading knowledge to the masses, especially to those who lack the educational infrastructure to learn the subjects otherwise. In essence, it's a great equalizer of sorts in the education realm, and in that sense I am a big proponent.
In the case of college applications, I just don't see MOOCs playing a direct role. Having taken a MOOC says nothing about an applicant other than that he/she has the initiative and time to take another (perhaps relatively light-loaded) class. In terms of commitment, energy/time spent, and even possibly knowledge gained, I would personally give the nod to an applicant who took evening classes from their community college or local university. Relative to those in-person courses, MOOCs require less commitment and initiative, and on average, probably give the applicant less in return.
What might be MOOCs good for? I think they're great as a tool to get to where the applicant wants to be. For example, a student who is passionate about building systems might want to showcase their interest by talking about the cool Android app they built leveraging ML and data mining, and a MOOC on ML could have been helpful on the way there. Someone who is passionate about economics might take a MOOC on basic macroeconomics on their way to a new research project on financial markets. I think MOOCs are a means to an end, and not useful by itself.
One final point. High school students today are so busy filling their daily schedules with charities, sports, and different organizations and clubs. If I'm advising an aspiring HS junior planning to apply to top schools next fall, I'd say take your precious remaining time, and pursue your passions out of the classroom instead. If you do something meaningful, charity involvement in something close to your heart, or leadership in some other activity, that will likely be a far better return on your time investment than a MOOC, at least in the context of college admissions.
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There are some great insights in the answers already here, and they cover quite the spectrum of opinions and observations. I'm unlikely to offer much new, but will try my best.
It's probably fairly obvious from my other answers that I'm a skeptic of MOOCs, not of the technology itself, but in the ridiculous expectations and hype that it has been associated with. It certainly has great uses, most obviously just spreading knowledge to the masses, especially to those who lack the educational infrastructure to learn the subjects otherwise. In essence, it's a great equalizer of sorts in the education realm, and in that sense I am a big proponent.
In the case of college applications, I just don't see MOOCs playing a direct role. Having taken a MOOC says nothing about an applicant other than that he/she has the initiative and time to take another (perhaps relatively light-loaded) class. In terms of commitment, energy/time spent, and even possibly knowledge gained, I would personally give the nod to an applicant who took evening classes from their community college or local university. Relative to those in-person courses, MOOCs require less commitment and initiative, and on average, probably give the applicant less in return.
What might be MOOCs good for? I think they're great as a tool to get to where the applicant wants to be. For example, a student who is passionate about building systems might want to showcase their interest by talking about the cool Android app they built leveraging ML and data mining, and a MOOC on ML could have been helpful on the way there. Someone who is passionate about economics might take a MOOC on basic macroeconomics on their way to a new research project on financial markets. I think MOOCs are a means to an end, and not useful by itself.
One final point. High school students today are so busy filling their daily schedules with charities, sports, and different organizations and clubs. If I'm advising an aspiring HS junior planning to apply to top schools next fall, I'd say take your precious remaining time, and pursue your passions out of the classroom instead. If you do something meaningful, charity involvement in something close to your heart, or leadership in some other activity, that will likely be a far better return on your time investment than a MOOC, at least in the context of college admissions.
See Questions On Quora
Continue reading...
