Question: What are the positive and negative effects of MOOCs in higher education and how will they impact the quality of learning for students?
Cusumano, Michael A. "Are the Costs of ‘Free’ Too High in Online Education?" Viewpoints 56.4 (2013): 26-29. Google Scholar. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.
Cusumano’s article is talking about the “high” costs of online education and the many negative effects to using MOOCs at Universities or through solely online use. Cusumano explains that universities have been slowly integrating massive open online courses into their programs, however, he explains there many MOOCs for use outside of a university. Cusumano talks about the emerging MOOCs companies and negative effects they are putting universities. He talks about
…show more content…
He introduces the article by saying that education is a growing industry and is quickly advancing to new and best technology to use to lower cost but increases the effectiveness of the material being presented. He also states in the introduction that MOOCs will be the model that will probably take over education in the future. Brahimi and Sariete also say while moving out of the traditional classroom too and outside environment is a difficult switch that will pose many challenges to students it’s a move that will happen. They say this move will happen because of the ease of access to these online courses, the influence of social media, and the flexibility of the programs. From talking about programs offered in MOOCs, they transfer in taking about the MOOCs phenomenon starting in 2012 in the United States and now spreading worldwide. Not only increasing the number of students but also increasing the amount of programs and the countries that they are offered in. Brahimi and Sarirete also talk about the popular MOOCs with Coursera in the USA as the largest provider covering the most amounts of subjects. They move on to conclude with the completion rate, which they say is low but is increasing slowly and believe MOOCs are the education of the …show more content…
To complete this study they ultimately sent the students a questionnaire with questions about their demographics, why they were enrolled in the class, how much of a time commitment the class was, if they completed all the assignments, what they learned from taking the class and the things they found most helpful. They did this to gain the student perspective of MOOCs. This article spends a lot of time analyzing the data of study including several graphs and charts while also giving factual information about a perspective that is not seen often. Liu and et al. also include that MOOCs are solely a self-learning progression program. Liu and et al. said the results were split some students really enjoyed taking and learning from the MOOC, but other students said they had some difficulties with feedback from teachers and other students, communication, technical issues or language barrier. However, Liu states even the students that had difficulties still gave positive feedback about the class as a whole. Liu and et al. also included positives perspectives such as course organization, flexibility, peer learning through a forum and having an engaging experience. Liu and et al. end with the statement while all the feedback of MOOCs was positive and showed that students liked MOOCs there are still too many negatives
After assessing Gregory’s essay, it is obvious that Gregory’s ability to adjust to anything that is thrown at him and his ability to work with anyone heightens his marketability to be chosen as a student for MOOC. Being flexible and having the ability to work with any kind of person is a big advantage because he can respond well to the pressures of this course. He can overcome many of the challenges that the massive open online course has to offer in order to get his training. For example, In Gregory’s essay he mentions how he would “...volunteer work at a summer day camp for kids…”, and exhibited “...dedication to student council” , while also “...enthusiastically devote time to service projects through Junior Civitans that help the community” (Gregory 14, 15). This also shows that Gregory is the best candidate to enroll in a MOOC- massive open online courses. In another article title “The Year of the MOOC” by Laura Pappano the author informs the readers
Bayer, Casey. “What Does Free College Really Mean?.” Harvard Graduate School of Education. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 17 January 2017. Web. 20 March 2018.
Colleges and universities in the past were limited to one type of student, upper class males, but now colleges and universities are centers of education for people of all backgrounds. People from different backgrounds and opinions congregating at these centers of education, forced many colleges to evolve. By giving colleges and universities a large variety in their students, it forces them to ditch a standard on education. Due to this fact, all colleges and universities must deliver an assortment of options in the effort of giving everyone the best education possible. Evolution for colleges and universities did not end there; due to the birth of the world wide web most colleges and universities now give the option to enroll in online classes. This rise in online education spawned a new form of university, fully online universities. Author Graeme Wood presents in his essay, “Is College Doomed?” a wonderful example of what a college or university should not be. Graeme Wood describes Minerva, an online university with the goal of stripping education to only the essentials. Minerva wants to take away campuses, sports, lectures, and most amenities leaving only their version of education. Minerva’s goal to take away options for students reduces their reach, leaving only a select few with the desire to join Minerva. Limiting students only leads to a worse education, especially since the students are the ones paying for the version of education they desire. College’s most valuable asset is their plethora of options in living, community forming, studying abroad, and variety of classes, this aspect of college in particular is what creates a perfect education for any student.
