I
have recently taken a few online courses or MOOCs (Massive Open Online
courses). Therefore, I have been viewing the recent discussion around
these courses with a great deal of interest. I believe, that since I
have actually taken a few of these courses, I have a unique perspective
to offer this discussion.
MOOCS are delivered by sites such as Coursera, and its counterpart in the UK https://www.futurelearn.com/about.
These courses have; a set syllabus, set assignments, an opportunity
to connect with other students and a chance to gain a certificate of
achievement. (Or even gain a credit for a more traditional course.) you
can find their mission statement at (https://www.coursera.org/about)I will now share my experiences of these following courses; Crafting an Effective Writer, and Modern and Contemporary American Poetry (ModPoe).
Crafting an Effective Writer
When
you’re at university you write all the time but when you leave that
institution; you stop writing, find that your writing muscle gets
flabby and you begin to lose your confidence in your writing ability.
Therefore, my first Coursera course was a writing course. This course
got me writing again. It encouraged me to write increasingly larger
chunks of work. In doing so, my confidence gradually returned At the
same time, it gave the student constructive advice on correct grammar.
In a series of videos, the student was taken through the building
blocks of English grammar.
This
course was useful but it also highlighted one of the main flaws of
these courses. Unlike more traditional courses, assignments are marked,
not by professional tutors, by fellow students. This course was taken
by a variety of students with varying degrees of abilities. For many
students, English was their second or third language. Therefore, the
standard of marking varied with the ability of the student. In
addition, the feedback on assignments could be harsh. Bullying is
stamped on. But, given the way the internet functions, this could
become an ideal platform for internet trolls. So, while I value this
course. I also can envisage problems, if this should become the main
delivery channel for education.
Modern and contemporary American Poetry.
I love/write poetry and, therefore, this was the perfect course for me. Modpoe is delivered by Penn; The University Of Pennsylvania (http://www.upenn.edu/) and The Kelly Writers’ House (http://www.writing.upenn.edu/wh/). The Writers House has a history of community engagement and run both; a radio station (http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/multimedia)
and magazine. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that this
organisation should be one of the early pioneers of the MOOC, producing
an early version in 2004. The course comprises several video
discussions, between a lecturer and a group of students, in which they
explore the weeks set poems. This is backed up by a weekly live
broadcast where students can send in questions.
Due
to its longevity, this course has built a very strong community around
itself. Some students retake this course whenever it becomes available.
The course has very active discussion boards. These discussion boards
are moderated by; community TAS, the staff of the course; and, yes even
the senior lecturer appears on the forums. These boards are augmented by
a clever use of social media; both a Facebook page and Twitter feed.
These help create a strong community and allow this community to
continue when the course is on hiatus. This community is a global one
and its students come from a variety of backgrounds. That is one of
the things which makes this course so vibrant. It is the community that
makes this course so appealing to me and it is the thing that will make
me take this course again.
However,
the global community attracted to this course is not reflected in its
syllabus. As the name of the course implies, it deals with American
poetry. It could be argued tells an American story. It, therefore
prioritises that story, excluding the stories of other cultures.
General points and summary.
It
would be easy to claim that these courses open up a high standard of
education to all, regardless of; Geographic location, ability or social
class.
But,
the internet is not accessible to all. Many individuals, even those
living in the 'developed' world, do not have a stable access to the
internet. Many more do not have access to the internet. Many do not know
how to use the computer/the internet. Many disabled people find the web
difficult to access.
The
geographic spread of the students is not matched by the geographic
spread of the course providers. These tend to be located in the USA or
Europe. This could be seen, and has been seen, as the developed world
imposing their view of the world on 'developing' countries. It would be
revolutionary if universities from developing societies could be
encouraged, and enabled, to take part in this global revolution.
The
lack of, or relative lack of, tutor support could mean that students
may not have the support that they require. This may explain their
relatively high drop out rate. In addition, the absence of professional
marking may lower standards.
My
main fear is that these courses start to take over from the more
traditional forms of higher education. I fear that governments, wishing
to circumvent their responsibility to provide higher education to all
its citizens, may see this as a free alternative. In addition, I fear
that universities, see this as an easy way to tick those 'access to all
boxes' and not work as hard to increase physical access to their higher
quality courses. I also fear that students, daunted by high fees, might
choose these courses over their more traditional counterparts. I share
the fear of many commentators that these courses may create a two tier
system in which; rich students receive a high quality education in a
traditional setting, while the disadvantaged student is forced to rely
on MOOCS with all their flaws. If these courses are seen as a way to
supplement traditional teaching methods, then it will be a true
revolution. If it is seen as a substitute it could destroy the advances
made, in previous years, to expand high quality education to all.
