Enhancing Your Learning with MOOCs
Chances are good that there’s a MOOC in most students’ futures. MOOC stands for “Massive Open Online Course,” and has been impacting education for several years. Although high school students are currently doing some or all of their learning online because of COVID, they will find that MOOCs are different from traditional high school or college courses. Taking part in a MOOC can teach students a subject of interest that is not available at their school or in their area and may set them apart on college applications.
“Taking part in a MOOC can teach students a subject of interest that is not available at their school or in their area and may set them apart on college applications.”
The hallmarks of MOOCs are reflected in the acronym—the enrollment is huge, they are open to anyone who wants to take part, and generally are free and carry no credit. Because faculty are unable to respond to students in a MOOC, the material must be more engaging and interactive, and fellow students rely on each other for support.
There has been a huge increase in enrollment in MOOCs recently. edX, a non-profit MOOC operator from Harvard and MIT, is home to more than 20 million learners, while Coursera, a for-profit venture started by Stanford University professor Andrew Ng, has reached 75 million students. Many of the most prestigious universities have jumped on the bandwagon and now offer some of their popular courses through a MOOC.
The most successful courses use short video lectures followed by a quiz to make sure users understand the material. MOOCs may require homework and some offer proctored exams. The instructor could be a renowned professor at the university, but some very successful classes are taught by perhaps less-known, but engaging instructors who make the material fun. Study groups (“meet-ups”) composed of fellow students in a particular area help to ensure that students get more out of the class.
Topics covered in a MOOC tend to center around science, math, computers and business, but course selection is expanding rapidly to other subjects.
Check out the offerings at edX, Coursera, and Udacity to learn a new subject or further study a passion:
