Wow, four days have flow by and time for another post. Lots of exciting topics in education this week from the protests in Hong Kong over compulsory government civics classes professing the greatness .... well, I'll leave out my interpretation of the what the proposed civics courses were...to the potential lock-out of teachers in Ontario and the continued evolution of the teacher's role in the modern class.
Interesting story on the CBC this morning on the show the Sunday edition in the second hour. The story was on the MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). These classes are offered by big universities, often in conjunction with Silicon Valley companies. The companies provide expertise for coding and programming. The spiritual inspirations were TED talks and the Kahn Academy. The basic concept is a utopian but powerful idea, offer top rate free online courses that cover the same material as the traditional F2F classes in bricks and mortar schools. The ultimate aspect of the courses is anyone in any part of the globe with an internet connection can register and take these courses.
I will not summarize more than I have, I will let you listen for yourselves.
http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/shows/2012/09/09/universities-in-the-digital-age/
The pros for this type of learning I think are self explanatory: student centred, liberating, available anytime, etc.
However, the cons are actually more interesting (in my opinion). Some include, how to assure the student at the other end of the tablet or computer is the person they claim to be taking it, the right form or online design to maximize learning, the best way to test people, etc.
It offers a chance to liberate the learner and ultimately achieve the much toted goal of an educated workforce. However, just as the authors/editors Kathleen King and Thomas Cox talk about the learning transformation in their book, The Professor's Guide to Taming Technology, the gulf between the new learning technology and the support structure (e.g. academic accreditation) still exists. We have not yet closed the gap. How do we do this?
Now point of clarification, the MOOCs are not trying to replicate the classroom experience online but are in fact trying to exist as an online environment with a unique design and complete learning experience; potentially a truly transformational learning experience.
AF,
ReplyDeleteInteresting comments. I had trouble with listening to the story, buffering issues with my computer. But, I will try again.
I actually recommend Khan Academy to my students. Many have a high school diploma but when attempting to get into college they do not do well on the entrance exam. The entrance exam is designed so if you miss some of the basic concepts of math, like fractions you haven't seen since 6th grade, that it puts you in a developmental math class. These classes you must pay for but do not get credit for them. You can retake the test, but most students are disillusioned with their test results that they don't. So, I advise them to check out Khan Academy relearn the basic math concepts and then retake the entrance exam. In this way, Khan Academy is beneficial to many students.
JD, I am glad to know that the Khan Academy courses actually work. Sometimes one hears that things are over hyped. However, Khan seems to offer legit courses.
DeleteHopefully they continue to benefit your students. Thanks. Hope you get to listen to the full show.
AF, I agree with Dawn, there are lots of good coming from MOOC's. Last year, I home schooled my youngest. Many home school families use MOOC's to supplement their education. I also agree with several of your cons. How does one receive credit for this self-learning? I realize that seeking credit may go against the self-motivated, self-directed learner's intent, but others are motivated by the incentive of making more money through their employed for higher education and/or greater skill through education. Assessment would have to be part of the equation to award credit for competence, right? As one who is greatly concerned about the digital gap, MOOC's appeal to my desire to have education more accessible, but education is also supposed to be a gateway to better living. How does one prove they have completed a course to a particular standard and how do we know that course meets some level of standard. There is already some negative bias against online education in some arenas, will this just perpetuate that erroneous perspective?
ReplyDeleteVianne, great questions. I guess we must fall back on the King and Cox's idea that we are still in a period of transition. The support mechanisms have not caught up. Education used to be about self-development and not a specific task oriented skill-set. Perhaps part of the answer lies less in adjusting the online learning but a mental adjustment in the employers mind. Their own selection process should be able to test an individual's KSAs for employment. The MOOCs do need to be tracked though and attendance matters. However, as the story said, the advantage to some is they allow for people to get out of them what they require. Perhaps this is finally admitting to one of the great lies of academia, no one really ever does all the readings. Grads and under grads alike do what they require and what they want to get out of it:) MOOCs have really just exposed the academic's magic trick. What do you think??
ReplyDelete