Massive Open Online Courses

Getting into college are the goal for many students, yet MOOCs are a much cheaper option for students who are ready for the material and the challenge. Cristina mendoza is one of three students, along with James Gregory, and Hugh Gallagher, who’s goals are to go into into a good college and acheive success in life. She is one of many smart and diverse people who are capable of completing a MOOC. There are many things, such as her acceptance of her diverse nature, her smarts, and uniquness of her work shows that she is the most capable of taking part in and completing a online learning environment successfully.

There are many characteristics for online learners. My characteristics are scared, overwhelmed, and excited all in the same breath. However there are three main characteristics found in every person, entry characteristics, participation behaviors, and course outcomes. Such characteristics can be broken down into age, race, gender, and employment status. Although these are the main characteristics found in this article, I think there are much more to the characteristics to online learners then meet the eye. (British Journal of Education Vol 44

Even with these disadvantages, Massive Open Online Courses are still a positive aspect for the current and future online students because with the free and easily accessible MOOCS classes, perspective online students have an alternative to education and it’s free! In order for the online universities to stay competitive, it is likely that MOOCS may force online universities to significantly lower online courses that are for credit (Casement, 2013).

The article brings to some interesting views on the futures of colleges and the experience that goes along with that first important step into adulthood. He brings some serious points to the argument. First, the traditional college experience versus an online college experience. Next, the quality of the online course information, as well as, having a tenured professor or an average non-degreed person teaching/monitoring a course. Then, he asks the question “Will employers take a person with an online degree just as serious as a traditional means degree?” Will they hold the same water so to speak? And finally, he weighs the pros and cons of the cost of

In the article, “The Year of the MOOC,” by Laura Pappano, I think that James Gregory would be the best applicant to take open online courses. I think that James has the character and the correct mindset, that will help him accomplish anything he wants to accomplish.

In the article, “Year of the MOOC”, by Laura Pappano, she states that “some students are also ill prepared for the university level work”. This means that students aren’t ready for a MOOC assignment. After looking over, “Chunky Peanut Butter” by James Gregory, I believe that Gregory would be an amazing applicant for MOOCs (massive open online course) because he’s determined, selfless, and works out of the public view.

The University of Florida’s (UoF) realization that brick and mortar schools no longer serve as the only means to attaining a higher education established an institutional paradigm shift (Kuhn, 2012) on education delivery. The university’s evolution of an online education developed alongside the growth of technology (Blocher, DeMontes, Willis, & Tucker, 2002) and the needs of the community (University of Florida, Distance Learning, 2016). For the UoF, online programs began transforming as early as 1947 when challenged to adapt during world events such as the need to deliver GED home study courses to nearly 6,000 immigrants (University of Florida, History, 2016). In years that followed, an increasingly competitive environment (Volery & Lord, 2000) led to the video taping of lectures in 1991 and to the online courses and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that initiated in 2013. In its early development MOOCs were housed under the Coursera website since it provided an opportunity to test online courses (Coursera.com, 2016; College Factual, 2016). Today, the UoF houses both MOOCs and online programs within the Division of Continuing Education (DCE), which the university established in 2009 and dedicated full-time faculty to it due to the steady growth of online education (University of Florida, Distance and Continuing Education, 2016).

An extremely hopeful Friedman sees MOOCs as the future of global online higher education. Friedman believes that MOOCs can help lift people out of poverty “by providing them affordable education to get a job or obtain a better job than the one they currently have” (Friedman). Due to its affordability and certifications that people will be able to obtain from MOOCs, it is not hard to see why MOOCs will potentially increase in popularity and growth. Thomas Friedman had an interview with the “National Education Writers Association”. In the interview he illustrated the “risk to potential reward” in students paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a four year degree and the potential return that students hope to see in their investment. He used Google and Caterpillar as examples of companies that are not satisfied with potential employee candidates that only obtained a four year college degree. Then argued that obtaining a degree and certifications through MOOCs financially makes more sense due to its convenience and cost. Friedman is passionate that this is only the beginning and MOOCs is the beginning of a new educational revolution.

Barriers have prevented students all over the world from attending college or receiving a quality education, the kind that not only teaches the basics, but also teaches critical thinking and encourages life long learners and a world citizen philosophy. I believe everyone should be able to get a quality education and the fact that higher education has become so expensive and unattainable is a disgrace. The University of the People’s model of tuition free online education is an example of disruptive innovation that is moving us toward a more globalized system of higher learning. Advances in software and internet communication provide the framework to support a collaborative online learning network that crosses boarders and economic classes. Should this model prove successful and gain traction in the mainstream, it has the potential of making brick and mortar schools, as we know them obsolete.

A Mooc is a massive open online course, a common course would last around 6 to 10 weeks. You can take all types of college courses for free, the only downside is that It’s creditless. I have been researching three students named Gallagher, Mendoza, and Gregory. By examining Gallagher’s creativity, eagerness to learn, and his confidence, it is clear that he is the best candidate for a MOOC.

Receiving an education via an online course is one that has begun with many challenges. I have come from having no knowledge of researching information to feel like I have journeyed a long way finding the confidence to research pertinent and quality resources. Through this particular unit I have been given the implements to develop a sound knowledge of online group collaborations and the programs to allow the communication to take place.

Online college courses are almost becoming traditional for students. Some may perceive that a student does not receive an equal education when taking an online class. People tend to think that if a teacher is not directly giving the information about the subject, the course learning experience is different or unjust. This assumption is wrong according to the perception of many online course takers. Online college courses offer students the advantage to learn on their own time. The skills that a student learns in self-discipline, scheduling to complete graded assignments, and advantages learned with technology gives online classes equal education experience compared to classes on campus.

Technology is changing every aspect in our lives, even the way we learn. Online classes are a rapidly growing trend it today’s society. Online classes are a cost-effective substitute for traditional courses and more convenient for many, so more schools and universities are offering this option. Due to the increase in online course enrollment, people are questioning if students truly learn something from online classes because it’s not a traditional learning environment. Online classes are just, if not more, effective as traditional classes because grades have increased and online discussions provide students with the chance to interact through networking while earning a degree for less than what it would cost to enroll at the same university.

On the other hand, an online course permits students the option and availability to enroll in a vast array of course choices regardless of their location. In so doing, it allows a student a unique opportunity to further their education anywhere in the world. After all, if one is in the United States or on a military base in Japan students can still attain an education from their home country and in their mother tongue via the Internet. However, lessons that take place in a physical classroom are confined to that location. Thus, students situated within the nearby vicinity of the school building typically can access the instructor’s lessons. Consequently, this creates a clear disadvantage to any student residing outside of the classroom’s surrounding area.

Taking an online course can help a student accomplish anything they would like to do that is education related, such as getting ahead in certain classes, finishing high school early, or maybe even college. Another plus to taking courses online is being able to work at your own pace. Researchers are finding that the slowest student takes five times as long to learn as the fastest (“Online Classes”). Lectures and other materials are electronically sent to the student, who will then read them and complete assignments, which then allows them to do the homework when they would like to and at the speed they learn things (“10 Advantages”).