Waldrop, M (2013) Massive Open Online Courses, aka MOOCs ...



Current Trends and Issues of MOOCsAlexander T. PoplawskiInformation Sciences and TechnologyThe Pennsylvania State UniversityUnited Statesatp116@psu.eduAbstract: As online learning becomes more widespread and popular among businesses, schools and students, the open admittance and huge scale involvement needs to be analyzed to represent the benefits and returns along with the issues and concerns of this style of education. New technologies are becoming increasingly more abundant and less expensive providing higher education to worldwide interested individuals, giving them access to knowledge at locations they would never need to attend in person in order to succeed. Foreseen problems with this approach are that the student does not receive much if any advice, and support services are lacking or not available at all. Also, MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) courses are typically designed as weekly pre-planned lectures and readings giving a student a strictly defined condition or issue having only a particular solution. The quality and dropout rate of the courses has become a reason for concern when creating and improving MOOCs. Although MOOCs are somewhat in their beginning phases they do offer benefits involving affordability, ease of access and solutions for individuals that require setting time aside to fit their own schedules. There may be conflicting data of the effectiveness of MOOC systems but having the pros and cons outlined will be very beneficial in aiding to arrive at a conclusion.IntroductionOver the last decade, many educational institutions have begun offering courses via the web in a variety of formats. Recently, a new breed of online class has emerged: the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). MOOCs are online classes that anyone anywhere can participate in, usually for free (Hoy, 2014. P. 85). MOOCs consist of several shared structures, first of all being offered online through video, presentations, discussions or any type of mixture to make it available to students. MOOCs can basically be created by anyone but are mostly developed by know experts in their field and usually from large organizations.Although a student may achieve a great education there may not be a corresponding degree or credits to show for the progress they have made. For anyone who has taken a massive online class from one of the major MOOC providers, the answer to the question of what constitutes a MOOC might seem obvious: the same lectures, reading and homework assignments, assessments, and discussions you would find in a traditional college class, albeit delivered in a digital format to thousands rather than live to dozens (Haber, 2014, p. 47).There are many advantages to the MOOC model for online education. The inherent openness and user-friendliness of the format means that incredible educational resources are available to anyone with the time to devote to learning. MOOCs offer real opportunity to people without access to traditional education. However, there are still many issues that remain unresolved (Hoy, 2014. P. 87).The use of free online courses has become more and more popular as it has given students that are basically located anywhere in the world the ability to obtain a level of education that was unheard of in the past. The idea of an online education may seem welcome to some who possess the drive to endure the length of a prescribed course but others that lack motivation and lose interest quickly may run into issues completing the courses. While the courses, known as MOOCs, have enrolled millions of students around the world, most that enroll never start a single assignment, and very few complete the courses. So to reach students who are not ready for college-level work, or struggling with introductory courses, universities are beginning to add extra supports to the online materials, in hopes of improving success rates (Lewin, 2013). The reality is that a free education seems to be a great way to get schooling without ever actually setting foot in a classroom but what is the completion rate of all of these hopefuls that wish to fulfil their desire to complete college level courses; are there some courses and institutions that are more successful than others? These are some of the questions that will be answered. The StudyAlthough MOOCs are free for learners, developing MOOCs is not free. (Belanger and Thornton, 2013) indicate that Duke University's first MOOC on Bioelectricity cost over 600 hours to build and deliver. According to (Stiehm, 2013), an anthropology professor in Duke University estimated that he made 20 times more effort to complete the lessons for his MOOC than for his face-to-face course. However, the current business mode does not enable MOOCs to make money. How can MOOCs be sustained? (Kolowich, 2012) argues MOOCs will not be open for long and that many MOOCs will be developed as revenue-generating ventures. As such, will MOOCs be available for everyone? If not