Now, I’m a fan of the use of technology to support learning. It’s my field, and I certainly think we need to consider the use of digital resources in higher education much more seriously than we currently do.
I think the category of online learning referred to as MOOC is worth looking at, particularly in light of what we already know about online learning and instructional design.
The mob who seem intent on clouding the whole issue are the commercial players.
There has been this odd upswing in the belief that this category of online learning is now suddenly, and magically, a path to profit. A new fluffy business case has suddenly appeared and overshadowed 10 years of hard won commercial knowledge and experience. I’m not saying things don’t change, but let’s at least look at the motivation (and experience) of those flogging the message and make plans that make sense to us in our own environments.
With that in mind this article is worth a read.
Faculty Coalition: It’s Time to Examine MOOC and Online Ed Profit Motives
“MOOCs are the latest territory in which for-profit entities are laying the groundwork for injecting their products and services into publicly-funded education. Citing reporting from Inside Higher Education, the report stated that the major MOOC companies — Coursera, Udacity, and EdX — “have ‘cash to burn'”: $21.5 million of investor money at Udacity, $43 million at Coursera, and $60 million at EdX, “generously bankrolled” by MIT and Harvard.
The public-facing basis for MOOCs “is high-minded,” the report explained. “MOOC promoters…promise unimagined-before access to higher education and the dawning of a new age.” The reality is turning out to be quite different, stated the report’s authors: “Udacity and Coursera are judged not by the quality of the actual educational experiences they provide students, the degree to which they tear down barriers for students and instructors around the globe, or any of the goals so passionately discussed in public. The bottom line here is the business bottom line — which company looks positioned to make the most money.”
The report is here http://futureofhighered.org/workingpapers/