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How effective are MOOCs really? I'm not saying that they're not effective, I'm simple asking the question. Are people getting hired based on a resume of a MOOC

by bfwi 12y ago

How effective are MOOCs really? I'm not saying that they're not effective, I'm simple asking the question. Are people getting hired based on a resume of a MOOC education? Do you know anyone who really learned a subject by taking a MOOC? If so, that's fantastic.

ojbyrne 12y ago
Having taken 7 or 8 MOOCs, my unscientific opinion is: 1. Employers completely ignore them. 2. The vast majority of courses are not very good - poor preparation, bad lecturing, not well thought out course design. A small number of courses (mostly those based on existing courses at top universities) are very good. I think that this actually reflects the university experience in general.
jonhmchan 12y ago
From my own experience, MOOCs are useful to get a base understanding of a particular topic. However, learning the topic at hand is necessary but not sufficient: I don't think many people are getting jobs by listing completion of a course. As it stands, I think the people that (1) understand the topic well, and (2) are getting jobs are also people that take that understanding and have something to show for it. It's not enough to say that you learned code through Codecademy, you do need to build something of your own to show in order to be employable. I think that's the case even with traditional education: it's not enough to simply have a CS degree, but something to show for it as well.
acbart 12y ago
My takeaway from Learning@Scale, the first big CS Education conference to focus on Learning Sciences and Computer Science "at scale", is that the people who succeed at them are the people who already have some higher education and are driven and motivated. I don't think most of the serious researchers are convinced they'll be THAT useful in the long run. I'd dig up the research papers, but I'm supposed to be working :) I recommend a quick glance over their latest issues.
- _delirium 12y ago
  > people who succeed at them are the people who already have some higher education At a conference I was at, one of the speakers claimed that a disproportionate number of the successful students in the group they were studying not only had some college, but had actually finished college and had a degree (though not always in the same area). It'd be nice to see some more solid stats on that. Their interpretation was that where MOOCs are most successful, so far, is as "continuing education" for people who already finished conventional higher education. Those people can use MOOCs to keep up to speed in their field, or broaden by taking a few courses in other fields that they didn't get a chance to study at school.
sanderjd 12y ago
How effective relative to what? Relative to college classes that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars per credit? Relative to high school classes? Relative to self-directed education from books and articles? I think if there is a problem with MOOCs, it is purely one of expectation. Of course there isn't some magical "if you MOOC it they will learn" effect. Of course people aren't getting hired because of putting a few classes on their resume. But both of these things are true of college education as well. You can't force people to learn, you can only give them the opportunity. Nobody hires on the basis of individual college courses either. It will be interesting to see if the "degree program" equivalents that the MOOCs are trying will be successful, but it's too early to tell. But ignoring all that, there are now hundreds of opportunities for motivated individuals to learn about an enormous breadth of topics completely for free, with lots of good lecture videos, lecture notes, exercises, projects, and peer discussion. This really can't be anything but a really great thing.
incision 12y ago
>'How effective are MOOCs really?' I've done quite a few MOOC courses. The best courses demonstrate what I believe the future of higher education should be. They're better than anything I've at an accredited university. Of course, it bears noting that I'm dealing with courses at a public university versus MOOCs by the likes of MIT and Stanford. >'Do you know anyone who really learned a subject by taking a MOOC?' No, but I see no reason it couldn't happen. If the best courses I've taken were stacked together and extended to half a dozen semesters of escalating content I think they'd produce formidable results.
jshute 12y ago
They are one tool, but not sufficient for a real education. For instance, I doubt you could effectively teach social and emotional development in early childhood using a web portal.

by bfwi 12y ago

ojbyrne 12y ago

Having taken 7 or 8 MOOCs, my unscientific opinion is: 1. Employers completely ignore them. 2. The vast majority of courses are not very good - poor preparation, bad lecturing, not well thought out course design. A small number of courses (mostly those based on existing courses at top universities) are very good. I think that this actually reflects the university experience in general.

jonhmchan 12y ago

From my own experience, MOOCs are useful to get a base understanding of a particular topic. However, learning the topic at hand is necessary but not sufficient: I don't think many people are getting jobs by listing completion of a course. As it stands, I think the people that (1) understand the topic well, and (2) are getting jobs are also people that take that understanding and have something to show for it. It's not enough to say that you learned code through Codecademy, you do need to build something of your own to show in order to be employable. I think that's the case even with traditional education: it's not enough to simply have a CS degree, but something to show for it as well.

acbart 12y ago

My takeaway from Learning@Scale, the first big CS Education conference to focus on Learning Sciences and Computer Science "at scale", is that the people who succeed at them are the people who already have some higher education and are driven and motivated. I don't think most of the serious researchers are convinced they'll be THAT useful in the long run. I'd dig up the research papers, but I'm supposed to be working :) I recommend a quick glance over their latest issues.

_delirium 12y ago
> people who succeed at them are the people who already have some higher education At a conference I was at, one of the speakers claimed that a disproportionate number of the successful students in the group they were studying not only had some college, but had actually finished college and had a degree (though not always in the same area). It'd be nice to see some more solid stats on that. Their interpretation was that where MOOCs are most successful, so far, is as "continuing education" for people who already finished conventional higher education. Those people can use MOOCs to keep up to speed in their field, or broaden by taking a few courses in other fields that they didn't get a chance to study at school.

sanderjd 12y ago

How effective relative to what? Relative to college classes that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars per credit? Relative to high school classes? Relative to self-directed education from books and articles? I think if there is a problem with MOOCs, it is purely one of expectation. Of course there isn't some magical "if you MOOC it they will learn" effect. Of course people aren't getting hired because of putting a few classes on their resume. But both of these things are true of college education as well. You can't force people to learn, you can only give them the opportunity. Nobody hires on the basis of individual college courses either. It will be interesting to see if the "degree program" equivalents that the MOOCs are trying will be successful, but it's too early to tell. But ignoring all that, there are now hundreds of opportunities for motivated individuals to learn about an enormous breadth of topics completely for free, with lots of good lecture videos, lecture notes, exercises, projects, and peer discussion. This really can't be anything but a really great thing.

incision 12y ago

>'How effective are MOOCs really?' I've done quite a few MOOC courses. The best courses demonstrate what I believe the future of higher education should be. They're better than anything I've at an accredited university. Of course, it bears noting that I'm dealing with courses at a public university versus MOOCs by the likes of MIT and Stanford. >'Do you know anyone who really learned a subject by taking a MOOC?' No, but I see no reason it couldn't happen. If the best courses I've taken were stacked together and extended to half a dozen semesters of escalating content I think they'd produce formidable results.

jshute 12y ago

They are one tool, but not sufficient for a real education. For instance, I doubt you could effectively teach social and emotional development in early childhood using a web portal.