free, how can they compete with traditional higher education? A recent Insidetrack and ACE survey shows that faculty who have participated in teaching MOOCs and higher education administrators see MOOCs as a way to enhance the on-campus experience, not replace it (Inside Track, 2013). Therefore, the business mode that can sustain MOOCs is a topic for future research as well (Chen, Y. 2014).The premise of conducting a MOOC is that the same material such as lectures, assignments, reading assignments, discussions and assessments are the comparable to what can be found in traditional classroom environments although presented to thousands of students rather than only to a few dozen. The reality is that moving from an onsite real-time class to a digital format does not take into account that the material offered will be utilized by many students with unlike and unknown aptitudes. Language and computer skills are just a few of the items that may take on a new meaning compared to the styles set in a customary classroom. Complaints lodged by educators regarding this new huge-scale form of learning focused on the efficacy of an educational format where information was delivered by video lecture and measurement performed largely through multiple-choice quizzing, with student-to-student interaction facilitated by overcrowded discussion boards and student-to-teacher interaction virtually nonexistent. Were MOOC students really being asked to do the same level of work and getting the same level of education as their counterparts taking courses covering comparable material in traditional classroom environments? How was anyone supposed to know who was doing the work diligently and honestly and who was cheating his or her way to a passing grade? Who was actually enrolling in these courses and why were they choosing to participate? And, speaking of enrollments and participation, why should anyone have faith in an academic program with drop-out rates topping 90 percent? (Haber, 2014, pg. 90-91).In terms of hardware, MOOCs requires computers, headsets/speakers, microphones, and an Internet connection. Among the course contents, video lectures are the main components in MOOCs. Many course contents of MOOCs are delivered in video format via the Internet. To watch a high quality video, learners need broadband connections. However, not every learner has access to a fast Internet connection. A survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in 2012 shows that even in the U.S. only about 66% of adults have broadband access at home (Cooper & Sahami, 2013), not to mention that many MOOCs learners are in developing countries and have limited access to the Internet. This hardware limitation needs to be overcome to make MOOCs accessible to more learners.FindingsOne of the most detrimental aspects upon examination of MOOCs is seemingly the large rates of unfinished participation that occur and are seldom stated by MOOC supporters. The lack of penalty for not completing a course only adds to the high amount of incompletes courses by students. The drop-out rates in most courses usually round off to about 90 percent of learners enlisted in the programs (Haber, 2014, p. 91). Research discovered that MOOC use is still low in talent development, with only 22 percent of surveyed professionals reporting that their organization currently uses MOOCs in learning and development. Although MOOCs appear very promising, our findings suggest that users of MOOCs in L&D settings, like academic MOOC participants, very frequently become disengaged and drop out. We asked survey respondents about their personal experiences with MOOCs, and it was clear that the majority of MOOC starters never finish. To keep learners engaged and effectively deliver content, Amy Rouse, a director at AT&T’s corporate university, which uses MOOCs, suggested that learning professionals should consider using MOOCs in combination with other delivery methods. “There are limits to what we can do now with technology to connect people who may not be physically located together. So we’re exploring very creative approaches to blended learning, such as how we can combine MOOC content with hands-on labs or self-paced pre-requisite content, and maybe follow up with a social learning collaborative community where employee learners can support each other when they’re back on the job. It may not be all MOOC, all web-based, or all instructor-led training. But we’re excited to see how we can combine these alternatives to create the most effective learning experiences to help employees succeed,” said Rouse (Ho, M 2014).Advantages of MOOCsFree, Open to all, MOOCs are great for graduates pursuing to add to their skills and abilities, global (can access from anywhere in the world), taught by professors at top universities, chance to get an education from an Ivy League University, flexibility (training usually requires taking time off work — either a few days to attend corporate training or a much longer period if you’re going back to college. MOOCs fit however work