“Ps get degrees” – a saying often used by university students, particularly the younger demographic of those who prefer to skip lectures or class to sleep in after a big night. But hey, students don’t even have to go to class to get a degree nowadays with the emergence of MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses), which are, as explained by the Chronicle of Higher Education, classes taken online by watching short videos and completing tasks that are graded either by machines or by other students.
Enrolling in MOOC has become a popular trend and form of study – often for free, but not for accreditation – while working or doing whatever else full time. All you need is a computer and decent Internet connection and you can take on a MOOC, reiterating my last blog post on Internet access.
However, is this form of online learning a lesser way of education?
Most people find it hard to learn and complete tasks independently, by which I mean not having structured learning or having to attend face-to-face class, especially when they are not paying for it – not to mention little to no help or involvement from professors, lectures and tutors. Sure, MOOC students can work their studies around their job, social life and hobbies, but then study can becomes of less importance, and is why MOOCs have a very poor completion rate as mentioned by Dr. Kate Bowles (2013).
Although one thing that is great about MOOCs is that you can choose exactly what you want to study and how you engage with your studies – self-learning. While it may be somewhat aided, self-learning is a great skill to have nonetheless.
So, to answer my question, yes, I personally believe MOOCs are currently a lesser way of education. But I also believe that it depends on the students approach to an MOOC, and how well time is managed, for it is the key with this self-learning procedure. And I’m sure we can only expect MOOCs to improve and become even more popular, and hopefully more successful in completion, while of course not destroying the current primary face-to-face way of learning.
Reference
Bowles, K 2013, Education-case study, lecture, DIGC335, Cybercultures, University of Wollongong, delivered April 16
What You Need to Know About MOOCs regularly updated, Chronicle of Higher Education, viewed 17 April 2013, http://chronicle.com/article/What-You-Need-to-Know-About/133475/
By Samuel Findlay
Student Number: 3801068
Cybercultures Blog 