tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/moocs-11526/articlesMOOCs – The Conversation2023-02-21T13:13:17Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1990222023-02-21T13:13:17Z2023-02-21T13:13:17ZPsychological grit is over-rated as the key to retention in distance education: a South African study debunks the myth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508297/original/file-20230206-19-e1my6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">PeopleImages / Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Psychological grit has garnered a lot of interest in the last decade, particularly in the higher education arena. It’s typically defined as passion and perseverance for long-term goals. A great deal has been <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27845531/">written</a> about it and the role it plays in the retention and success of tertiary students. Kelly Anne Young <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02680513.2022.2134003">explored</a> the role grit played in determining postgraduate retention among historically disadvantaged students enrolled at the University of South Africa (Unisa) – the <a href="https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/About/The-leading-ODL-university">largest</a> provider of open, distance e-learning in Africa.</em></p>
<h2>How did you define grit?</h2>
<p>I followed the widely accepted definition of grit coined by <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-07951-009">Duckworth and colleagues (2007)</a>. Grit is passion and perseverance for long-term goals, despite setbacks, adversity or plateaus in progress.</p>
<p>My study included 594 Unisa students who enrolled for an honours degree in 2017. Essentially, I wanted to know whether grittier students were more likely than less gritty students to enrol for their second year of studies. </p>
<p>So, I asked them to complete the <a href="https://sjdm.org/dmidi/files/Grit-8-item.pdf">Grit-S scale</a>. This scale includes items relating to your passion and perseverance towards long-term goals – for example, “I finish whatever I begin” and “Setbacks don’t discourage me”. Responses on these items range from “not at all like me” to “very much like me”. The scores are combined to determine an overall level of grit, ranging from 1 (not at all gritty) to 5 (extremely gritty). </p>
<p>My sample scored towards the higher end of the grit spectrum (3.85). </p>
<p>The next year, I checked the proportion of my sample who returned, and paired this retention data with the grit scores. Although a relatively large portion of my sample returned for their second year of studies (62.3%), results revealed that a higher grit score did not mean the student was more likely to continue with their degree.</p>
<p>My study also looked at whether gender, age, ethnicity and home language were significant predictors of retention among the participants. They were not.</p>
<h2>Why did you think it was important to look at the role of grit?</h2>
<p>Retaining historically disadvantaged students in distance education programmes is often cited as a major challenge facing South African higher education institutions. Nowhere is this issue more topical than at Unisa, which has over <a href="https://www.dhet.gov.za/Information%20Systems%20Coordination/Statistics%20on%20Post-School%20Education%20and%20Training%20in%20South%20Africa%202020.pdf">95% of all enrolled distance education students</a> in South Africa. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.dhet.gov.za/HEMIS/2000%20TO%202017%20FIRST%20TIME%20ENTERING%20UNDERGRADUATE%20COHORT%20STUDIES%20FOR%20PUBLIC%20HEIs.pdf">recent cohort analysis</a> by the country’s Department of Higher Education and Training showed that 56.8% of the 2000 cohort of distance education students had dropped out after their first year of studying. That’s double the attrition rate reported among students in the contact cohort (23.6%). Although subsequent distance education cohorts had lower rates of dropout from first to second year (for example 29.6% among the 2017 cohort), these figures are still concerning and require further exploration.</p>
<p>In an attempt to mitigate this dropout and enhance student success at the institution, a number of studies have been conducted. Some have explored cognitive attributes, such as <a href="https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe/article/view/249">school leaving exam results</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/18146620902857574">assignment grades</a> and past course performance. Others have looked at non-cognitive attributes, such as <a href="https://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/4325">motivation</a>, <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/EJC153518">locus of control</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09639280802618130">attribute style</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2017.1356711">self-efficacy</a>, as predictors of success and retention among Unisa students.</p>
<p>This research has resulted in a better understanding of what shapes student retention at Unisa. One review has found, though, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2190/4YNU-4TMB-22DJ-AN4W">that</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>most institutions have not yet been able to translate what we know about student retention into forms of action that have led to substantial gains in student persistence and graduation. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The question of grit then arose.</p>
<p>Psychological grit is often positioned as a panacea in higher education. This is because grit has shown enormous potential in predicting student success and retention in elite or historically advantaged traditional tertiary settings, both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2017.1409478">in South Africa</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087">abroad</a>. What’s more, grit has shown to predict success among tertiary students pursuing their <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0033294117734834">studies online</a> and among <a href="https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v19i3.3393">those completing massive open online courses</a>.</p>
<p>Very little research on grit has been conducted among South African distance education students, though. My <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02680513.2022.2134003">study</a> produced the first published findings on grit’s predictive role in determining retention among historically disadvantaged distance education students in South Africa.</p>
<h2>Why did you choose this particular cohort of students?</h2>
<p>I included certain ethnic groups in the study as a proxy for historical disadvantage, because of the way apartheid policies identified these groups. The 594 Unisa students in my sample were black African (83% of the sample), Indian, Chinese and mixed-race South Africans who enrolled for an honours degree for the first time in 2017.</p>
<p>As an ongoing consequence of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/apartheid">apartheid</a> policies, South African university students are often first-generation students and academically <a href="https://doi.org/10.25159/0256-8853/1938">under-prepared</a>. They often lack what’s called <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01074084">epistemological access</a>, which means access to
the knowledge that the university distributes.</p>
<h2>Why do your findings matter?</h2>
<p>Contrary to popular findings, my results revealed that historically disadvantaged students with higher levels of psychological grit were not more likely to enrol for their second year (when compared to their less gritty peers). </p>
<p>I think it’s important to remember that the seminal literature on grit has (predominantly) emanated from largely privileged student populations, to the point that the only thing possibly missing in those students’ lives is grit. And so it makes sense that the presence of grit would produce significant results (thus alluding to it’s importance).</p>
