Journal #9 Massive and Open

Massive and Open

Summary

In the article “Massive and Open” written by Karen Fasimpaur, the author talks about massive open online courses. Massive Open Online Courses also known as (MOOCs) is a new style of teaching and learning. Classes are structured differently, even though MOOC stands for online courses, some of the classes do require face-to-face interaction. The term “open” does not necessarily means that anyone can enroll in the course, some courses are protected with firewalls or passwords. Teachers from K-12 also started getting involved in this type of virtual interaction. Verena Roberts, an e-learning consultant, shared “MOOCs and other online professional development opportunities should be engaging and support teacher’s needs in their own classrooms”; she believes that these types of courses can benefit educators by engaging them in a more flexible way of teaching and learning. Other educators do not agree on the effectiveness of MOOCs, they say it lacks active participation.

Are Massive Open Online Courses effective?

I believe that it is a great way for teachers and students to extend their learning. It is flexible, affordable, and it’s a great way to provide an extra support for teachers and students, but I also believe that in order for learning to take place, there needs to be some face-to-face interaction. The reason of why I think that there needs to be more active interaction is because some people are visual learners and in order for them to learn they need to see teachers modeling examples. Also, people need hands on experience in order for them to implement and put in practice learned material. I believe that one of the main reasons of why many people drop out of these courses is because they see online courses not as serious as regular classes.  

Would MOOCs be more beneficial for elementary, middle, or high school students?

In my opinion, I believe that MOOCs are designed for older students because older students have more access to computers. Some high school students start working at this age and MOOCs could really benefit them because classes are more flexible and can take place anytime during the day. I feel that elementary school students need more modeling in order for them to learn and retain information.

Fasimpaur, K. (n.d.). Massive and open. (2013). Learning and Leading with Technology, 40(6), 12-17. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/digitaledition/digital-edition-march-april-2013