A New Age…. MOOC
MOOC stands for massive open online course. It is a course on just about any topic, broadcast over the web and available to anyone with web access. In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings, and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user forums that help build a community for students, professors, and teaching assistants (TAs). MOOCs are a recent development in distance education which began to emerge in 2012.
This is a big deal, so much so that the MOOC Research Initiative (MRI) is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of a set of investments intended to explore the potential of MOOCs to extend access to post-secondary credentials through more personalized, more affordable pathways. Grants will be made available in the range of $10,000 – $25,000. 1
The implications for a worldwide online course is mind boggling and makes one wonder where it can all go. Who will be the big players in this? Is this the next big thing in educations? Who is validating these courses and does this threaten the establishment? Are the Universities going to find themselves behind the game, and fighting for an internet audience? MOOC is going to be a huge wave that is going to wash over the establishments and bring the world of higher education to everyone. Did the internet just get even bigger over night? The scariest thing I think is that it’s all FREE!
I could write all about it, but this video explain it best, its such a mind boggling topic that it is with out a doubt, the most interesting thing I have seen on any blog site yet!
1 http://www.moocresearch.com/research-initiative/about
MOOC stands for massive open online course. It is a course on just about any topic, broadcast over the web and available to anyone with web access. In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings, and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user forums that help build a community for students, professors, and teaching assistants (TAs). MOOCs are a recent development in distance education which began to emerge in 2012.
This is a big deal, so much so that the MOOC Research Initiative (MRI) is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of a set of investments intended to explore the potential of MOOCs to extend access to post-secondary credentials through more personalized, more affordable pathways. Grants will be made available in the range of $10,000 – $25,000. 1
The implications for a worldwide online course is mind boggling and makes one wonder where it can all go. Who will be the big players in this? Is this the next big thing in educations? Who is validating these courses and does this threaten the establishment? Are the Universities going to find themselves behind the game, and fighting for an internet audience? MOOC is going to be a huge wave that is going to wash over the establishments and bring the world of higher education to everyone. Did the internet just get even bigger over night? The scariest thing I think is that it’s all FREE!
I could write all about it, but this video explain it best, its such a mind boggling topic that it is with out a doubt, the most interesting thing I have seen on any blog site yet!
1 http://www.moocresearch.com/research-initiative/about