<p>But positioning grit as a panacea among historically disadvantaged students can be a dangerous distraction from the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883035522000465">real barriers to student retention</a>. Moreover, the legacy of disadvantage remains, despite legislative and policy changes that were intended to transform the <a href="https://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/inline-files/BS23%20Final_A%20Reflection%20on%20Two%20Decades%20of%20Programme%20Differentiation%20in%20Higher%20Education%20in%20South%20Africa%5B74%5D.pdf">higher education sector in South Africa</a>. And because of this, we must remember that higher education institutions do not survive in “<a href="https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.82.2.v1jx34n441532242">hermetically sealed spheres</a>” in which past (and present) inequality gaps have no effect on student success and retention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199022/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelly Anne Young does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Seeing grit as a panacea among historically disadvantaged students can be a dangerous distraction from other barriers to student retention.Kelly Anne Young, Senior Researcher, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1958262023-01-25T14:42:32Z2023-01-25T14:42:32ZFree online courses could be a path to higher education in African countries but awareness is low<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505071/original/file-20230118-12-mtwnjq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Open and distance learning were specifically designed to allow anyone, anywhere to access higher education.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alistair Berg/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the largest regions in the world and has the lowest rates of participation in higher education anywhere in the world. The World Bank <a href="https://www.wathi.org/sub-saharan-africa-tertiary-education-the-docs-world-bank-december-2020/">reported</a> in 2020 that only 9.4% of the region’s tertiary education age group is enrolled. The global average ratio is 38%.</p>
<p>Education is a key <a href="https://www.dbsa.org/article/role-education-economic-development">catalyst of economic emancipation</a>. Open and distance education was specifically designed for this purpose: to make higher education accessible to everyone, everywhere. Since it’s not limited to one campus or physical space, this approach empowers students to take full responsibility for their studies, to learn anywhere and at any time. Importantly, this happens with a higher education institution’s support and guidance.</p>
<p>One of the programmes commonly offered by such universities in other parts of the world is the <a href="https://www.mooc.org/">Massive Open Online Course</a> (MOOC). These are free, easily accessible and completely online courses with no entry requirements. In some developing countries outside Africa, such as the Philippines, Thailand and India, MOOCs are already being credited at the national level for entry into formal university education. This increases access to higher education. </p>
<p>MOOCs are relatively new in Africa; they have become more common in the past five or ten years. On paper they are ideal for many African contexts. Egyptian education researcher Ghada Refaat El Said <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633116681302">writes</a> that MOOCs can effectively alleviate </p>
<blockquote>
<p>overcrowded classrooms, high costs of materials and books, commuting difficulty due to high traffic, and a need for continued education and specialised training for the workforce.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But how exactly are MOOCs being used by African universities? Are any countries’ education systems effectively using MOOCs to widen higher education access? To find out, we <a href="https://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/29231">analysed</a> existing peer-reviewed research published between 2013 and 2020.</p>
<p>We found that not many African countries perceive MOOCs as tools for boosting higher education access. Where these courses are offered, they are usually supplementary or designed merely to give students extra tuition support. And there’s not much awareness of MOOCs among school teachers and learners, who then miss out on this potential alternative path into higher education.</p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We searched the <a href="https://sabinet.co.za/">Sabinet</a>, <a href="https://www.scopus.com/home.uri">Scopus</a> and <a href="https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/solutions/web-of-science/">Web of Science</a> databases for papers by African authors about MOOCs. This produced 99 papers. Our study was based on the 15 that were most relevant to our inclusion and exclusion criteria and that specifically addressed African issues around MOOCs.</p>
<p>A key finding was that MOOCs are mostly used as a self-learning element to support formal qualifications within African universities. In some cases, MOOCs involve face-to-face tuition and support for university students. However, this practice allows only a limited number of learners to access higher education. For the most part, it caters only to those who are already in the system.</p>
<p>The literature review also shows that most people from African countries taking these courses already possess some level of higher education. So, again, the existing education access divide is not addressed.</p>
<p>Some of the studies we reviewed found that many learners and teachers at high school level didn’t even know what MOOCs were because they had no access to digital spaces.</p>
<p>The literature suggests that a few countries in Africa – among them Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa – seem to have at least acknowledged the role that MOOCs might play in broadening higher education access. But this has not yet been translated into national policy.</p>
<h2>Examples from elsewhere</h2>
<p>We found that MOOCs are already being used as part of mainstream credit-bearing courses in some institutions in the Philippines, Thailand and India. That means completing a MOOC can count towards access to a university degree. It helps make the degree more affordable.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-online-courses-can-bring-the-world-into-africas-classrooms-63773">How online courses can bring the world into Africa's classrooms</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Another finding related to how MOOCs in some developing countries are being successfully packaged with recognition of prior learning programmes. This is a process through which informal learning can, with strict measurements and mediation, be certified – as the South African Qualifications Authority <a href="https://www.saqa.org.za/faq/what-recognition-prior-learning?language_content_entity=en">describes it</a> – “against the requirements for credit, access, inclusion or advancement in the formal education and training system, or workplace”.</p>
<p>It is clear from these and other findings in our study that African governments, policy makers and education sectors could learn a great deal from other developing countries. </p>
<h2>Going forward</h2>
<p>Higher education institutions in African countries must initiate dialogue with governments and accreditation bodies on how MOOCs can be used innovatively to widen access to higher education.</p>
<p>Governments that aspire to widen access to higher education through MOOCs need to raise the awareness of every stakeholder, including school communities, educationists in higher education, policy makers and government stakeholders. It’s another way to provide African students with quality and relevant education.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195826/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mpho-Entle Puleng Modise does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>African governments, policy makers and education sectors could learn a great deal from other developing countries.Mpho-Entle Puleng Modise, Lecturer, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1706852021-11-17T13:16:44Z2021-11-17T13:16:44ZWant to take an online course? Here are 4 tips to make sure you get the most out of it for your career<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431550/original/file-20211111-6892-7r71ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2117%2C1412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hiring managers often prefer nondegree credentials from top universities over credit-bearing certificates from for-profit institutions.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/group-of-unrecognisable-international-students-royalty-free-image/1300822108"> Drazen_/E+ Collection via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The “<a href="https://hbr.org/2021/09/who-is-driving-the-great-resignation">great resignation</a>” has left a lot of people with time on their hands. And while this time may be a welcome respite from the daily grind, most folks will need to get back to work eventually. For many, this period is a time of reflection and a chance to pursue a new career. </p>
