INTRODUCTION
Potential employees can get their dream job through MOOCs(1)
:
·
Employers are looking for the skills in an employee that are taught by MOOCs;
·
If you can demonstrate some skills (in business,
finance, statistics, computer science – e.g., ability to use certain software,
etc.), some employers will be happy to hire you and don’t care where you learned the skills or whether you received a piece of paper for learning these skills; and
·
MOOCs are being taught by professors from high
quality institutions (e.g., Stanford, and Princeton), so there should be no
doubt that MOOCs are receiving high quality instruction.
The previous posting identified some MOOC websites and
courses that will serve the need of various interest groups. Nevertheless, MOOC students face some special
challenges. This post aims
to provide some tips to help MOOC students successfully complete their
courses. This post will address the issue of a low successful
completion rate by MOOC students, which has been generally regarded as being
about only 4-6%.
MOOC students can implement tips below if they are ready
to implement them, and then use the others tips when ready to do so. Nevertheless, students should try and
implement foundational tips as early as possible. Please click on the corresponding reference
if you need more details on any of the given tips.
TIPS FOR MOOC
STUDENTS
A: Five (5) Study Tips for MOOC Students(2)
1. Schedule
time for your MOOCs;
2. Participate
in the Learning Community;
3. Practice
your computer literacy;
4. Study
at a desk or table, rather than in bed; and
5. Don’t
take more courses than you can manage.
B: Six (6) Tips for Managing a Full MOOC Course-Load(3)
1. Tell
others (colleagues, fellow students, friends, teachers and parents) what you
are learning. Most people do not know what
a MOOC is and might wonder what you are
doing;
2. Get
a buddy for each course. Knowing
someone else studying the same course can motivate you;
3. Play
videos 1.25x to 2.00x to save you time viewing lectures;
4. Balance
your course load with your other activities;
5. Put
the skills you learned (instead of your individual courses) on your resume; and
6. Keep
all assignments you submitted on your local computer. After submitting, make a copy in a text file
or any other format. This allows you to
develop a portfolio which you can use later to show off your work.
C: Twenty-five (25) Tips for a Better MOOC Experience(4)
1. Get
connected. (Find at least one other
person to keep you connected to the course);
2. Introduce
yourself and share ways to connect. (Be sure that you are easy to find if your
fellow student would like to connect with you.
Share your social media information, and a friendly image so your peers know how to
find you);
3. Start
your own discussion. (Post a thoughtful
reply to a discussion or create your own discussion. You’ll find much more value in the course if you
participate with others);
4. Complete
major projects. (Take part in all of the major projects along with the class);
5. Offer
assistance to others. (As you help your peers, you are likely to learn
something yourself);
6. Don’t
get overwhelmed. (There will be lots of posts to your course groups, however,
you don’t have to read every single thing. Get a daily digest of posts and scan
through it for interesting conversations that you’d like to take part in);
7. Don’t
be overwhelming. (Be concise in your discussions, questions, and answers);
8. Use
descriptive titles. (This is a great way to quickly
enable others to understand what you are getting at);
9. Create your own content. (Share videos, concept maps, etc. with classmates. This is possible when you understand course content and have reflections of your own);
9. Create your own content. (Share videos, concept maps, etc. with classmates. This is possible when you understand course content and have reflections of your own);
10. Ask
questions. (Speak up if you have a question or a comment to spark discussion);
11. Join
sub-groups. (Especially sub-groups where you can share aspects of the course that
are really important to you);
12. Set
up your own blog. (A blog is a great place to collect and share your own
thoughts on a course);
13. Get
on twitter. (Chances are good that plenty of MOOC discussions will be
happening on Twitter. Be sure to create an account and find out what the
course hashtag is);
14. Create
your own archive. (With tools like “Scoop,” you can create an archive of all
the great resources you’ve found in your MOOC);
15. Designate
an email address. (Create a dedicated email address that you use only for MOOC
learning or set up filters to keep posts out of your inbox. Otherwise, you
can get overwhelmed quickly );
16. Set
up a Yahoo! Pipe. (This is a great way to stay on top of MOOC post aggregation.
You can bring in RSS, Google Groups, even Twitter and Flickr);
17. Plan
what you want to receive out of the MOOC. (Have a clear idea of what you want to receive out
of your MOOC before you begin. Do you want to just follow along? Get credit? Or …?);
18. Get
oriented early. (As early as possible, determine where and when everything is, so you don’t get left behind. Find everything important for the course,such as: a)
course materials, b) important links, c) sessions times , etc …);
19. Stay
On Schedule. (Decide what courses you would like to participate in and then schedule a time
to do just that);
20. Make
a commitment to yourself. (Then stay committed, and stay active in order to avoid
letting things slip away);
21. Get
a certificate. (If you are going to do the work, why not get credit for it?);
22. Find
a job. (Star MOOCs performers could be snapped up by dot-coms in need of
star talent);
23. Use
your MOOC experience to get college credits. (You can use MOOC in your prior
learning portfolio to get actual college credits);
24. Be
persistent. (MOOCs are an educational marathon.
Don’t give up before you have crossed the finish line); and
25. Don’t
be afraid to take time off. (If you need
a break, take a little time off to relax and then begin again).
D: Addressing Procrastination
·
Procrastination can be a major issue with MOOC
students because they don’t have in-person professors to continually encourage and guide
them;
·
To avoid procrastination, students should
develop a study plan and stick with their plan;
·
However, recent research(5) indicate
that procrastination could be a form of self-defeating behavior. This happens when the students are trying to protect themselves from the negative emotions they feel if they
fail at an academic task. In this situation, students need to realize that:
o They
(students) have far greater control over their academic success than they
think; and
o They
can confront their own fears, and need to practice having a growth mindset
(which believes that skill and academic strength can be developed through
effort and practice).
CONCLUSION
·
There are certainly a lot of useful tips out
there that MOOC students could use to guide them in their study.
WHAT NEXT
REFERENCES
(1) http://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/DC5C1E33/How-to-Use-MOOCs-to-Get-Your-Dream-Job/
Posted by: Dr. Nat Tuivavalagi
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