Education is a living organism,
ever evolving, adapting, changing, and growing to suit the needs of the
individuals and the society it aims to serve. With the advancement of
technology, education has transcended its classrooms and lectures to become
more open, more mutable than ever before. With the advent of the internet, the
accessibility of education is no longer a matter of crossing distances and
affording tuitions, but instead is tied to the availability of the technology
needed to join the discourse, surf the networks, and explore the databases. Tied
to this it the fact that “educational systems around the world are under
continuous and increasing pressure to use the new information and communication
technologies to teach students the knowledge and skills they need in the 21st
century” (Brahimi, 2015, p.605). In such an environment, the rise of massive
open online courses (MOOCs) was inevitable.
MOOCs are a throwing open of
the doors of higher education; they are free courses offered online to anyone
and everyone. Cormier (2010) observes in his YouTube video, “a MOOC is
participatory. It is a way to connect and collaborate while developing digital
skills.” They are a means of distributing and building knowledge by a means
that enables students to contribute to the solidification of understanding
through the sharing of their work and ideas. As one researcher notes, MOOCs
"have been hailed as an educational revolution that has the potential to
override borders, race, gender, class and income" (Emanuel, 2013). But is
this the reality? The aim of this paper is to take a brief look at actual
effectiveness of MOOCs as an educational tool.
PROS.
Higher education courses have generally adhered to
variations of the same basic format: an instructor certified as being an expert
in the subject matter assigns readings and leads discussions on a particular
topic and students are expected to demonstrate their learning through essays,
examinations, or a combination thereof. However, the traditional concepts of
education have proven ineffective at meeting the needs of today’s learners and
a change in format (i.e. moving them online) would not change that; “new approaches
that can operate at low cost in the open” are needed (McAndrew & Scanlon,
2013). George Siemens (2005) notes, “informal learning is a significant aspect
of our learning experience. Formal education no longer comprises the majority
of our learning. Learning now occurs in a variety of ways – through communities
of practice, personal networks, and through completion of work-related tasks.” The
online format of MOOCs affords facilitators the opportunity to develop
interactive and engaging programs in innovative ways. For example, “presentation
using video or broadcast is adjunct and motivates; it is not the core…carefully
constructed text-based material can feel to the student as if it is speaking to
them…using multimedia can build further ways to engage learners” (McAndrew
& Scanlon, 2013).
Additionally, MOOCs have been heralded as “vehicles for
democratizing education and bridging divides within and across countries”
(Kizilcec et al., 2017). MOOCs “expand access and opportunity for students to
participate in and benefit from higher education and reduce the cost of higher
education” (Perna et al., p.421). Entirely hosted online, they are freed from
needing students be physically present at a single brick-and-mortar location
and are thus able to simultaneously reach all corners of the globe. Similarly
cut from such restrictions as fees, size limits, and admission processes, MOOCs
are removed from the usual obstacles preventing access and enable learning to
be open to anyone wanting it. In 2015 alone, enrollment numbers in MOOCs
increased from thousands to millions, “not only in North America but also in
South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa…as well as in the Arab world”
(Brahimi, 2015, p.606) – in fact, between 2012 and 2015, of the twenty-million
registrants in MOOCs, 39% were from less-developed countries” (Kizilcec et al.,
2017) in turn sparked a global rise in the providers of MOOCs as supply raced
to meet and profit from demand.
CONS.
One of the greatest challenges MOOCs face is the reality
of what they become once the concept is carried out. As noted previously, a cornerstone of the MOOC
process is participation, however studies show that completion rates are low “regardless
of whether measured as accessing the last lecture, attempting the last quiz, or
receiving a final grade of at least 80%” (Perna et al., p.425). One study even
found that in not one of sixteen courses examined did more than 12% of those
meant to participate receive a final grade above 80% (Perna et al.). Additionally,
it has been found that many of those participating in MOOCs are in fact “already
well educated — and that they are predominantly young males seeking to advance
their careers” (Emanuel, 2013). Even in countries such as Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa which, in theory, present as prime candidates for
MOOC education, most students using massive open online courses (nearly 80% of
them) come from “the wealthiest and most well-educated 6% of the population”
(Emanuel, 2013). Thus, in this regard, MOOCs ultimately serve to preserve the education disparity that exists between socioeconomic classes rather than as the bright they were exalted as.
CONCLUSION.
It is a generally accepted fact
that learning is a life long process and, coupled with this, is the realization
that the bulk of our learning in fact happens outside the classroom. As Brahimi
notes, "Education is practiced not only inside the classroom but outside
the classroom, in the community as whole where learners can develop
collaborative learning through communities of interest, adapt courses according
to their needs, and become partners in knowledge generation and sharing"
(Brahimi, p.605). MOOCs are a means of making higher education available to
those who otherwise may not have it for one reason or another; they are, in
essence, a good idea that still require time and modification to reach their
full efficiency and potential.
REFERENCES.
Brahimi,
T. & Sarirete, A. (2015). Learning outside the classroom through MOOCs. Computers in Human Behavior, 51,
pp.604-609. Retrieved from https://journals-scholarsportal-info.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/pdf/07475632/v51ipart_b/604_lotctm.xml
Cormier,
D. [dave cormier]. (2010, December 8). What
is a MOOC? [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW3gMGqcZQc
Emanuel,
E.J. (2013). Online education: MOOCs taken by educated few. Nature 503 (342),
doi:#10.1038/503342a
Kizilcec,
R.F., Saltarelli, A.J., Reich, J., Cohen, G.L. (2017). Closing global
achievement gaps in MOOCs. Science,
355 (6322), pp.251-252. doi:#10.1126/science.aag2063
McAndrew,
P. & Scanlon, E. (2013). Open Learning at a Distance: Lessons for
Struggling MOOCs. Science, 342 (6165), pp.1450-1451.
doi:#10.1126/science.1239686
Perna,
L.W.,Ruby, A., Boruch, R.F., Wang, N., Scull, J., Ahmad, S.& Evans, C.
(2014). Moving Through MOOCs: Understanding the Progression of Users in Massive
Open Online Courses. Educational
Researcher, 43 (9), pp. 421–432. doi: #10.3102/0013189X14562423
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the
digital age. International Journal of
Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 21(10). Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm
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