<p>But how do you make the switch? And even if you plan to return to the same field, how do you show that you have kept current with the <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/the-future-of-work-after-covid-19">changes and trends</a> that affected most industries during the pandemic?</p>
<p>Traditionally, the answer to these questions has been to go back to school. But <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/02/the-gap-in-college-costs-and-earnings-for-young-workers-since-1980.html">rising tuition costs</a> over the past few decades, and the time commitment of traditional degree programs, makes this route prohibitively expensive for a lot of people. </p>
<p>That’s where short online courses in business, technology and other fields come in. Over the past 10 years, these courses from providers such as <a href="https://www.udemy.com/">Udemy</a>, <a href="https://www.coursera.org/">Coursera</a> and <a href="https://www.edx.org/">edX</a> have become more popular, and <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781503628076-016/html">approximately 75% of learners who take them</a> report gaining <a href="https://er.educause.edu/articles/2019/6/mooc-based-alternative-credentials-whats-the-value-for-the-learner">career benefits</a> from completing them. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yRJ7ARQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">researcher and practitioner</a> who develops these education technologies, I also study the <a href="https://repository.isls.org//handle/1/7629">behaviors that make online learners successful</a>. Here are four key actions that studies have shown will help online learners make the most of a short online course to reap the career benefits they desire. </p>
<h2>1. Identify the goal</h2>
<p>Learners who begin a course with a clear idea of what they want to get out of it are <a href="http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3393">more likely to complete their course</a> and earn a certificate. A goal may be, for example, to learn a new skill, gain more knowledge about a topic, improve job performance, get a new job or advance in a current one. </p>
<p>In my study of over 4,000 learners who completed an online course in business topics, I found that learners who enrolled in their course with the intention of improving their job performance, starting their own business or getting a new role were <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/342971212e6faa77bf99cb0faa606555/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y">more likely to experience career benefits</a> than those who enrolled only because they wanted to learn something new about the topic. </p>
<h2>2. Rewatch videos and retake tests</h2>
<p>Among the same sample of over 4,000 people taking online courses, I also found that <a href="https://repository.isls.org/handle/1/7629">learning behaviors associated with persistence</a> – such as watching more videos or retaking tests – were shown to be more strongly associated with perceived career benefits than social behaviors like forum posts, comments and views – or even grades.</p>
<p>In fact, the same study showed that grades don’t have any correlation to whether or not a person gains career benefits as long as they eventually pass the course. The lesson here is to try and try again. Taking a course that is challenging may prove to be more useful than one a learner can breeze through. </p>
<h2>3. Finish the course</h2>
<p>Many short courses are now only four or five weeks long, with fewer than three hours of time required per week. Learners who complete their online courses are <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/342971212e6faa77bf99cb0faa606555/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y">more likely</a> to learn something new, improve performance, get a raise or new job or start a new business. They can also <a href="https://www.amacad.org/sites/default/files/publication/downloads/CFUE_Alternative-Pathways.pdf">receive a digital certificate or badge</a> they can post on social media channels to inform potential employers that they have successfully passed the course. </p>
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<h2>4. Choose the brand wisely</h2>
<p>Currently, I am working on a broader study to confirm that hiring managers feel that “nondegree credentials” like certificates from online courses improve a candidate’s resume, particularly if the potential employee does not have work experience in the field. </p>
<p>These same hiring managers value the reputation of the institution that offers the course over the specific credential that is earned from it – a badge vs. a certificate, for example. In my survey to hiring managers, the results of which have not yet been published, a majority responded that they prefer nondegree credentials from academically distinguished universities over credit-bearing certificates from for-profit institutions.</p>
<p>[<em>Too busy to read another daily email?</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-toobusy">Get one of The Conversation’s curated weekly newsletters</a>.]</p>
<p>Fortunately, many highly recognizable, academically selective universities and companies now offer these short courses for low or no cost. It’s easy to learn <a href="https://www.edx.org/course/data-analytics-for-everyone">data analytics from IBM</a>, <a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/uva-darden-foundations-business-strategy">business strategy from Darden</a>, <a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/machine-learning">machine learning from Stanford</a> and many more topics from top schools, such as Python, computer science, robotics, economics of health care and even the science of happiness from University of Michigan, Harvard, Penn and Yale. If a learner recognizes the name of the institution offering the course, chances are hiring managers will too.</p>
<p>While short online courses have not lived up to the hype 10 years ago that they would <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/education/edlife/massive-open-online-courses-are-multiplying-at-a-rapid-pace.html">disrupt higher education</a>, they are helping <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/09/whos-benefiting-from-moocs-and-why?autocomplete=true">millions of learners</a> around the globe try new fields and learn skills to advance their careers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170685/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Was an early stage employee at Coursera in 2012-2013 and has no current financial interest in this or any other company mentioned in this article.</span></em></p>Enrollment in online courses surged during the pandemic. An expert on online learning behaviors shares what to do before, during and after taking a course in order to reap the most benefits.Anne Trumbore, Executive Director of Digital and Open Enrollment at the Darden School of Business, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1418592020-07-23T12:17:34Z2020-07-23T12:17:34ZMassive online open courses see exponential growth during COVID-19 pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347408/original/file-20200714-26-f34aln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C40%2C6709%2C4426&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Workers are seeking credentials to get an edge in the job market.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/student-learning-at-home-with-online-lesson-royalty-free-image/1213470238?adppopup=true">Ridofranz/GettyImages</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Massive open online classes, or MOOCs, have seen a surge in enrollments since March.</p>
<p>Enrollment at Coursera – an online platform that offers MOOCs, has skyrocketed and was 640% higher from mid-March to mid-April than during the same period last year, growing from <a href="https://www.classcentral.com/report/coursera-conference-2020-highlights/">1.6 to 10.3 million</a>. The surge was driven in part by giving free catalog access for 3,800 courses to their university partners. Enrollment at Udemy – another MOOC provider – <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2020/04/30/udemy-online-course-enrollment-surged-425-amid-lockdowns/">was up over 400% between February and March</a>. These surges correspond to lock downs across the world as the pandemic started to rage.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OrRLRQ4AAAAJ&hl=en">astronomy professor</a> who teaches and studies MOOCs, I believe there will be a continued shift toward these types of courses as the pandemic forces educators and students alike to rethink the risks associated with in-person instruction. COVID-19 turbocharged my two MOOCs, increasing the number of active users by a factor of ten. <a href="https://www.classcentral.com/report/mooc-providers-response-to-the-pandemic/">Class Central</a>, an aggregator of MOOCs, saw more visitors in April than in the entire previous year. </p>
