By Jim Shimabukuro
Editor
In a video interview, Jonathan Moules1 asks Simon Nelson, CEO of FutureLearn, some tough questions about the current state of MOOCs. Noules’ Moules’ questions caught my attention:
- “How much of an issue is it that most of the people signed up for FutureLearn and other online education platforms already have a degree?”
- “What’s more important, is it broadening access to millions of people across the planet to education or is it about making money?”
- “How do you make money from online education?”
- “A criticism of online education has been that a lot of people signing up for these courses don’t complete them. Do you see that as a challenge?”
And I found Nelson’s responses succinct, clear, practical, and informed.
As much as these questions and responses are enlightening, however, I can’t help but feel that they continue to pigeonhole MOOCs as fascinating but peripheral, impractical and ineffective counterparts to standard college courses. As long as this perception persists, MOOCs will remain outside the circle of serious discussion in higher ed, and this alienation will prolong the wait for the next step in course design.
In my mind, MOOCs are much more than a far-out platform for free courses with almost limitless seating capacity. If we can get past the idea that they are a specific course type, built in stone, we can begin to explore the endless possibilities that they represent as a tabula rasa for envisioning the shape of courses to come in the 21st century. In other words, MOOCs have expanded our conception of what a course can be, offering us a whole view that takes into account the latest technological breakthroughs. Continue reading
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