Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are an evolving system where large numbers (can be unlimited) of students can enrol in a free course. For adult education in general (lifelong learning), this is an amazing trend and opportunity for academic (and non academic) learning without commitment or fear. There are many positives in this for academia – students can be directed to short MOOCs for homework or background information, additional support for challenging topics and increased understanding of a topic with decreased focus for the instructor. This could allow more opportunity for implementation of the flipped classroom model (not discussed in this blog, but look for a future one!). To best prepare for this trend, educators like myself would benefit from signing up and trying a few of these courses on the topic they teach. I recently was directed to a MOOC on geriatric pharmacology as there are new best practices in the field. I was initially apprehensive but found it to be exceptional in its content, presentation and applicability.
In preparing for this blog, I reviewed the following article:
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2013/8/the-adult-learner-and-moocs
The article outlines the history of MOOCS, and specifically focuses on the benefits in some educational programs (in this case Computer Programming) of directing students to take introductory MOOCs before commencing their program. They found there was a higher percentage of success for students who carried on in the program – so much so, they began offering a small credit to students upon completion of the MOOC. Additionally, according to the article, adult learners seem to be more successful in this type of learning because it can be self paced with no demands for assignments, making it attractive to adult learners who are working with full time commitments. The article goes on to describe some options for assigning credit for MOOCs but stresses how degrees could be obtained for decreased cost if this model was followed. Overall – an informative, positive article.
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