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What according to you is the biggest problem with MOOCs?
1–10 of 19 posts
Re: What according to you is the biggest problem with MOOCs?
#2Having done three courses with both Coursera and Udacity, I can honestly say that my biggest gripe with MOOCs is their emphasis on transmitting information sequentially, that is, via video lectures.
Seriously, what is wrong with putting up some nice readable-at-own-pace lecture material that is hyperlinked and indexed correctly so that I don't have to rewind videos if I missed something?
Re: What according to you is the biggest problem with MOOCs?
#3Lack of academic credit. Often being /half/ of a class.
Re: What according to you is the biggest problem with MOOCs?
#4I don't believe I have the self discipline to complete these online courses. I start with great enthusiasm and after one or two weeks, everything's gone.
The reason why this happened in coursera was because I had two weeks free time and the course was of 6 weeks. After initial two weeks, I got a little busy and neglected everything from course eventually giving up on the idea of being able to complete it.
Re: What according to you is the biggest problem with MOOCs?
#5Having done three courses with both Coursera and Udacity, I can honestly say that my biggest gripe with MOOCs is their emphasis on transmitting information sequentially, that is, via video lectures. Seriously, what is wrong with putting up some nice readable-at-own-pace lecture material that is hyperlinked and indexed correctly so that I don't have to rewind videos if I missed something?
Wouldn't you get lost in all the content? If you are free to read in any order you could get into a wikipedia-like situation where you keep opening new tabs non-stop and you lose track of the original thing you were reading about.
I generally agree with you though that having a SINGLE path through the course is too restrictive. It should be like in games: there is a main quest, but you can go on mini-quests on the side...
Re: What according to you is the biggest problem with MOOCs?
#6They cost nothing so are considered by participants internally to have no value and hence are treated as such.
Re: What according to you is the biggest problem with MOOCs?
#7I don't believe I have the self discipline to complete these online courses. I start with great enthusiasm and after one or two weeks, everything's gone. The reason why this happened in coursera was because I had two weeks free time and the course was of 6 weeks. After initial two weeks, I got a little busy and neglected everything from course eventually giving up on the idea of being able to complete it.
Udacity has some permanently-on courses, where you go at your own pace. It's wonderful for the ability to binge study, but the lack of schedule might allow you to push it off indefinitely. For my own part that's still an open question, but I loved being able to binge during the easy part.
Re: What according to you is the biggest problem with MOOCs?
#8Deadlines. I want to be able to take courses and complete them whenever I have time.
Almost all Coursera's coursers have weekly deadlines. If you got busy for a couple of weeks during the course time you will fall behind. And the chances that you would get busy are quite high given that some of the courses last for more than three months.
Re: What according to you is the biggest problem with MOOCs?
#9They're solving an educational problem -- that is, how to deliver instruction to a large audience --, but not an learning problem. Does it support / improve deep learning? How are social-cultural factors of learning taken care of? What exactly is assessed? How is students' (and teachers') reflection on their own learning process supported (if at all)
I think most of these problems can be overcome, although probably not by translating traditional instruction and educational ideas more or less directly to MOOCs, but by exploring new ways of instruction, teaching, studying, and learning. I fear, however, that this will not happen (soon, or at a large scale), and MOOCs will become the poor mans' only educational opportunity, creating an educational/learning divide between those who will have access to small-scale quality instruction and those that have only access to MOOCs.
For governments and schools MOOCs make it easy to implement 'education for all' while cutting costs. For example, I could imagine high schools to stop offering advanced placement classes or some subjects locally, but instead offering access to MOOCs on those topics with some local supervision by people not schooled (and payed) as teachers. Similarly, I could imagine the government giving free access to MOOCs to all, while, at the same time, cutting on general scholarships.
Re: What according to you is the biggest problem with MOOCs?
#10Having done three courses with both Coursera and Udacity, I can honestly say that my biggest gripe with MOOCs is their emphasis on transmitting information sequentially, that is, via video lectures. Seriously, what is wrong with putting up some nice readable-at-own-pace lecture material that is hyperlinked and indexed correctly so that I don't have to rewind videos if I missed something?
Wouldn't you get lost in all the content? If you are free to read in any order you could get into a wikipedia-like situation where you keep opening new tabs non-stop and you lose track of the original thing you were reading about. I generally agree with you though that having a SINGLE path through the course is too restrictive. It should be like in games: there is a main quest, but you can go on mini-quests on the si…
Professors take side quests too in their lectures. Sometimes they turn out to be quite lengthy.