By Nathan Mooney, University of Southern Maine Free Press
“A threat and an opportunity,” USM Professor of Linguistics Wayne Cowart said of MOOCs. Though it sounds a bit like a cuddly science fiction creature, what Cowart was referring to is actually a hot topic in higher education lately –massive, open, online courses or MOOCs. For some, the idea of giving away university-created content in a free, albeit creditless, online setting is unsettling. However, the number of students that MOOCs attract — often hundreds of thousands sign up for a single course — has made it a topic that demands attention. “As scary as it sounds when Stanford says ‘We’re going to enroll 200,000,’ it’s very unclear just what the nature of the threat is to an institution like USM,” said Cowart. “We should respond in whatever way seems to be making sense.”
http://usmfreepress.org/2013/03/13/so-what-is-a-mooc-anyway/
Share on Facebook