WHO SHOULD BE TAKING A MOOC?

INTRODUCTION

Ruchira Kitsiri a graduate in the medical field , had a clinical practice, then worked across diverse sectors including marketing, sociology, education, mental health, psychology, and cardiology.  His current interest is in genetics and neuroscience, where MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have been very helpful.  In his commentary published in “MOOC News & Reviews” (Kitsiri, 2013), he describes the various groups of people (listed below) who should take a MOOC.  If you, a friend, or family member belong to one of these groups, please kindly advise them to consider enrolling in a MOOC.  In this posting, a “traditional” school refers to the pre-MOOC type that has been dominant over the last hundreds of years, where the main components have been the teacher, the classroom, the school facilities and resources (mostly physical), and the students.

WHO SHOULD TAKE A MOOC?

1)      Current Students

All students 13 years old and older taking classes in a traditional setting (including those being home-schooled) up to undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels could benefit from a MOOC:

·         Students can use MOOCs to support their work for the courses they take in their traditional school. MOOCs have Discussion Forums where students can interact with and exchange information, knowledge and experiences with other students.  These interactions could provide inspiration and support for all involved;

·         Some teachers in traditional schools now direct their students to specific MOOCs either to fill in the gaps in the student's’ preparation or to enhance concepts from classes that the teachers are currently teaching.  Even brilliant students sometimes have a weak spot – perhaps Mathematics or Language – that could be  very easily fixed by appropriate MOOCs;

·         Via MOOCs, students can easily gain access to courses not taught in their traditional school.  For example, a law student interested in  a debate regarding whether genes should be patented or not. The student will find a host of biology and genetics MOOCs that could provide essential basic biology and genetics principles that wouldn't be taught in law schools.

2)      Prospective Students

  MOOC is a great place to take a sneak peek into a subject that a prospective student may want to  study.  MOOCs can play a vital role in helping prospective students decide which course or program to take.  This applies to:

·         Current students in high school who have to decide what to study in college or the university;

·         Current students who have to pick one or more electives with little or no understanding of the contents of the elective courses;

·         Current students who are finishing their undergraduate program and have to start thinking of which academic area to focus on for their graduate/postgraduate program;

·         Mothers who want to go back to school after their children have left home.

3)      Research Students

Students pursuing advanced studies sometimes need to refine their focus, identify a specific research topic to work on, select a potential supervisor, and develop a proposal to get funding for a graduate/postgraduate scholarship.  This applies to:

·         High school and undergraduate students working on a student research project;

·         Graduate/postgraduate students working on a research project/paper;

·         Thesis research by undergraduate and graduate/postgraduate students.

4)      Teachers

Teachers can benefit from a MOOC by brushing up and updating their knowledge on the subject and to learn new ways of delivering material to their students.  This applies to:

·         High school or college teachers who have been forced by circumstances to teach a subject at which they are not particularly familiar with  or for which they don’t have a great passion for;

·         High school teachers, college, or university professors who need to strenghten a critical weakness – e.g., a university professor who was hired for his excellence in research but with weakness in his ability to communicate and teach effectively.

5)      Parents

Parents can greatly benefit from MOOCs if they are homeschooling their children or if they are interested in helping out their children – even if the children are attending traditional schools:

·         There are MOOCs that can easily teach parents the subject matters that is needed to help their children;

·         MOOCs can help parents to effectively assist their children's decision on subjects to study.

6)      People Personally Affected By The Issue Covered In A MOOC

People who are  interested in or personally affected by an issue should find out if there is a MOOC on the subject and study the subject if it is available.  Examples include:

·         The MOOC on “Genetics and Evolution” could be useful for those planning to or have obtained genetic services such as: diagnostic tests, risk assessment tests, or legal services that involve genetics; or for those with a concern about a diagnosed genetic disorder;

·         Parents considering vaccination for their children could benefit from one or more of Coursera’s courses dealing with various aspects of vaccination. For Example, “Vaccines” offered by the University of Pennsylvania, and “Vaccine Trials: Methods and Best Practices” by John Hopkins University;

·         Those with aging parents could benefit from “Understanding Dementia” from the University of Tasmania, and “Growing Old Around the Globe” from the University of Pennsylvania;

·         People interested in or personally affected by diabetes could benefit from “Diabetes – A Global Challenge” from the University of Copenhagen.

7)      People Seeking Personal Enrichment At Different Life Stages

People benefitting from MOOCs include those wanting to learn subjects about the world around us, as they were not able to study these things before, due to difficulties with time, money, or access to information.  In some cases, this interest developed recently when people wanted to learn simply for personal satisfaction and fulfilment.  Examples include:

·         A retired psychologist developed an interest in evolution and was inspired to take MOOCs in genetics and biology;

·         A career nutritionist who has always been fascinated by robotics could benefit from “Artificial Intelligence for Robotics,” the MOOC offered on Udacity; and

·         Imagine you want to befriend someone who is heavily into science fiction , an area in which you have very limited if any knowledge about. A possible solution is to take “Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World,” the MOOC from the University of Michigan.

8)      Professionals

MOOCs could be the answer for those busy professionals who either want to refresh their subject knowledge or who find themselves requiring knowledge in a subject area different from their own original background qualifications.  Examples include:

·         You may be a member of an interdisciplinary team in evolutionary biology research but you come from a statistic background with no primary qualification in biology.  The MOOC “Introduction to Genetics and Evolution” would help you get a basic introduction to the core principles so you can better relate to your colleagues and to the team’s work;

·         A marketing professional taking up a management role needs to inform herself about finance and could benefit from one or more of available MOOCs.  These include “Introduction to Finance” offered on Coursera by University of Michigan, and “Corporate Finance” also on Coursera by University of Pennsylvania;

·         Consider a practicing lawyer who would like to specialize in the specific area of Environmental Law.  The Coursera MOOC “Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy” from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  may help give a basic idea of the content that may have to be learnt;

·         You may be primarily qualified in the humanities and now work in public health and may want to learn about wider issues that you come across in your day-to-day work.  You would find many MOOCs helpful, including: “Principles of Public Health” from University of California, Irvine, and “Introduction to Global Health” from University of Copenhagen.

9)      Institutional Users

Apart from individuals, institutions can benefit from MOOCs.  Examples include:

·         A small study group from one company that signed up for a public speaking MOOC and meets weekly to work/study  together;

·         Employers can structure the MOOC experience in a way that the certification is recognized within their organization as a valid measure of continuous professional development; and

·         A university department can use some MOOCs in its teaching and training if they do not have the exact expertise on their own faculty.

10)   Other Miscellaneous Categories Of Lifelong Learners

MOOCs could be the best way to move forward for other learners as well, particularly those facing challenges.  Examples include those facing financial, physical, psychological, or social challenges:

·         The poor now have less excuses to receive a good education, as MOOCs offer , high quality courses from top universities at no cost;

·         People with physical disabilities can access quality education from the comfort of their own homes; and

·          Slow learners just have to press the “Replay” button.

CONCLUSION

In summary, this posting seems to suggest that practically anyone 13 years old or older can benefit from a MOOC. As Kitsiri (2013) pointed out, those who can benefit from a MOOC are limited only by our interest, enthusiasm, and imagination.

WHAT NEXT

To find a MOOC that could benefit you, please click here.

REFERENCE

Kitsiri, Ruchira. 2013. Who should take a MOOC?:  9 Types of Lifelong Learners Who Can Benefit. Available online at: http://moocnewsandreviews.com/who-should-take-a-mooc-9-types-of-lifelong-learners-who-can-benefit/

Posted by: Dr. Nat Tuivavalagi