<h2>Emergence of MOOCs</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.distancelearningportal.com/articles/401/moocs-what-exactly-are-they.html">What’s a MOOC?</a> </p>
<p>The “M” is for massive, meaning a huge number of people can be reached. I teach MOOCs on <a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/astro">astronomy</a> and <a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/astrobiology-exploring-other-worlds">astrobiology</a>. The courses are free. Together, these courses have enrolled over 200,000 people from around the world since they began. </p>
<p>The first “O” is for open. All you need is the internet to participate, and many courses are free.</p>
<p>The second “O” is for online, which removes the limits of space and time. You can be anywhere to take a MOOC. And you can go through the material at your own pace.</p>
<p>The “C” is for course: a complete set of video lectures and other material to help you learn a subject. Many people take MOOCs for the pleasure of learning, but badges and certificates are available as well.</p>
<p>MOOCs have been around for a decade. They saw <a href="https://www.classcentral.com/report/mooc-hype-year-1/">explosive early growth</a>, and The New York Times declared 2012 the “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/education/edlife/massive-open-online-courses-are-multiplying-at-a-rapid-pace.html">Year of the MOOC</a>.”</p>
<p>They also became a classic example of the “<a href="https://blog.setapp.pl/mooc_massive_open_online_course_hype_cycle">hype cycle</a>,” where people tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and <a href="http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog/amaras-law/">underestimate the effect</a> in the long run.</p>
<h2>Courses and credentials</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347412/original/file-20200714-18-1t00yzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347412/original/file-20200714-18-1t00yzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347412/original/file-20200714-18-1t00yzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347412/original/file-20200714-18-1t00yzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347412/original/file-20200714-18-1t00yzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347412/original/file-20200714-18-1t00yzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347412/original/file-20200714-18-1t00yzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">MOOCs allow for students to gain college credit for the courses they take.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/student-learning-at-home-with-online-lesson-royalty-free-image/1213470238?adppopup=true">Ridofranz/GettyImages</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When <a href="https://www.udemy.com/course/astronomy-state-of-the-art/learn/lecture/262233#overview">I first started a MOOC</a> in 2013, I intended to boost my <a href="https://digitallearning.arizona.edu/news/behind-scenes-astronomy-moocs">online teaching skills</a>.</p>
<p>The education team I lead at the University of Arizona conducts research about MOOCs. We look at what influences whether or not students <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/archives/capjournals/pdfsm/capj_0021.pdf#page=20">complete a course</a> and what <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.15.020140">motivates them</a> to take a MOOC.</p>
<p>The last few years have seen rapid growth in <a href="https://www.classcentral.com/report/mooc-stats-2019/">microcredentials</a>, modular learning units that can be combined for a qualification like a master’s degree. Full online degree programs are also booming. A <a href="https://www.classcentral.com/report/mooc-stats-2019/">snapshot at the end of 2019</a> listed 820 microcredentials and 50 MOOC-based degrees. Many MOOCs are free, but for a small fee you can get a completion certificate.</p>
<p>Coursera pays its university and corporate partners <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/042815/how-coursera-works-makes-money.asp">6% to 15% of gross revenues</a> across all the types of courses they offer.</p>
<h2>The ‘skills gap’</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/ai-automation-and-the-future-of-work-ten-things-to-solve-for#">modern workplace is changing</a> due to disruptive forces like artificial intelligence and automation.</p>
<p>Employers point to a “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/understanding-the-skills-gap-and-what-employers-can-do-about-it/#:%7E:text=The%20term%20%E2%80%9Cskills%20gap%E2%80%9D%20describes,to%20find%20appropriately%20trained%20workers.">skills gap</a>,” which is basically a mismatch between the skills that employers require and the skills that job seekers possess. Some, however, argue that the skills gap is a <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2017/08/25/149485/the-myth-of-the-skills-gap/">myth</a>.</p>
<p>The gap is particularly acute in <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/manufacturing/manufacturing-skills-gap-study.html#">manufacturing</a>. Traditional college education <a href="https://deloitte.wsj.com/cio/2015/05/28/3-ways-to-bridge-millennials-skills-gap/">fails to close the gap</a>. This creates an opening for MOOC providers.</p>
<h2>Benefits for learners and employers</h2>
<p>Researchers are <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1069020.pdf">making models of how MOOCs might be valuable to the people who take them</a>. Learners expect <a href="https://er.educause.edu/articles/2019/6/mooc-based-alternative-credentials-whats-the-value-for-the-learner">career benefits</a>, like boosting their job performance, helping them start a new business and improving their application for a new job.</p>
<p>Most people pay for MOOCs themselves and take them in their spare time, which is a <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/01/can-moocs-solve-your-training-problem">missed chance for employers</a> to invest in their workforce relatively cheaply.</p>
<p>Some MOOC companies are seizing the opportunity to help people be nimble in a changing job market.</p>
<p>Udacity was present at the birth of MOOCs in 2011, when founder Sebastian Thrun created a private company in northern California as an outgrowth of computer science courses he had taught at Stanford University. In 2018, it <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/technology/moocs-online-learning.html">nearly ran out of cash</a>. Thrun returned from Stanford in 2018 to rescue the company, and he turned it into a company focusing on courses that delivered marketable skills. Big-name clients now include <a href="https://aws.amazon.com/machine-learning/aws-educate-and-udacity/">Amazon</a> and <a href="https://www.udacity.com/google">Google</a>, for which it offers courses in programming and data science.</p>
<p>Udacity offers <a href="https://medium.com/udacity-india-inc/udacity-advantage-what-is-a-nanodegree-program-2c46404816a1">nanodegrees</a>, which are industry-recognized credentials to help students advance their skills. They typically take four months to complete, working 10 hours per week, and only cost US$1,200. Similarly, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamgordon/2018/02/13/voice-of-employers-rings-out-as-moocs-go-from-education-to-qualification/#5472a007564b">nonprofit edX</a> offers a micromasters degree for about $1,000. A micromasters is a set of online graduate courses roughly equivalent to one semester of a full-time master’s program. The topics focus on technology, business and management.</p>
<p>Universities once worried that <a href="https://www.wired.com/insights/2014/08/whats-wrong-moocs-arent-changing-game-education/">MOOCs would become online competitors</a> to their residential (and very expensive) degree programs. But they appear to have found a niche as a place for lifelong learners and people looking to upgrade their skills or change careers. They’ve taken their place in a dynamic landscape of <a href="https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev2/">methods for teaching and learning in the digital age</a>. </p>
<h2>The new MOOC learners</h2>
<p>Generally, MOOCs attract learners with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1096751617302646">two types of motivation</a>. Some are motivated by general interest and personal growth. Others are motivated by professional advancement. Who are these new learners? It’s too early to tell in general. However, in research done in my astronomy course, they are young, with more than half under age 20. </p>
