As a BIM master student, I was quite surprised when I heard that none of the courses were recorded and therefore available online. Everyone I ever spoke about it was enthusiastic about recorded lectures. Maybe all of my friends are just lazy students (like me), who prefer to stay in bed rather than going to a 9 am lecture, but I genuinly think it offers more convenience than it has disadvantages. Me wondering this was the main reason for me to write on this subject.
MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Courses, and are (often free) courses that are available to the public through online lectures and assignments (EdX, 2019). It provides great advantages as you can enroll from anywhere around the world, as long as you have access to a decent internet connection.
First of all, and maybe the most obvious advantage of MOOC’s, it that the internet knows no borders. Of course we all know the Great Chinese Firewall, but someone from South-Korea is able to enter a website from a Colombian local bee farm. Therefore, people from more abandoned areas, like sub-Saharan Africa are able to enter these courses as long as there is a decent internet connection and a streaming device. According to UNESCO (2016), sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of education exclusion in the world. Almost 60% of all youth between 15 and 17 there are not in school. Yes, they still require a streaming device, but a phone screen is in theory enough, and video projectors can be installed in classrooms.
This brings us to another advantage of MOOC’s, there is (in theory) no maximum student capacity. As it is a digital product, it can in theory be copied infinitely without reducing in quality. This means an enormous amount of people could follow the course of a single professor. This seems like a situation that only has benefits, but there are some risks. If a single professor is enough to educate a massive group of people, then I foresee a decrease of the need for professors. This may lead to many professors losing their job, and having to seek other ways to earn a living.
MOOC’s being a digital good also brings a major risk, the risk of the course content being copied and spread without consent and compensation. Screens can be recorded and assignments being copied. Websites like The PirateBay that provide a lot of illegal content are nowadays still available, whether it is through a proxy server or not). A solution must be sought to prevent piracy, because a single pirate is enough to create a lot of damage.
Another advantage of MOOC’s is that it provides an opportunity to gather data about its students. It can be tracked how much and when students spend time on the website, and which classes and courses are more and less attractive. Students may be able to provide a rating and a comment after every course. A risk of having too many students enrolled, is that a single professor may not be able to answer all questions or analyze feedback. This proves that a MOOC is not simply a professor with a webcam, but really requires a well-structured team or organization.
I would advise professors and universities to brainstorm about threats and opportunities in the increasingly digitized society. I believe that it’s very important not to miss the boat and to exploit first-mover advantages. Otherwise, you will remain the incumbent, while others become the disruptors.
References
EdX. (2019). mooc.org. Retrieved October 16, 2019, from http://mooc.org/.
UNESCO. (2016). Education in Africa. Retrieved October 16, 2019, from http://uis.unesco.org/en/topic/education-africa.
While I fundamentally agree with you, I’d like to play devil’s advocate for a bit!
One of the issues of switching over to a MOOC format is the loss of control over distribution. It is so much harder to pirate a physical lecture compared to a MOOC, especially if the MOOC is used to broaden the amount of possible students.
Another issue is the willingness of the professors to be online. Not everybody is cut out to be an on-line content creator, let alone professors who are all, by definition, nerds to some degree. Some professors prefer to interact with students and provide guided lessons which is so much harder to do on-line even with a streaming-like service (twitch comment overload comes to mind). Some professors will not appreciate almost nobody showing up to class because knowledge is in the MOOC.
A final issue I can see is that the video format is not always the best way to learn for everyone, So by having a static MOOC that cannot build off of real-time feedback, you end up needing to invest a lot more time and effort in answering questions that wouldn’t have been asked if given in the physical lecture format.
I still want MOOCs though!
Hey Robert! Thank you for the quick reply.
First of all, fun to read that you fundamentally agree with me. Therefore, I really respect the fact that you still wrote a critical comment on my blog.
I agree with you that switching over to a full MOOC format has some serious disadvantages at the moment. However, I believe that it is a matter of “When” society will go full-MOOC instead of “if” it is a good idea.
Big disruptive and innovative companies like Uber, Tesla and AirBnB have operated a long time without profit, but their value is gigantic due to the fact that great future benefits are expected. Therefore, I see it as a long-term strategy to take MOOC’s seriously, even though it may cost resources in the present.
Another example: the willingness of car fabricants to produce electric cars was almost zero at the beginning of this century, but now almost all big brands are developing them. Why? Not because they wanted it intrinsically, but because there was a need shift from the market. Tesla was one of the few fulfulling that need, as proved by their very fast growth in a relatively short lifespan. Consumers’ mindset has been shifting to a more sustainable mindset. Combustion engine cars have in theory the same specifications and options as electric cars, but they are more convenient as a gas tank is filled within minutes, while charging takes a while. The same goes for professors. It is not about the majority of them not wanting to go on-line, but about the possible shift of the market need. The advantages for the market-side are too big and obvious in my opinion, not fulfiling this need as a professor will lead to it being fulfilled by other professors who do.
Long story short, stubborn actors (which in my opinion are offline professors), will miss the disruption boat.
At last, I strongly agree with you comment that the video format is not sufficient for all students and studies. From a personal perspective, I believe that the offline lecture will become the niche market over time, and MOOC’s the standard, as the benefits apply for most students (gut feeling statement).
Thank you for playing the devil’s advocate! It really made me reconsider my perspective!
Hi Anouar! Thanks for your inspiring post!
I agree with you. Mooc can certainly make students’ life a lot easier. It also reduce the cost for institutions and saves time for professors. However, I have a concern about profitability: is MOOC profitable for both the platform and institutions? I assume most of the MOOCs are free unless the users want to gain the certificants. If MOOC is not profitable, at least for now, what’s the incentive for the platform to continue providing free courses?
Thank you!
Hi Anouar,
Interesting reading. My first assignment of Information Strategies was based on this topic. I do agree with you on most points except for the part where you state it could potentially cost teachers their job.
In 2016 there were already 58 million people enrolled in 6.850 different MOOC’s provided by 700+ universities. In the meantime it is 2019 which means these numbers are far greater since the popularity if MOOC’s has been growing. Nevertheless the job market for teachers is still as grim as ever, which means that good teachers are hard to find. I believe this is because the consumer market for MOOC’s is way different than for traditional schooling. For example, you mentioned the possibility of MOOC’s in sub-Saharan Africa which is a vastly different market with different needs than in The Netherlands. Unless these markets somehow align their needs, I don’t see how MOOC’s would influence the job market of professors. There might even be an increase in need.
How do you think about this?
Nigel R+R=back
Source:
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/why-havent-moocs-eliminated-any-professors