In which Mudge emerges — perhaps briefly — from hibernation in the candy store to file this report
I’d heard of MOOCs before, of course, but it wasn’t until my own institution entered the fray (a tad late) in January that my curiosity drove me to the coursera site. Once there, I was like the proverbial kid in the candy store. I signed up for a fairly heavy-duty 12-week course offered by my institution, out of interest in the subject matter coupled with a desire to see how it’s implemented, what the level is, how my institution fits into the whole.
MOOCs, massive open online courses, have been around for a while. They are free. They vary widely in length, depth, subject matter, prerequisites, and practical real-world application. I looked at one that requires knowledge of differential calculus in two variables (that lets Mudge out). I saw many more that require no preparation at all. Reading materials are either provided free online, or recommended-not-required. Subject areas include philosophy, history, music engineering, Beethoven piano sonatas, history of blues, psychology, biostatistics, international criminal law, artificial intelligence…….. you get the idea. For free, on an honor system, you can get a certificate of completion if you do the quizzes, write the essays (in the case of my course). (Famously, there is a low completion rate of these courses.) For a small fee, you can get a Verified Certificate, meaning they verify, through your webcam and your typing style, which is evidently as individual as a fingerprint, that you are the person who actually completed the work. Now they are branching out, offering a Specialization Certificate for completing a series of courses in related subjects.
Previously, I have been an enthusiastic proponent of Lynda.com, where for a fairly modest subscription fee, you have access to unlimited video courses in a wide range of practical business and professional applications — Microsoft Office, CAD, web design, coding, social media for business etc etc.
What does all this mean? Are people so hungry for knowledge and self-improvement? (How great is that?!) How does slaking the thirst for knowledge challenge concepts of education? How will this proliferation of open access courses impinge on the 4-year college model? Right now, none of these online courses is offered for actual college credit, but perhaps that day is coming. No one (well, I’m guessing that) is arguing that actual interaction with professors and a regular classroom experience are without value and will go the way of all flesh. However, the democratizing elements of the internet are clearly making inroads into higher education as well. I suspect that my institution was less than enthusiastic about the concept, but did not want to be left utterly behind. Established institutions like mine are bound to hang on to their established traditions for dear life. Just human and institutional nature.
And indeed: what is the ROI for my university in all this? My professor is still being paid his full salary, but is presumably being released from some of his normal teaching duties in order to prepare this online content. Multiply that time by hundreds and thousands of institutions
On Monday, coursera named former Yale president Rick Levin as its CEO — see the Wall Street Journal article here. One can only think that the business model will evolve, so grab that learning now while it’s still free!
Gotta go study for my quiz.
The Mudge Report 