The Origin and Development of Massive Open Online Course - Essay Example

The MOOC; Why is it Catching On? Name Instructor’s name Course Institutional affiliation Date Introduction The past decade has seen the globe come into a considerable range of revolutionary technological, political, economical changes. Such changes and shifts have caused us to completely redefine everyday life and the way in which this is conducted. Life is completely different now than it was just ten short years ago, for example, the wave of social media that has taken over and completely revolutionized the ways in which communication is conducted in the world today (Bady 2013, pp 34-35). Owing to the vast technological changes that have come up and continue to take effect, information is now everywhere, usually just a few clicks away. Before the information age we have found ourselves in today, if one needed information, they either took a course in an institution that taught what they needed to know, asked an expert about it, bought a book, or found a ‘do it yourself’ way to achieve their goal. Today, we are facing an information overload where a social media, blogger, or website which is obsessed with any number of topics we may be seeking is just a click away on the Internet (Best 2013). Since information is the bedrock and product which learning institutions have built their businesses upon, the education sector has undoubtedly been affected by this shift. Disciplines and Organizations therefore came up with a way to take advantage of the availability of this free-for-all information by inventing the MOOC. The MOOC is an acronym meaning Massive Open Online Course, and like its name suggests, it is just that- a course. MOOCs are a way for people to take advantage of the heaps of information available online for anyone who cares to look in a systematic and focused way (Educase 2013). Whereas some countries may not have the technological capacity needed to support the implementation of MOOCs yet, they are invaluable if education is to be progressive and remain relevant given that they deal with the internet information overload effectively and make the process of education simpler for all shareholders. This paper will discuss in brief a history of the MOOC and outline some of the changes that have driven their development. The Origin and Development of MOOCs MOOC precursors before the information age came in the form of distance and correspondence learning. By the late 1800s, more than 4 million American Citizens (way more than had attended traditional colleges) enrolled for correspondence courses. These covered a host of job-oriented (white collar) topics, but had a very low completion rate- under 3% (Kett 1996, pp 236-238). Such courses were often promoted by door-to-door salesmen and they encompassed anything ranging from shorthand to civil service tests among others. In the 1920s, the topic of the moment was radio. With the advent of the radio age, there was much discussion over whether or not this avenue could be utilized to offer university courses. By 1922, New York University owned and operated a radio station of its own. Schools such as Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Ohio State, Kansas State, Purdue, and Tufts among others had followed suit. The trend caught on so much so that Bruce Bliven, a journalist, wondered: "Is radio to become a chief arm of education? Will the classroom be abolished, and the child of the future be stuffed with facts as he sits at home or even as he walks about the streets with his portable receiving-set in his pocket?" (Matt & Fernandez 2013). Students in such courses listened to lectures broadcasted over the radio, and read books in order to learn. However, rates of attrition were very high and there was no way in which tuition fees could be collected thus radio courses had almost completely disappeared by 1940. Technology moved along to talking motion pictures in the 1940s. These were used to train multitudes of draftees in the operation of various equipment types in the 2nd world war. A few universities also adopted this technology and televised their courses starting with the University of Louisville in the late 1940s. The industrialization of the education process had taken root by the 1980s and it had become a means through which universities provided their courses to many people (Duffy 1994, p. 5; Kett 1996). The advent and popularization of the Internet in the 1990s brought with it a new platform which once again, the education sector took advantage of. In 1994, an internet seminar was taught by James J. O’Donnell (a University of Pennsylvania affiliate) through email and gopher. The seminar was on the life and works of St. Augustine of Hippo, and attracted over 500 participants from all over the world. By the end of the same year, over a hundred colleges offered undergraduate degree courses through distance learning and there were 150 that offered advanced degrees in the same way (Duffy 1994, p. 5). In April 2007, ALISON (Advance Learning Interactive Systems Online), an Irish- based organization launched its version of the MOOC- free online courses offering workplace skills training and basic education which were supported by advertizing (Daniel 2012). The format that MOOCs use today was developed from Khan Academy’s free archive of instructional videos. The word MOOC was coined by Dave Cormier of the University of Prince Edward Island in 2008. He did this in response to the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK08) course. It consisted of 25 students from the University of Manitoba who paid tuition in addition to more than 2,200 others from the general public who took the course for free over the Internet. The complete contents of the course were available in the form of RSS feeds. Students participated via a range of social and collaborative tools that included blog posts, discussions threaded in Moodle, and online meetings on Second Life (Bady 2013). The first MOOCs developed from open educational resource (OER) movement. Soon after this, other MOOCs sprouted up, and from there on the trend developed. Today, a MOOC is a new means by which students can learn through collaboration and communication over the internet. It is especially more of an event that completely redefines what it means to be a student. Like any other course, it has a star and end date, instructors, and participants. In a MOOC, information is open to all and the course is free for all who want to join. There is no right way to do it, and students choose their own objectives, and their own paths throughout the course. Since there are no assignments or assessments, in the end only the student themselves knows if they have been successful in the course (Creed-Dikeogu 2013; DeJong 2013). They have spread so far so fast that there is now news of them being successful in Rwanda, Africa (Nkuyubwatsi 2013). Changes That Have Driven the Development of the MOOC A major social economic factor that has driven the