There's a lot to digest in this Survey of Faculty Attitudes on Technology, especially for anadministrator interested in supporting and encouraging faculty engagement withonline learning. One initial reaction: I was not surprised to see that facultyare generally skeptical of Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOC's. Based on my more than casual (but not exhaustive) reading, I offer four general observations about MOOC's:
First, as currently offered, we do not know whether MOOC's result in learning, or if they simply sort participants based on their pre-existingknowledge. Do those who successfully complete a MOOC do so because theyalready knew (or mostly knew) the material, and the MOOC's assessments simplyvalidate this? Or is there real learning going on? Relevant to this point is a report that a majority of MOOC participants already have a post-secondary degree.
Second, most of the MOOC's I have read about are in fields where most(perhaps all?) learning outcomes can be assessed through objective, computer-gradedquestions. As computers are trained to reliably grade essays andgive feedback, this could change the MOOC landscape.
Third, if MOOC's are to be used for credentialing or academic credit, schools must address concerns with verifying the identity of online students.
Fourth, a sustainable business model for MOOC's has yet to emerge, other than toserve as a method of employment screening for some employers. Here is a quotefrom Inside Higher Ed:
Udacity has suggested that it might double as a headhunter for companiesthat might like to hire some of its more impressive students. Instead of simplyselling those students credentials that they can list on their resumes whilelooking around for jobs, Udacity would offer to match students with companiesthat have enlisted Udacity as a talent scout. (The company has already hired afull-time jobs counselor to lay groundwork with potential employers.) Udacitywould take a commission for each successful match, same as a headhunter.
I plan to keep watching MOOC's carefully. Disruptive innovations can (and often do) come from unlikely places, and so a keen eye will be important to identify the possibilities as MOOC's evolve.