best for you. New course material is generally posted on a particular day every week, but you can access it and do the work whenever you have time), no special qualifications to register for a MOOC (there’s no limit on numbers of students for a class, no admissions process required, acceptance not needed, just sign up with a few basic details and you’re ready to get started.Disadvantages of MOOCsMOOCs usually aren't accredited (makes them less valuable for your career), a student earns certificates and badges(putting the completion of online courses on your resume won’t hurt, but it doesn’t hold the same prestige for employers as being able to show accredited qualifications, MOOC versions of college courses are often simplified and may not match the level of the?real thing (the course providers’ attempts to reach a wide audience and make education accessible can leave some students feeling that the course was?too basic, high dropout rate (students with lack of motivation find difficult, no penalties for not completing course), a reasonable amount of computer skills are required, lack of interaction with professor (with thousands of people often enrolled on a single course, it’s impossible for the professors to give students the kind of support that they do in a traditional college course?Messages and questions posted to online forums are usually addressed by fellow students, and grading is often automatic or done by peers, without personalized feedback from the professor. There is inconsistency between courses).Course statistics: 6.002x had 154,763 registrants. Of these, 69,221 people looked at the first problem set, and 26,349 earned at least one point on it. 13,569 people looked at the midterm while it was still open, 10,547 people got at least one point on the midterm, and 9,318 people got a passing score on the midterm. 10,262 people looked at the final exam while it was still open, 8,240 people got at least one point on the final exam, and 5,800 people got a passing score on the final exam. Finally, after completing 14 weeks of study, 7,157 people have earned the first certificate awarded by MITx, proving that they successfully completed 6.002x (Dernoncourt, F, 2013).Dropouts per week (only considering the 69,221 people who looked at the first problem set):(Waldrop, M 2013)ConclusionsMOOCs are an easy way to access a variety of good quality education cheaply and on your own schedule. The limited personal interaction and lack of structure, depth and accreditation typical of MOOCs means they may not be a form of career development that's suitable for everyone - but?if you take the initiative and put in the time and effort on your own, they can be an valuable activity within your overall career progress accomplishmentsAs more and more higher education institutions begin to provide MOOC courses, MOOCs seems to be a new direction for higher education. However, MOOCs face a lot of challenges, such as questionable course quality, high dropout rate, unavailable course credits, ineffective assessments, complex copyright, and limited hardware. These findings aid MOOCs providers and higher education institutions that might be interested in joining MOOCs to understand what is going on in this fast-moving field. MOOCs expanded fast recently because of the benefits it brings to stakeholders. But the aforementioned challenges hinder its further development. Future research needs to explore ways to overcome these challenges. In addition, this paper offers insights and tips for stakeholders so they can become knowledgeable about what drives the rapid expansion of MOOCs and the issues they might face if they choose to join MOOCs. Although MOOCs expanded fast recently, the position of MOOCs remains unclear. Will it coexist with traditional higher education or be a replacement? The answer is not available. A more urgent issue is how MOOCs can be sustained. Future research needs to explore the answers (Chen, Y. 2014).ReferencesHaber, J (2014). Moocs, The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series (p. 47)Hoy, M (2014). MOOCs 101: An Introduction to Massive Open Online CoursesLewin, T. (2013) “Colleges Adapt Online Courses to Ease Burden.” The New York Times , Y. (2014). Investigating MOOCs through blog mining. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 15(2) Retrieved from , V., & Thornton, J. (2013). Bioelectricity: A quantitative approach-Duke University’ first MOOC (Technical Report). Duke University, NC, USA.Stiehm, C. (2013). Faculty members share experiences with MOOCs. Retrieved from Kolowich, S. (2012). MOOCs for credit. Inside Higher Education. Retrieved from Track (2013). To MOOC or not to MOOC: Strategic lessons from the pioneers. Retrieved from , M (2014) The Promise of MOOCs: Key Findings from New ATD ResearchDernoncourt, F (2013), Figures for edX 6.002x: Circuits and Electronics (Spring 2012):Waldrop, M (2013) Massive Open Online Courses, aka MOOCs, Transform Higher Education and Science ................
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