development of the MOOC is the cost factor. The fact that MOOCs are available free of charge to anyone who is interested is a major promoting factor. It is part of the foundation on which the courses are structured. The financial costs incurred may only be in terms of internet connection which is among the basic requirements to be able to undertake the course. Because the cost is low to nil, MOOCs have opened up Ivy League universities which were previously only open to a select few. Universities are also driven to adopting and promoting the MOOC because they help reduce university running costs. Since universities and other learning institutions are businesses, reduction of running costs means increase in profits which for any business is always the main goal. MOOCs avail courses for people who couldn’t otherwise afford them in a traditional university setting while helping universities increase the profits which they are able to make (Kolowich 2013; Heller 2013). The MOOC is massive in that it attracts large numbers of people. In the fast-paced world of today where people are too busy to spare more than a few hours, we are always looking for ways in which the things we want can be achieved with the fewest inconveniences possible. MOOCs offer a solution to this as they are easily accessible wherever there is an internet connection. As long as the student is able to access the internet, wherever they are is where their class will be (Marginson 2012). With learning institutions facing space constraints as the number of students increase, a solution to this problem is urgently needed. In a traditional classroom, the teacher: student ratio is closely monitored as it is thought to have a large bearing on the quality of learning. While this is true, online courses solve the problem of space limitations and overwhelming of lecturers. Since the audience is a virtual one and each student is responsible for keeping their attention on the instructor and not vice versa, the teacher: student ratio ceases to matter. The MOOC offers a solution to this problem and therefore many universities are quickly adopting this new platform of teaching (MacGregor 2013). MOOCs are massive; they are somewhat limitless, and therefore all inclusive with very few requirements. With learning institutions striving for more inclusive learning environments as a business strategy, the MOOC is one way in which they are able to be more inclusive and serve a more diverse population. However some critics argue that this isn’t the case because certain populations such as in developing countries lack the supporting infrastructure needed- bandwidth and computing software (MacGregor 2013, pp 12-15). This may be somewhat true, but even third world countries such as Rwanda which is already in the process of developing an entirely MOOC-based learning system will beg to differ (Nkuyubwatsi 2013). The Internet age is here and it is taking the entire world by storm. Where the Internet wave has not yet swept over, there are already groundwork plans to rectify this. Part of developing an inclusive education system means that flexibility will be paramount in fulfilling this dream. Our communities and learning institutions are becoming ever more diverse- culturally, physically, and socially. According to Kalantzis and Cope (2008, pp 136-150), it will serve us well to take advantage of the availability of diversity. This will mean developing education strategies that cater to all the learning needs of all students. The MOOC being flexible- it is available in any language, at any time, to anyone, in any form (video, audio, literature, among others), is undoubtedly flexible. No matter what critics say about the MOOC requiring its students to be tech savvy, the MOOC is definitely flexible and simple to use. It is also a collaborative course which means that the students can interact with one another and cover each others’ gaps wherever they may be (Pappano 2012). Today, the technological advancements that have been made and that continue to be made can be overwhelming. Information is now everywhere and learning institutions can no longer claim to be the best sources of knowledge any longer. They must now revise their teaching strategies if the education system is to remain relevant and necessary. Through the MOOC, they are able to take advantage and channel the information available for free online. The staggering amounts of information present on the internet may be seen as a derailment for many educational curricula, but the MOOC provides a means for utilizing the available information in an organized and tangible fashion like any course would. The main function of technology is to reduce the work humans have to do. Because the MOOC is collaborative, the overall workload that the lecturer would have as compared to that of a traditional classroom is less on average. It is no longer an option but a necessity to have online classes, hence the MOOC has its success already packaged and sealed (Bady 2013, pp 34-35). Conclusion In conclusion, the MOOC is a new way of learning in an already super connected world. 2012 was dubbed “The year of the MOOC” by New York Times (Pappano 2012). Collaborative learning is now the way of the future and therefore MOOCs and similar other courses are an inevitable change. There have been many lecturers like Mr. Sedgewick, a professor at Princeton who is getting with the MOOC to avoid being “left out” by the MOOC wave (Kolowich 2013). The MOOC also solves the problem that many educators have always battled with; how do I get my students to participate and be interested in the course? The course is participatory and students seek it out because they are interested in the first place. In the future, if a viable way to earn credits from a MOOC is developed, its place will be cemented in the education sector, and its value be indelible. References Bady, A. (2013). The MOOC bubble and the attack on public education. Academic Matters. 13, Issue 1, pp.34-35. 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Pursuit of Knowledge Under Difficulties: From Self-Improvement to Adult Education in America. pp 236–238. Kolowich, S. (2013). The Chronicle of Higher Education [online]. Available from: . [Accessed October 5th, 2013]. Matt, S. & Fernandez, L. (2013). "Before MOOCs, 'Colleges of the Air'". Chronicle of Higher Education. MacGregor, K. (2013). MOOCs make waves in higher education worldwide. University World News. 40, Issue 288, pp.12-15. Available from: . Accessed: October 4th, 2013. Marginson, S. (2012). Yes, MOOC is the global higher education game changer. University World News. 8, Issue 234, pp.23-25. Available from: . Accessed: October 4th, 2013. Nkuyubwatsi, B. (2013). MOOCs take off in Rwanda: Accreditation, sustainability and quality issues. October 1, 2013. Institute of Learning Innovation Blog [online]. [Accessed October 5th, 2013]. Available from: . Pappano, L. (2012). New York Times [online]. Available from: . [Accessed October 2nd, 2013]. Read More