<p>Many are full-time students and the largest number are from India. In fact, the above-average surges come from people in developing countries, particularly Asia, while below-average surges are from the U.S. and Europe. The surges are more likely to involve learners who take the course to further their career goals and get a certificate than because they’re curious about astronomy.</p>
<h2>Making higher education more accessible</h2>
<p>The pandemic is refocusing attention on the opportunity for MOOCs to “<a href="https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/irrodl/1900-v1-n1-irrodl04945/1065541ar.pdf">democratize</a>” higher education, by providing cheap or free access to anyone in the world.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>In under a decade, MOOCs have reached <a href="https://www.classcentral.com/report/mooc-stats-2019/">110 million people</a>. The number of people continuing to higher education has grown from 3% of the world’s adult population in 1970 to 10% in 2015.</p>
<p>That still leaves <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/demographic-and-human-capital-scenarios-21st-century-2018-assessment-201-countries">700 million high school graduates without access to higher education</a>, mostly in developing countries. Education is an important driver of <a href="http://seii.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Science-2014-Autor-843-51.pdf">higher earnings for individuals and economic development</a>, and it can help lower income inequality. </p>
<p>With the catalyst of the pandemic, the full potential of MOOCs may be realized.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141859/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Impey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When lockdowns went into effect earlier this year, interest in massive online open courses, or MOOCs, began to surge. An expert expects the interest to continue.Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1268132019-11-11T18:26:30Z2019-11-11T18:26:30ZDigital technology and the rise of new informal learning methods<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301139/original/file-20191111-194675-xwk6yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C636&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More and more employees are using digital tools to acquire new professional skills.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Consulting a YouTube tutorial or an online dictionary, improving English skills using a dedicated application while taking public transportation, etc. To develop their skills, professionals are increasingly turning to these informal digital learning methods. This is illustrated by two studies conducted by the HRM Digital Lab at Institut Mines-Télécom Business School, on a representative sample of 1,000 French employees.</p>
<p>According to the study carried out by Kantar TNS in 2016, just over one in two employees had used informal digital learning to develop their professional skills. A second study carried out by OpinionWay in 2018 showed that this figure now applies to 60% of the workforce.</p>
<h2>Fundamental needs</h2>
<p>There is nothing new about employees learning independently on a daily basis, whether through observing their colleagues or manager, reading trade publications, talking to their peers, etc. This set of learning behaviours was first studied and formalised starting in the 1950s, building on work by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Knowles">Knowles</a>, who is considered to be the father of andragogy.</p>
<p>Composed of the ancient Greek words <em>andros</em> (ἀνδρὀς), meaning “man” (in the sense of a mature man, and by extension an adult human being, not a gendered term), and <em>agogos</em> (ἀγωγός), meaning “guide,” this term refers to knowledge acquisition in adulthood.</p>
<p>In the 1960s, <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-recherche-en-soins-infirmiers-2012-1-page-106.htm">Bandura</a> explored the phenomena of imitation, whereby individuals learn by observing or listening to others, considered to be “models” or “occasional teachers.” Then, in 1996, three researchers, Morgan McCall, Robert W. Eichinger and Michael M. Lombardo, from the Center for Creative Leadership (in North Carolina, US) demonstrated, based on a study of 200 executives, that individuals learn in a variety of ways throughout their lives.</p>
<p>In this study, traditional (<em>off-the-job learning</em>) and formal (meaning official/certification training programs) learning situations represent only 10% of learning time, compared to 90% for informal learning time, which is more instantaneous and disorganized.</p>
<p>In an era of increasingly rapid skill obsolescence, <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amr.2016.0202">informal learning</a> has become crucial for employees and professionals to continue to perform their jobs effectively. The study conducted by Kelley shows that there has been a steady decrease in workers’ estimates of the portion of knowledge stored in their memory which is necessary for their professional activity: from 75% in 1986, to 20% in 1997, and 10% in 2006.</p>
<p>A culture of lifelong learning is thus slowly starting to rival that of traditional training. In an interconnected world, possibilities for informal learning have proliferated. Tools have given rise to a major transformation, from the person in the next office to a community of 4 billion Internet users, from borrowing a book to having access to 30 million articles created in over 280 languages on Wikipedia, to the 2 million registered users on <a href="https://www.fun-mooc.fr/universities/IMT/">the French MOOC platform FUN</a>.</p>
<h2>New methods</h2>
<p>We have analysed this reality through two case studies with consultants, auditors and independent professionals, and have identified the factors in the use of these practices and highlighted <a href="http://www.theses.fr/2018PSLED010">four informal learning methods</a> based on digital technology:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Distributing content to a community using tools such as social media.</strong> This is the case, for example, for Laura, a 31-year-old speech therapist who creates, distributes and shares content she finds interesting with groups of fellow speech therapists on social media. On a Facebook group “Les Orthos et la Neuro,” a community of more than 11,000 colleagues discuss, share and debate current topics and issues related to their profession.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Keeping up with and responding to trends in a profession or industry through regular updates.</strong> This is the case for Vincent, a 32-year-old manager at an auditing and consultancy firm, who checks his LinkedIn news feed before going to bed. Such monitoring is opportunistic and this method is used when circumstances allow for it, for example, during time spent waiting and in public transportation.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Leveraging all the available digital resources required to achieve an objective.</strong> This is the case for Caroline, a 29-year old senior consultant, who has been offered an ambitious mission, which does not align with her current skills. She takes on this challenge, and learns independently using online resources she considers useful. Her intense method is connected to a specific objective, in this case, her new mission. Such a method can also be for personal reasons, such as in order to obtain a promotion or start a new career.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Reacting to difficulties that arise while performing a professional activity, and using learning power for the right need at the right time.</strong> This is the case for Sarah, a 36-year-old pharmacist who must respond to patients’ questions and requests for advice. To do so, she draws on appropriate contacts and a list of trustworthy reference websites collected in advance to answer questions quickly and effectively.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The four informal digital learning methods identified in this article are in keeping with the discontinuation of the training plan as of January 1, 2019, in favour of a skills development plan aimed at a more personalized approach focused on training objectives that target specific skills. This law provides for flexibility in implementing learning pathways that go beyond the traditional model with a set time and space.</p>
