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Old December 16th, 2013 #1
Hellenic Pagan
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Default The MOOC Conversation

The MOOC Conversation

Filed under: Citizenship, Nationalism & Identity by kkothari — Leave a comment November 22, 2012

MOOCs. While you may not be familiar with that term, you likely have heard about distance learning. MOOC stands for ‘massive online open courses,’ led by names like Coursera, EdX, and Udacity. In the past, much of online education was tied to a single university or academic institution. Now MOOCs represent collaborations between universities and a commitment to make course lectures and materials available to anyone, anywhere and usually free of charge. The proliferation of these opportunities is calling into question traditional education delivery and what global access can mean for individuals, institutions, and nations.

Coursera boasts courses from 33 institutions (most within the US) and is now in talks with the American Council on Education (ACE) to accredit their course offerings. TechCrunch discusses the possibility of this “School-Less Revolution;” accreditation could mean that the first two years of higher education, usually core introductory courses, could plausibly be completed online and at nominal cost. Similar to Advanced Placement courses, ACE accredited work could be accepted at over 2,000 institutions in the US. Online lectures not only could reach more students but change the teaching model of many universities which have historically touted their low student to teacher ratios as a sign of quality.

So what does this all mean? Well, I think it means that the way higher education is conceived is changing. Institutions, already global brands, will continue their international reach and shed national identities. For many students, the limiting factors in pursuing further education are access and cost, especially for students coming to the US, as they are not eligible for financial aid. Cost has implications for both domestic and international students as private universities are often prohibitively expensive. If you only need to fund 2 years versus 4 then it might be in the reach of a broader audience.

From what I have read, institutions seem to be mixed about the potential effects. Universities like MIT, Harvard, and Stanford are committed to opening their resources to the global community. However, I think the accreditation discussion will challenge them more than just sharing resources. Some institutions may feel threatened by the MOOC offerings, worrying about their enrollment numbers and budgets. Beyond altering the domestic landscape, MOOCs are increasingly being accessed by students across the globe.

In August, Coursera posted in its blog that 61.5% of its enrolled users were based outside the US. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are all in the top 7 for enrollment but students have logged on from a total of 196 countries (including the US). MOOCs, especially coursework accredited MOOCs, will change the way the world interacts with higher learning.

Currently many courses offer a certificate of completion which can beneficial in the job market, especially abroad. NPR recently reported about a student in Kazakhstan who after completing some Stanford coursework received multiple job offers in the capital, Almaty.

How will institutions outside the US view platforms like Coursera? Well, these platforms could be seen as an opportunity or a challenge to the identity of national institutions. Universities might be very reluctant to accept credit for distance learning, seeing them as a threat to their institutions or as translating Western values.

There also might be the consideration that this will assist students in leaving the country, another form of brain drain. If students can access materials and instruction online – and free – then what would draw them to the local university? I would hope that these resources, together, will strengthen a broad range of academic institutions.

But we will have to wait and see. MIT’s Technology Review recently published an article about a Professor in El Salvador using the EdX online platform to supplement his institution’s offerings, holding hallway experiments to further demonstrate online lessons. He discusses that, especially in the technical fields, what might be locally offered is outdated compared to other international curriculum. This professor, acting like a local course teaching assistant, is doing so without the explicit backing of his university, and the article expresses the concern that these online offerings may be threatening to less competitive institutions.

For my purposes, I am likely to use online courses as a supplement and a means of continuing education. The opportunity to explore interests and mold coursework around busy schedules is too tempting to pass up. However, I am a committed face to face learner and I don’t think online courses can ever fully replace the experience of being in the physical classroom. The ad hoc discussions, late night study benders, and receiving help from classmates when visibly distressed are some of the features hard to replicate online and have been instrumental in becoming who I am in and out of the classroom.

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