MOOCs: Is free higher ed help, hype, or havoc?

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are available globally, at least in principle, and free – even when available from name universities such as Stanford and MIT.

The phenomenon first took root roughly around 2007 when
Five years ago, George Siemens started a MOOC on what was happening in open education, hoping to do for teaching what M.I.T.’s OpenCourseWare had done for content: it attracted 2,300 participants, with a syllabus translated into several languages. Mr. Siemens, a professor at Athabasca University, a publicly-supported online Canadian institution, said it was quickly apparent that the format created distinctive social networks, as students carried on wide-ranging discussions on their own. (2013)

Technology enabled the move, but didn’t drive it.

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Georgia Tech graduates first class from MOOC experiment

News, voices and jobs for education professionals. Optimized for your mobile phone.

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MOOC Trends in 2015: MOOC Providers Target High School Demographic – Class Central’s MOOC Report

MOOC providers are targeting the high school demographic, to the extent that they’re developing programs just for high schoolers. We take a look at what’s available for high schoolers, and from which providers.

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New Study Raises Questions of Access for HarvardX | News | The Harvard Crimson

A new study suggests online education may not be the panacea to income-based education gaps that proponents have claimed.

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Digital Badges Certify Competencies Gained through Student Clubs

Digital badges are an increasingly popular tool for showcasing a person’s knowledge and experience. Making such badges part of students’ experience with clubs while in college could help them highlight professional competencies when entering the job market.

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