<p>Companies, and all forms of organisations, have the opportunity to become more flexible and cater to the real practices and needs of today’s employees and professionals. This opens the door, for example, to a debate about the (co)production, structuring, availability, use and sharing of digital resources.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was translated from the original French by the <a href="https://blogrecherche.wp.imt.fr/en/2019/10/17/digital-technology-new-informal-learning-methods/">Institut Mines-Télécom</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126813/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emmanuel Baudoin received funding from the CFA EVE. He is a member of ANDRH Essonne.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Myriam Benabid et Serge Perrot ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur poste universitaire.</span></em></p>As new ways of working have spread throughout the workplace, a culture of lifelong learning is competing with the traditional practice of on-the-job training.Myriam Benabid, Directrice de programme, Institut Mines-Télécom Business School Emmanuel Baudoin, Professeur associé en RH, Institut Mines-Télécom Business School Serge Perrot, Professeur de Management, Université Paris Dauphine – PSLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1179702019-06-18T19:57:46Z2019-06-18T19:57:46ZThe three things universities must do to survive disruption<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279755/original/file-20190617-118497-11qf926.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More people are learning what they want, wherever they want.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain, The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This essay is part of a series of articles on the future of education.</em></p>
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<p>The nature of global communication (for better and worse) has changed. Virtually all young people in Australia <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/729928/australia-social-media-usage-by-age/">spend an average</a> of <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/medibank-survey-adults-spend-nine-hours-a-day-in-front-of-screen/news-story/cc7252754ef395b2da16401eaad500db">nine hours a day online</a> and about three hours of that interacting on <a href="https://wearesocial.com/au/blog/2019/02/digital-report-australia%20https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2019/01/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic.html">social media</a>. That means they spend more time online than sleeping. </p>
<p>Smartphones and smart technologies are our <a href="https://www.technology.org/2019/04/10/why-smartphones-play-such-a-crucial-role-in-our-lives/">personal assistants</a> with diary, shopping, research, translation, social and telecommunications capabilities all a swipe away. As you read this, or have Siri read it to you, people are solving problems, writing music, dating, visiting a tele-nurse and conducting business – all online. It is the new normal.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, massive open online courses (<a href="https://www.classcentral.com/report/mooc-stats-2017/">MOOCs</a>) offer tens of thousands of opportunities for people to be exposed to the best researchers, practitioners and university talent in the world. MOOCs are one example of our <a href="https://www.bestcolleges.com/perspectives/annual-trends-in-online-education/">interconnected world</a>, which allows expertise to be <a href="https://www.trainingjournal.com/blog/global-village-technology-helps-us-connect-and-communicate">universal and accessible</a> – <a href="https://cdn.ey.com/echannel/au/en/industries/government---public-sector/ey-university-of-the-future-2030/EY-university-of-the-future-2030.pdf">anyone can learn what they want</a>, where they want, when they want and how they want.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mooc-and-youre-out-of-a-job-uni-business-models-in-danger-9738">MOOC and you're out of a job: uni business models in danger</a>
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</em>
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<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our world is online and universities need to get with the times.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>If you want to study psychology, master computer coding or complete an MBA, why would you pay big fees to a large university to support its infrastructure costs and hear someone lecture in a huge hall, when you could watch the world’s best experts from the comfort of your apartment or on your phone, wherever you are?</p>
<p>To remain relevant, Australia’s universities will need to transform into very different entities, with new business models that foster innovation and embrace the interconnection technology offers. And they will need to do so quickly. </p>
<h2>The old university model is becoming obsolete</h2>
<p>The American business academic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_M._Christensen">Clayton M. Christensen</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Innovative-University-Changing-Higher-Education-ebook/dp/B005C776E4">used the term</a> “disruption” to discuss the implications of the massive changes to the student base of universities. </p>
<p>He likened the situation to how discount stores such as Target disrupted the business models of department stores like Myer and David Jones, capturing an increasing chunk of middle-class spending on everyday personal and household goods. Christensen challenged universities not to be like the big steel mills that are mostly relics of the past.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/former-ambassador-jeffrey-bleich-speaks-on-trump-disruptive-technology-and-the-role-of-education-in-a-changing-economy-73957">Former ambassador Jeffrey Bleich speaks on Trump, disruptive technology, and the role of education in a changing economy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Similarly, US scholar <a href="https://www.cathydavidson.com/">Cathy N. Davidson</a> has <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/New-Education-Revolutionize-University-Students-ebook/dp/B06XS4WBNJ/ref=pd_sim_351_2/357-4598083-4438631?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B06XS4WBNJ&pd_rd_r=4e73f3a1-8033-11e9-b44e-f76fb66d5db1&pd_rd_w=x0t3C&pd_rd_wg=8k32p&pf_rd_p=f09e5598-fbdb-4712-af44-62e0022496fc&pf_rd_r=MN5WCKWTPMWN0BGJETE6&psc=1&refRID=MN5WCKWTPMWN0BGJETE6">urged universities</a> to abandon generic degrees and impersonal forms of teaching, to make university education more accessible and relevant.</p>
<p>In most university programs, a student completes courses in large facilities at mandated times. In the first year of many degrees, learning is primarily passive and assessment is typically in the form of easily marked exams.</p>
<p>The current university funding model is <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2019/01/10/top-6-trends-in-higher-education/">mainly based on the assumption</a> completing multi-year undergraduate and postgraduate coursework degrees, broken into semesters or terms of 10-15 weeks, is still a relevant measure of learning. </p>
<p>This mode of “seat time” as learning is becoming obsolete. Learning in courses made of <a href="https://www.fya.org.au/2018/09/21/lifelong-learning-and-reskilling-the-promise-of-microcredentials/">short chunks</a>, certificates, or <a href="https://evolllution.com/programming/credentials/microcredentials-micromasters-and-nanodegrees-whats-the-big-idea/">micro-credentialled</a> <a href="https://www.obviouschoice.com.au/what-are-micro-credentials">mini units of study</a> is growing as the preferred method for this generation of students and industry.</p>
<p>Some will say <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/the-source/the-future-of-learning-and-teaching">Australian universities are already on it</a>, with <a href="https://landing.smartsparrow.com/digital-learning-innovation-report-2017">innovation hubs</a>, <a href="https://www.monash.edu/about/structure/senior-staff/vice-chancellor/profile/vice-chancellors-speeches/how-will-australian-higher-education-change">new academic products</a> including <a href="https://www.candlefox.com/blog/micro-credentials-the-opportunities-for-education-providers/">micro-credentials</a> and increasingly online delivery.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The passive, seat-mode of learning is becoming obsolete.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But these features are generally bolted on to the status-quo funding model, based on teaching the first year of a program cheaply to drive profit that can be spent on more engagement-oriented upper-level courses, and to support research and infrastructure. </p>
<p>These pop-up innovations are mostly used to drive the marketing of university brands and promote reputations rather than as sustainable ways of doing business. They are mostly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader">loss leaders</a>, similar to sales at your local supermarket.</p>
