MOOC info

As a participant for more than a decade in what is often called 'distance education' (meaning the teacher and students are not in the same place), I am quite interested in this item from today's Scout report on Massive Online Open Classes, classes which may include 20,000 students or more.  I have some feel for the need to support educators financially but it is clear that there are more and more ways to learn.
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18. Massive open online courses move ahead amid support and controversy

 

Colleges Assess Cost of Free Online-Only Courses

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/education/colleges-assess-cost-of-free-online-only-courses.html?ref=technology&_r=0

 

The Professors Who Make the MOOCs

http://chronicle.com/article/The-Professors-Behind-the-MOOC/137905/#id=overview

 

Google Will Fund Cornell MOOC

http://www.cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2013/03/05/google-will-fund-cornell-mooc

 

California’s Move Toward MOOCs Sends Shock Waves, but Key Questions Remain Unanswered http://chronicle.com/article/California-Considers-a-Bold/137903/

 

UW-Madison to offer free public online courses starting in fall http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/uwmadison-to-offer-free-public-online-courses-starting-in-fall-198rsr2-192186161.html

 

Who Owns a MOOC?

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/03/19/u-california-faculty-union-says-moocs-undermine-professors-intellectual-property

 

The new wave of technology-based education has now gone one step further:

Colleges and universities, large and small, are developing programs to offer massive open online courses (MOOCs). The ensuing debate over how these courses can alter the future of higher education is ramping up: while more institutions are signing on to pioneer MOOCs, there is controversy over whether credits should be applicable to degree paths, as well as over proposed legislation that forces institutions to accept MOOC credits.

Companies such as Coursera, edX, and Udacity are already offering MOOCs for college credit, while universities such as Cornell and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have plans to consider this option in the near future.

Many interested parties have been wondering whether MOOCs will bridge the education gap, or simply become another roadblock to the coveted college degree. [MP]

 

The first link will take users to a New York Times profile on how colleges are responding to this new development. The second link is an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education that decodes the hype behind MOOCs and the professors who are leading the way in creating them. The third link is an announcement from the Cornell Sun about its new venture with Google to create MOOCs at the prestigious institution. The fourth article, from the Chronicle, covers the recent debate in California over SB 520, a proposal to use MOOCs outside of the state higher-education system for credits in the system. The fifth link goes to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article on the University of Wisconsin-Madison plans to offer MOOCs beginning in the fall of 2013. The final link is an article from Inside Higher Ed about the controversy behind MOOCs and how they affect collective bargaining and intellectual property rights for professors.

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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety