I have mixed emotions about these massive open online classes. The homonym MOOK (yes, they are really called MOOC’s) comes to mind. But, then I recall the first biology and microbiology courses I took. At one school, where the total enrollment (including night school) was under 4000 in all degree programs, there were 300 kids in this class. In another institution, where the enrollment was about the same (but more prestigious, and no part time students), and there were 250 in the other.
It truly made no difference how great the teacher was or was not. The class was just too big, and it was simply a lecture hall with a speaker. What makes me think a MOOC would be worse? In actuality, a MOOC may be better.
Now, my graduate school has been letting its alumni learn via videotaped lectures and reading material for more than a decade. (MIT called it OpenCourseWare, when it began in 2001.) And, to be honest, I’ve enjoyed those programs, which lets me learn new things and maintain my technical currency.
MIT is using the MOOC the way I would hope other institutions will. It offers the programs to those who can’t afford to attend the institution. It offers the programs to those who need a refresher. And, it offers the programs as supplements to the faculty-led instruction on campus for its matriculated students.
Using this model, the students have the opportunity to learn online at their own pace and schedule. And, where the give-and-take of smaller classes with the professor still ensue. And, quizzes that obtain within the online lecture lets the student know- immediately- if the material has been mastered. And, the opportunity to immediately examine what is not known- before those incorrect “circuits” become embedded in one’s brain, rendering the proper connections between fact and retention more difficult to maintain.
It also lets MIT seek out the sweet spot – where volumes of students obtain value for their learning opportunities- and their fees are used to serve the mission of the the university to offer affordable education to its traditional fare of students. (I should have said Harvard and MIT, which are jointly offering and administering the edX, open-source education, that offers credentialed learning opportunities. [UC Berkeley has joined in with them; my guess is others will, as well.])
I enjoy distance and self-guided learning. In fact, I do better in that circumstance than I ever do in a classroom. My lack of focus gets me distracted in a class…oh shiny…and I’m lost. When I learn on my own terms, in my own time I devour the work rather quickly.
You are an example why that works.
I admit that I rarely paid attention in class if the professor read from the book. But, I was lucky enough to rarely have that experience- which is why my undergraduate and graduate notes form a line of about 4 feet on my bookshelves, Lisa.