<h2>What are the three pillars of a future-focused university?</h2>
<p>With a population of 25 million people, <a href="https://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/english/australian-education/universities-and-higher-education">does Australia need</a> 40-plus universities? Probably not if it means 40-plus big stores whose business models require mass lectures in the first year, bolstered by increasing international student enrolments to fund high infrastructure and staffing costs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-regional-universities-are-at-risk-of-going-under-109374">Why regional universities are at risk of going under</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But there is a bright future ahead if universities redefine themselves beyond the rhetoric of value propositions and marketing schtick, and fully embrace the below three key pillars: </p>
<p><strong>1. Promote engagement and impact</strong> </p>
<p>Virtually every academic program should be formatted to embrace new ways of learning. Students of any short course, module, certificate or degree should have meaningful opportunities to do real work for real purposes as part of their experience. Students should <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Mind-Brain-Education-Neuroscience-Implications-ebook/dp/B0046W6UDY">learn by doing</a> and learning should connect theory with practice. </p>
<p>While this seems obvious in nursing and teaching, it is just as critical in English or biology. Likewise, assessment should <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb03/vol60/num05/How-Classroom-Assessments-Improve-Learning.aspx/">primarily be <em>for</em> learning</a> more than <em>of</em> learning.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1196&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1196&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1196&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">STEM.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>2. Enhance humanity</strong> </p>
<p>The complexities of interconnection are leading us quickly toward a machine-based world. Decisions we make about our future interconnections will not just be about driverless cars, but about <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/04/relying-on-technology-could-be-eroding-our-core-principles">handing over moral decisions</a> to smart tools.</p>
<p>To preserve humanity, our STEM-focused career tracks should embed multiple opportunities to integrate ethics, history, arts, philosophy and morality.</p>
<p><strong>3. Expand student access</strong> </p>
<p>To this point, most universities have been sorting institutions. High marks and test scores from school leavers have equalled access and opportunity. Yet, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/30/will-you-drop-out-of-university-report-reveals-australian-students-at-risk">high failure rates in first year</a> driven by poor assessments lead to a large exodus of students.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-students-are-going-to-university-than-before-but-those-at-risk-of-dropping-out-need-more-help-118764">More students are going to university than before, but those at risk of dropping out need more help</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>With lifelong learning required for all of us to stay flexible both intellectually and professionally, we must shift our attention to opportunity, knowledge promotion, and flexible entry and access points for the new-fangled chunks of learning experiences we offer. </p>
<p>Maintaining high expectations, rooted in fairness and widening opportunity coupled with flexible designs, will be a challenge for large universities that pride themselves on <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-21/atar-relevance-under-fire-as-report-says-fewer-students-admitted/9569052">accepting high-ranking students</a>, or that assume entrance requirements such as the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) are predictors of future success in the interconnected world.</p>
<h2>Universities must change their KPIs</h2>
<p>University leaders use metrics such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-kpis-on-university-engagement-need-more-thought-78026">key performance indicators</a> (KPIs) to evaluate their performance. KPIs can be counting the numbers of website hits, noting the number of students who complete the first month of a new semester, or increasing the number of international applications. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-kpis-on-university-engagement-need-more-thought-78026">Why the KPIs on university engagement need more thought</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Each faculty and supporting division at each campus will need new key performance indicators (future-focused KPIs) to launch the transformation necessary to rethink learning outcomes:</p>
<p><strong>Prepare for an interconnected world</strong> </p>
<p>Most future life and work will be housed in interconnectedness locally, nationally and internationally. For our younger students it already is.</p>
<p><strong>Become transdisciplinary experts</strong> </p>
<p>Most knowledge does not reside in separate disciplines as we have typically chunked them in universities. Instead, experiences should cross the dotted lines of discipline and expertise, mixing the arts and sciences in truly human ways.</p>
<p><strong>Be life-ready more than work-ready</strong> </p>
<p>Unlike in the past, most of us will <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2012/08/14/the-future-of-work-job-hopping-is-the-new-normal-for-millennials/#78c0d32b13b8">shift our career paths</a> multiple times across our lives. University experiences should provide multiple opportunities for takeaways that help graduates of programs of whatever duration be nimble and continue to learn. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Semesters will be replaced with personalised learning on demand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/SYTO3xs06fU">Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Promote well-being</strong></p>
<p>Most universities provide multiple reactionary systems for students in crisis, but they do little to frontload well-being and <a href="https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1790&context=jutlp">mental-health support</a> into their formal offerings. </p>
<p>Our lack of effective self-care threatens our day-to-day human health and happiness. We often succumb to the stressors of modern life because we don’t proactively address social, emotional and physical well-being as <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/2302603/MCSHE-Student-Wellbeing-Framework_FINAL.pdf">part of our formal learning</a> to prepare for life’s challenges. </p>
<p><strong>Change ‘seat time’ as the default learning measurement</strong></p>
<p>As we shift to flexible learning formats and durations, seat time in lectures and tutorials will no longer effectively determine completion. Learning will. </p>
<p>Semesters of 15 weeks will be replaced with personalised learning on demand. This is <a href="https://itali.uq.edu.au/files/1279/Discussion-paper-Personalised_learning_an_overview.pdf">already the norm</a> in military education and corporate training. </p>
<p><strong>Share expertise across the world</strong></p>
<p>Faculties will merge forces to share talent in creative ways, not for financial efficiency but to provide learners with access to the best and most knowledgeable teachers and scholars in the world. </p>
<p>Mediocre offerings will be replaced by gold-standard teaching and learning, allowing local staff to support student engagement and impact while promoting excellence and equity. </p>
<p><strong>Embrace smart tools</strong></p>
<p>Smart tools and mixed-reality learning experiences will make the lecture model nearly redundant. Artificial intelligence and virtual reality systems, which continue to grow in sophistication, will render didactic teaching irrelevant. </p>
<p>Smart tools can <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190116094437946">personalise learning</a> in dynamic, interactive ways across all disciplines. These systems will require infrastructure to support them. </p>
