Lost in Cyberspace
This is a paper that brought to mind some of the concepts mentioned in Lister (2009), especially the use of sustaining and disruptive innovation described in pages 5 and 6. It also sheds some light on the powers behind MOOCs and poses the interesting question of whether MOOCs were created because students needed them or, on the other hand, if it was a commercial plan by certain companies to make money.
from Diigo https://ift.tt/2nxUrNO
via IFTTT
This look at the way completion of a MOOC can be used to motivate learners to take on a university program. This is a journal (Journal of Marketing) publication which studies MOOCs from a consumer goal perspective, hypothesizing that people who finish a MOOC are more likely to start and finish a university program especially if there is a powerful enough link between the learning and delivery pattern. A goal achieved by completing a MOOC leads to an interest in setting up another goal which is the university course.
This approach is different from blended learning which makes use of both online and offline modes of higher education learning at the same time. Rather it uses the idea of a cheaper and more widely available service to narrow down contenders for, perhaps, university courses requiring more commitment or which have more rigid structures.
from Diigo https://ift.tt/329s61B
via IFTTT
The price of MOOCs or the accessibility to MOOCs for free was perhaps an ideal that cannot be sustained in the long term, or perhaps it was never the idea of having something that was free for all.
A number of MOOCs I visited this week did offer free content and material but certificates came at a price, If MOOCs are intended to generate workforce potential, especially in developing countries, then the concept of being free needs to be sustained even more.
from http://twitter.com/MVJ12518369
via IFTTT
This an article that appeared a while ago as the structure of MOOCs has advanced considerably but it does question at one point the number of dropouts in MOOCs. One of the reasons seems to be the lack of a ‘live instructor’
It does point out though the ‘economics are on the side of MOOCs’ and the potential of having companies and MOOCs working together to encourage students to enter the workforce. This is not something that can happen at once.
This shift will not occur anytime soon, however, because the social pressure to go to college and get a degree still exists. Such pressure results in the ongoing issue of student debt in our country. When this pressure no longer exists, and when economics play a larger role in determining how students receive their education, it is at that point when MOOCs could potentially replace higher education as we know it. (Harman Singh)
Singh’s view does remind of one of the major concerns around MOOCs and TEL. Knox (2020) notes that education is a fertile ground for the culture supporting Silicon Valley enthusiasts and larger companies in search of profit. The interest behind MOOCs, therefore, can hardly be an unadulterated concept.
As Lister (2009) points out, ‘the new networked media has been influenced by commercial interests’ which have shaped the way we live and the ways communities are structured. Singh contends that modern educational communities that are based online do not always have all the elements necessary for the educational experience to be complete.
from Diigo https://ift.tt/2v9blah
via IFTTT
References:
H. Singh (). What’s Wrong With MOOCs, and Why Aren’t They Changing the Game in Education? Available at: https://www.wired.com/insights/2014/08/whats-wrong-moocs-arent-changing-game-education/. (Accessed 8th February 2020).
Knox (2020) Introduction to Community Cultures.
Lister, M. et al (2009). “Chapter 3. Networks, users and economics” . New media: a critical introduction pp.163-236, London: Routledge