EDU 525 Perspectives On Adult Education

Perspectives On Adult Education EDU525

Week 8 Assignment Got MOOC?

Got MOOC?

What are MOOC’s? I didn’t know what it was before I learned about it in class. This word stands for Massive Open Online Course. Many professors and students don’t like the idea of taking an online course because they don’t think it’s similar to being inside the classroom. MOOC’s are very beneficial because it allows students to do as they please with the course. “A massive open online course (MOOC) is a model for delivering learning content online to any person who wants to take a course, with no limit on attendance” .

MOOCs are college classes but online. They are made for our benefit. People will go right off and judge them. Some might say, “Oh it’s an online course, why waste my time and money on it?” That’s a good reason not to take it until you hear the answer. This question is answered by Anant Agarwal in a video from Ted Talks. “It will not waste your time taking this course because it is at the same level as being in a college setting” (Agarwal). This is true in that each student will learn the same information needed to complete the course.

Even though MOOC’s don’t give you the full college experience, they are still very helpful. These courses allowyou to have more power than one would have in class. In an actual college classroom, some students are afraid or nervous to ask a question. If someone doesn’t want to ask a question, they would have to wait email the professor or wait till after class to find out. With MOOCs it gives you an instant response. It allows you to pause or rewind the course if you have a misunderstanding of what was just said. There is also a feature for this course where you can get instant feedback if you have a question. You type the question you have and then another student from across the country or a professor can answer it. MOOCs are online courses that are done from home on a computer. This doesn’t give you that college experience that every student wants but it still helps. Being in a classroom with a professor and other students interested in the same major as you is very beneficial. Having students around will allow others to make friends and develop a relationship with others that can help with different classes. We need that student to professor relationship in the long run. This relationship can benefit both the student and professor. For the student, it can help them get a job in the future with a letter of recommendation from the professor. For the professor, they will develop a bond and the teacher will feel good when the student understands something or gets a good grade. Also it’s good to be face to face with the professor and other students so you understand more of what’s going on. I personally enjoy having a connection with my teacher and being able to communicate with him in person. It just makes me feel better of what I am learning. I like knowing about the teacher’s life as well because we see them every day, so I don’t just want to hear them lecture all the time. MOOCs do provide the same educational values that each student needs to learn while taking that course. It’s just the classroom experience you are not receiving. MOOCs can help a student learn the same thing they would learn in a classroom.

College is becoming more and more expensive over the years and it’s hard for students to afford it. I think that all universities should offer these online courses because everyone’s learning skills are different. Some students like using a computer for work and on the other hand others like having the classroom experience. It is the same level of education just in a different setting. The University of New Haven should accept these credits because each person has a different reason to have taken an online course. It could be cheaper for some people, more convenient for one student, others like learning online and some might not like school. Just because they are online courses that doesn’t mean it’s easier than taking a class at a university. MOOCs should have the same respect and reputation as a college course.

Most universities accept transfer credits nowadays. The way a transfer credit works is you take a course at a college, online or high school and that credit transfers over to the new university you’re attending. Now you no longer have to take that course at your new school. The deal with transfer credits is that each student has to get a certain grade in the course in order for it to count at the university. The same situation happened to me because I had a credit for pre-calculus from my high school. The exception was that I needed to get a C or higher in order for the university to accept the credit. I still had to take a math placement test to see where my area of skills were at but I was placed in the right course. The same rule should be applied with MOOCs. If the course I took was online there shouldn’t be any issues with transferring the credit. If a student wanted to attend this university and had transfer credits from a MOOC, there should still be a certain grade he has to obtain in order for the credits to transfer. Also, the student coming in with the transfer credit should still have to take a placement test to see where they are best at. There should be no difference in coming in with a transfer credit from an online course or one taken in a classroom atmosphere.

“Some advantages of MOOCs are: courses are offered for free, access to courses offered by professors at the top schools, courses are available to a vast and diverse audience across the globe, learners’ performance can be monitored easily using the data captured during the start of courses, both professors and learners get world-wide exposure, thus improving pedagogical techniques and knowledge sharing, and they can be used as a tool in a blended learning program, and where students can access more information than what is provided in the class. Some disadvantages are: MOOCs can’t provide for personalized courseware and attention from a tutor, it is difficult to keep track of students’ assignments and involvement, learners with disabilities and a poor Internet connection can’t use MOOCs, language can be a barrier while offering MOOCs, and MOOCs can’t be used as a credit-earning course at universities” .

Overall, I personally think that MOOCs are just as good as a college class. Being able to still ask questions is a very powerful characteristic that will help students succeed no matter which course they choose to take. If I was required to take an online course I would because I would still be learning the same thing if I were in a classroom.