MOOCS Revisted

This reflection is on MOOCs, different MOOCs platforms, how they helped me develop as a teacher, a training course I designed for teachers, and another for Students

 

 MOOCs are Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). They are helpful in personal and professional

development. I was enrolled in three courses on two platforms and was introduced to Udimay last lecture. I was also introduced to Iversity, Canavas. The two platforms I took MOOCs on are edX and Coursera.

 

edX and Coursera

 edX and Coursera seem to be direct competitor, as they offer university level lessons. The courses offered on both platforms combine text, videos, discussion forums and peer and self-evaluation. The platforms are designed differently but they are nearly the same idea. The assignments are graded automatically. Coursera has far more courses, but there are complaints that Coursera subjects vary wildly in quality and rigour. Coursera is the biggest MOOC platform (9 million vs edX's 3 million students) and for-profit company. In both Coursera and edx, universities and professors are excepted to develop their own courses with little or no assistance. According to documents obtained by The Chronicle, Coursera  and edx gain money  via verified statements of accomplishment.

I believe MOOC providers are not competing against each other, or against anything.  All of them are working towards the goal of providing quality education for the common man. As courses offered by MOOCs are from the best universities in the world, so the quality is very high. Still, companies are not used to MOOCs yet, so they do not know if they can trust certificates earned this way. I believe it OK to quote earned certificates in CVs. In addition, one joins a MOOC to learn.

 All MOOCs provides very good learning experience, and I am glad that I learnt much from these MOOCs. The MOOC courses vary in length from 4-15 weeks and for the most part are organized.  Some of the classes I took were hard and required a lot of effort. The problem of MOOCs is limited feedback from the instructors (given the large number of students). I get exposed to materials which are otherwise considering higher than my present level. With MOOCs, I learn at my own pace. MOOCs takers do not socialize with people (in real life - not a discussion forum).  It is essential for students to be able to interact with one another, share their perspectives, work on assignments together as it serves as a huge part of making friends who eventually end up lasting a lifetime. I also understand that discussing ideas lead to real learning as people exchange ideas, put perspective and take decisions to put ideas into practice.

 I love MOOCs. For someone who depends on self-education and believes in the role of the learner MOOCs have given me the best tool/environment for continuing learning without having to go through the traditional schooling system.

 

A Training Course for Teachers Based on Using MOOCs

 

As I have tried MOOCs and know their value I have tailored a training course for my colleagues that depends mainly on MOOCs. I recommended the following courses: Design and Development of Games for Learning, The Art of Teaching, Academic and Business Writing, and Shaping the Way We Teach. In order, to get the best results of the training program teachers will discuss on weekly basis what they learned and the steps they will take to improve their teaching style, and enhance the educational system.  I also asked them to writing a reflection about how their teaching style changed after taking MOOCs and they used them to help their students.

 

MOOCs to Help My Students

 

I also introduced my students to MOOCs and gave them a plan for improvement in English based on being enrolled on MOOCs. The courses I recommended are Conversational English, Writing Courses, English for Specific Purposes, and Business English. I asked them to write reflections on weekly basis denoting how their English improved by enrolling in MOOCs.