MOOCs – did we expect too much too soon?
In Pranab Chakraborty’s blog post on TD.org, he questions whether we’re just at the beginning of the MOOC revolution, whether it’ll change the way people learn, or if there’s already a waning in the attraction of MOOCs. He further questions whether we’ve really just expected too much too soon.
The New York Times had dubbed 2012 the “Year of the MOOC,” In fact, the New York Times dubbed 2012 “the year of the MOOC,” and quoted edX president, Anant Agarwal’s prediction that “a year from now, campuses will give credit for people with edX certificates.” This grandiose statement reminded me of the infamous Edison statements about how books would be displaced in the classroom by the use of instructional radio in the 20s and 30s.
The initial focus on Mr. Chakraborty’s post is the use of MOOCs in higher education and their inability to disrupt higher ed’s business model. He cites the failure of MOOCs to establish a job placement network akin to those in higher ed institutions, which results in the lack of immediate hiring opportunities for students who attain MOOC certifications. While providing knowledge and skills, MOOCs don’t grant the all-important college degree that makes for a more attractive job applicant and additionally fails to offer the intangibles of college life that attracts students to brick-and-mortar institutions.
However, he further states that while MOOCs may not displace those brick-and-mortar institutions, they do hold an attraction to lifelong learners and those in search of greater depth and breadth of instruction for a number of topics. In addition, there is a movement toward the use and creation of MOOCs for nanodegrees, which are sponsored programs of instruction with companies (such as Google, Salesforce, etc.) to create and demo apps and other work products for the sponsoring companies while mutually benefiting the student as well.
While MOOCs are not displacing or disrupting higher ed’s business model, there have been some colleges that have been exploring the use of MOOCs for other “try it before you buy it” purposes. For example, a model that has been recently taking hold is the use of MOOCs as a means to draw students into online MBA programs in which they may not have previously qualified and students can try out courses without committing and applying later if they feel confident enough to do so.
In all, while MOOCs may not be taking over the world of higher education, they are finding their niche. Corporate learners are turning increasingly to MOOCs to gain new skills and knowledge without the price tag of traditional brick-and-mortar schools. Without doing additional research, I feel that the use of MOOCs in developing countries can be valuable for ready dissemination of learning material, and that they may have a place for regions of the US and even job roles where the bias towards a college degree may be less.
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