Shown in the essay, they are worth nothing and teach nothing, ”online courses are perhaps one of the most complete expressions of the denigration of university education (Srigley),” there is no good side of online classes shown. There is nothing to show how online learning is making learning accessible,”work online with no direct support from a faculty member. Digital lectures for live classes with real students? Sounds expensive. How about no lectures, no students, and, best of all, no professor (Srigley).”
In “Can You Be Educated from a Distance?” by James Barszcz, the author attempts to pinpoint the negative aspects of distance education compared to traditional classrooms. At the beginning of the article, he first describes the basic format of online courses, which results in a vast minimization of face-to-face communication of students with instructors. He then touches on some of the beneficial qualities of online education, and the reasoning for its quickly growing popularity among students and schools alike. He mainly attributes this trend to the overall convenience that is promised to students by online courses. These courses allow students to learn material in the comfort of their own home. Barszcz also considers the financial appeal for universities. Having an increasing number of students enrolled solely in online classes allows schools to save money on electricity, as well as decrease the amount of staff they employ. Also mentioned is that many strong advocates of distance...
The speech of Daphne Koller “What we’re learning from online education” provides a solution to the problem of inaccessibility of education in the world. She offers to make education free and more understandable by presenting “coursera” – web site, where people can have access to the needed lectures of notable professors from the best universities.
"Should Higher Education Should Be Offered to All for Free?" The Premier Online Debate Website.N.p.,n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.
An area of great contrast between the two forms of education regards the student experience. For example, students may enjoy taking tests or listening to lectures in the comfort of their own home. However, this poses a major disadvantage of not being able to ask questions as they naturally arise. An online student may have to wait around for their instructor to respond to an email, whereas being present in a classroom permits questions to be asked and answered on the spot. Another advantage of attending a brick-and-mortar college is having access to classmates for study groups or help with homework. After reading several students opinions on their online classes, I have come to realize the overall expe...
In the article, “The Professor’s Big Stage,” published in the New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman, is enthusiastic about MOOCs and has raised many question, about the difference between online learning and a fifty thousand dollar education as they both result in a piece of paper. He states that institutions must move from a model of “time served” to a model of “stuff learned,” as the world only cares about what you can do with what you know. Friedman believes that MOOCs will be creating a competition that will force every professor to improve their pedagogy and that universities will have to nurture unique blended experiences to improve education outcomes in measurable ways at lower costs. Ultimately, Friedman encourages his readers, Americans
Online education is a booming trend in the education world. It is something different than the traditional classroom. It is allowing student around the world the opportunity to get an education. Online education allows student to have a more proficient and cheaper way of learning. Having multiple ways to give a student an education allows all learning types to find their own way of learning. Education changes lives but it can be difficult for students to get to a classroom to sit through an hour class 4 times a week, this can be for many different reasons. There are many doubts about online education, but this a new world without borders it is a new opportunity for people from all over the world to get an education.
"Should Higher Education Should Be Offered to All for Free?" The Premier Online Debate Website.N.p.,n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.
Education should be one of the most important things in a person’s life. Most people are trying to achieve an education. It is stressful when you are trying to decide what school you want to go to. While debating on whether to attend college or not, many people wonder which education is better online or traditional education. As the cost of education increases a lot of students are choosing online education because its’ flexibility. If you look at it from both point of views you are accomplishing the same thing from both, which is a degree. Some people look at the cost of the school to see if they will go to school there. When you going by means of the cost of how much it will be for the degree you are trying to achieve you have to look at the salary you will be making with the major you are pursuing. Online and traditional education has a lot of similarities and differences.
Elaine Allen and Jeff Seaman, Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States
There are many advantages to online learning, it affects the way people can learn. According to “Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students”, “students have a greater willingness to write or work on computational skills”. “They say student like the immediate results of having online learning.” Another advantage is that students can learn at their own pace. With learning at their own pace they will be able to actually know the information well. If, they are in a regular classroom setting they may no...
The implementation of online learning in many universities has proven to be a successful method of course delivery (Regan, Evmenova, Baker, Jerome, Spencer, Lawson, & Werner, 2012). Dickson-Dean, Galyen, and Moore (2011) proposed that online learning can promote successful learning opportunities for students as well as rewarding benefits for all educational stakeholders. Factors that contribute to the success of online learning include, but are not limited to, flexibility and accessibility, cost reduction, increased retention, and varied learning opportunities (Neely & Tucker, 2010). Online learning and associated technology is becoming increasingly adaptable and can be used to meet the educational needs of all students while providing opportunities for differentiated instruction (Krishnakumar & Kumar, 2011). Online learning provides both students and instructors with opportun...