Massive Open Online Courses as a Revolution - Essay Example

Massive Open Online s (MOOCs) Massive open online describes web technologies that have enabled to develop virtual classrooms made up of thousands of learners. Many MOOCs usually incorporate aspects such as 10-20 minute lectures that have built-in quizzes, weekly assignments that are auto-graded, and instructor-moderated discussion forums. According to Selingo (2014), MOOCs came into the spotlight in the year 2011, and they promised a revolution in the way higher education was offered in terms of expanded access and reduced costs. Since then, companies such as edX, Coursera, and Udacity have developed MOOCs in collaboration with major institutions of higher learning. Usually, participants of a MOOC can be learners who are enrolled at a particular institution or any individual with internet access. Dr. Karen Head, an assistant professor at the School of Literature, Media and Communication in Georgia Institute of Technology, and a New York Times OP-ED Columnist Thomas Friedman seem to agree and disagree on a number of aspects that concern the MOOCs. While the former presents an objective look at the subject, the latter is quite optimistic about the whole idea surrounding the MOOCs. Both authors seem to agree to the fact that MOOCs are a noble idea that can revolutionize the education sector in terms of expanded access and reduced costs. For example, in her article “Lessons Learned from a Freshman-Composition MOOC”, Head (2013) observes that about 21,934 students enrolled for the freshman composition course. This is quite a huge number of students receiving the course, which would have otherwise been restricted to few tens of students if it was to be offered in a traditional classroom setting. In Inside a MOOC in Progress, Head (2013) observes that with the application of tools such as Google Maps, students can be reached on every continent. Friedman refers to MOOCs as a revolution. In his article Revolution hits the Universities, Friedman (2013) notes that MOOCs have a huge potential in unlocking many more brains in solving the world’s pressing problems. However, the two authors seem to present different views on the effectiveness and practicability of MOOCs on the ground. First, Dr. Head observes that while many students enroll for the MOOCs, the retention rates are terrible. For example, out of the 21,934 students who had enrolled for the freshman composition course, about 14,771 of them were active in the course, but only 238 students managed to receive a completion certificate, (Head, 2013). Receiving the completion certificate meant that the students had completed all their assignments and their scores were satisfactory. Dr. Head attributes the terrible retention rates to a number of factors. One, many students had difficulties coping with the technology. For example, in the final assignment, students were expected to create a video presentation on the basis of a personal belief or philosophy. For this reason, some students opted against completing the assignment for cultural or privacy reasons, (Head, 2013). At the same time, students who became part of the course after the second week did not have a mechanism of peer review since the due date for an assignment might have passed, meaning that they could not pass it. Friedman (2013) mentions the aspect of high enrollment rates, noting that in a couple of months, about 2.4 million students are taking 214 courses from about 33 universities, up from the 300,000 students who were taking 38 courses at Stanford University. However, while Friedman (2013) acknowledges that only a small number of students complete the course, there is conviction that in five years, many more students will be able to complete the course. It is however important to note that Friedman does not offer any insights into how MOOCs will ensure that more students complete their respective courses. Dr. Head seems hold the view that MOOCs are not yet there in terms of content delivery. In her article, she observes that from her experiences with the MOOC on freshman composition, communication and writing instructors would not rush to adopting MOOCs. According to Head (2013), technology lacks for courses in subject areas which demand strong qualitative evaluation requirements such as writing. In her experience, Dr. Head noted that content delivery maybe affected by the platform for course delivery used. The reason is because while the platform could be made by excellent programmers, it is highly likely that these people have never been instructors before, thus making platform functionality arbitrary. This also limits the instructor from making crucial pedagogical choices. However, Friedman chooses to look at the MOOCs on a different perspective other than content delivery. He notes online courses provide a platform whereby students from different parts of the world, different geographies and different income levels can engage in discussions that offer more insights other than the traditional course content. For example, Friedman (2013) speaks of a Princeton professor, Mitch Duneier, who after adopting a MOOC on a sociology lesson ended up receiving overwhelming feedback on his sociological ideas than he had ever received during his time teaching the traditional Princeton campus class. Another aspect of differing opinion regards the details of a MOOC. Dr. Head goes into the details that entail the planning and execution of a MOOC. In assessing the resources and personnel required by the project, Head (2013) is of the view that no institution can be deemed to be ready for the complete implementation of a MOOC. A MOOC is quite demanding. For example, unlike a traditional course, preparation of a MOOC requires working with IT specialists, instructional designers, videographers, and platform specialists, (Head, 2013). There is also the question of accreditation. This arises because the evaluation methods used in MOOCs and those used in traditional classes are quite different. While Head notes that the content delivered using MOOCs is not necessarily inferior to that delivered in traditional classes, evaluation of the many students is not adequate and poses a challenge. According to Head (2013), MOOCs also lack the connection that an instructor has with students in a traditional classroom. Other details of concern include personal safety and privacy whereby an instructor can be exposed to cyberstalking. However, while avoiding the details, Friedman (2013) observes that by universities leveraging the internet and technology, MOOCs are a sure way of perfecting the procedure of obtaining credible credentials that are devoid of cheating and that can be useful to employers. Friedman’s thinking is that one day, an individual will be able to create his or her own university degree by pursuing the best online courses from anywhere in the world. For example, a student can pursue ethics from Brandeis, computing from Stanford, literature from Edinburgh, and entrepreneurship from Wharton while only paying a nominal fee for the completion certificates, (Friedman, 2013). Despite these differences, it is important to note that MOOCs will certainly change the manner in which course content is delivered to students. References Friedman, L.T. (2013) Revolution Hits the Universities. The New York Times, Jan 26, 2013. Head, K. (2013) Massive Open Online Adventure. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 29 April, 2013. Head, K. (2013) Lessons Learned from a Freshman-Composition MOOC. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 06 September, 2013. Read More