<p>Picture <a href="https://www.studyinternational.com/news/how-the-integration-of-new-technology-is-changing-the-higher-education-landscape/">lecture halls refurbished</a> as engaged learning centres for artificial intelligence platforms, with smart tutors and mixed-reality experiences. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-artificial-intelligence-will-shape-the-future-of-universities-94706">Five ways artificial intelligence will shape the future of universities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Over the next few years there will likely be mergers and closures across the university sector in response to the multiple disruptions facing tertiary education.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, every Australian will need to be part of post-secondary learning many times in their lives to remain viable. That includes retraining for new work, new learning for jobs we haven’t even thought of yet, and engaging in university experiences to help us become smarter and better people.</p>
<p>Disruptive innovators should be the rule, not the exception. If we come together as learners in a community of well-being, kindness and keenness to solve problems and create knowledge in flexible ways, using emerging smart tools to reinforce learning, we can fully embrace the opportunities and challenges of the interconnected world.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>What is the purpose of education today? Read another essay in this series <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-point-of-education-its-no-longer-just-about-getting-a-job-117897">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Fischetti does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Technology has disrupted the way universities offer courses, the types of skills we will need, and the duration for which we will need them. Here are three things universities must do to survive.John Fischetti, Professor, Interim Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Education and Arts; Dean/Head of School of Education, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1007922018-08-05T09:47:17Z2018-08-05T09:47:17ZA new way to equip Africa’s science labs: get students to build their own<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230197/original/file-20180801-118933-kez3yl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Water urns become bioreactors with this clever design. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeffrey Barbee, Alliance</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>How does one train science students without equipment? As a <a href="https://www.insis.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-louise-bezuidenhout">sociologist of science</a> specialising in African countries, this is a question I get asked with sad regularity. </p>
<p>How, African science, technology, engineering and maths educators ask me, can the next generation of globally competitive scientists be trained using teaching laboratories that lack even the most basic equipment? </p>
<p>One of the most basic elements of molecular biology, for example, is to learn about DNA: how genes are expressed and converted into proteins. To do this, students must able to conduct their own experiments – and for that, they need access to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/probe/docs/techpcr/">polymerase chain reaction</a> to amplify their DNA samples. </p>
<p>While teaching labs in the global North may have dozens of polymerase chain reaction machines, African departments may have just one per laboratory, if at all. Instead of being able to run their own DNA experiments, students in these labs have to work in groups or watch a demonstration by a tutor.</p>
<p>The critical importance of conducting practical experiments as well as learning theory sets science education apart from many other taught courses. The value of this practical training is two-fold: first, it provides an in-depth understanding of the biological systems that are being studied. Second, the practice of science in industry or academia is essentially a practical undertaking. Any graduate wishing to work as a scientist must have a good grasp of how to conduct experiments and produce data. </p>
<p>While there are increasing amounts of often free educational resources available online: videos, Massive Open Online Courses, papers and tutorials, they can’t make up for students getting their hands dirty – so to speak – at the lab bench</p>
<p>To truly understand their discipline, students need the opportunity to interact with laboratory equipment <a href="http://www.gettingpractical.org.uk/documents/EmmaWoodleyarticle.pdf">through practical instruction</a>. Learning how to conduct experiments and deal with both the successes and failures of bench science is <a href="http://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/dbassesite/documents/webpage/dbasse_073330.pdf">an important part</a> of developing as a scientist. The skills that students develop through practical experiments are also fundamental for progressing into successful graduate studies and research careers.</p>
<p>There’s been considerable recent support for science and related education in Africa. That includes a rising number of training programmes, graduate scholarships and research support. However, regional universities are still battling to properly equip teaching laboratories. There isn’t much money specifically earmarked for this task. Educators often have to rely on equipment bought out of hard-won grants, or rely on the increasingly aged equipment left over from forgotten past projects. New, imported equipment is prohibitively expensive. It’s also difficult to maintain. </p>
<p>This is why my colleagues <a href="https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/helena.webb/">Helena Webb</a>, <a href="http://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/jason.nurse/">Jason Nurse</a>, <a href="https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/people/marina.jirotka/">Marina Jirotka</a> and I designed <a href="https://labhackathon.wordpress.com/">LabHack</a>. It’s an event that aims to inspire budding innovators to take matters into their own hands and build the equipment they need to learn. Undergraduate student teams compete to design low-cost versions of basic laboratory equipment using hardware available in a local African context. Our first LabHack was held at the Harare Institute of Technology in Zimbabwe in June 2018. The resulting prototypes were highly inventive and far cheaper than anything that’s commercially available.</p>
<h2>Innovation in action</h2>
<p>During the Zimbabwe LabHack teams of students from four universities, as well as local hobbyists and one high school team, demonstrated their prototypes for low cost laboratory equipment built out of locally-available hardware. </p>
<p>All the teams were interdisciplinary, which was important not only for design issues but also offered a means of building strong links for future collaborations. </p>
<p>The teams were asked to design one of three types of basic but crucial lab equipment: a magnetic stirrer, a polymerase chain reaction machine, and a centrifuge. </p>
<p>There was also an open challenge for students to build other types of equipment that would be used in teaching their specific discipline of science. In this category entries included a digital microscope and a bioprocessor, which is used for culturing cells. </p>
<p>Each team was supplied with an Arduino kit, a single-board microcontroller that allows the equipment to be programmable. Apart from that they were self-funded and used easily available local resources. No team spent more than $100 on their final designs – a clear demonstration of how innovative thinking can produce highly inventive, working prototypes.</p>
<p>The teams also participated in a range of workshops hosted by local tech companies, which exposed students to emerging technologies like 3D printing and 3D scanning. Having these companies present their working models for tech-driven job creation in Zimbabwe also illustrated the possibilities of creating tech start-ups for possible future career choices.</p>
<h2>Smart prototypes</h2>
<p>The prize for best prototype went to a team that created a programmable centrifuge whose casing was predominantly designed out of plywood and cardboard. It was fully functional and significantly cheaper than any commercially-available models. Another winner created a centrifuge that relied on a motor taken from a toy car. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230387/original/file-20180802-136661-1m924j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230387/original/file-20180802-136661-1m924j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230387/original/file-20180802-136661-1m924j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230387/original/file-20180802-136661-1m924j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230387/original/file-20180802-136661-1m924j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230387/original/file-20180802-136661-1m924j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230387/original/file-20180802-136661-1m924j9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The winning centrifuge design.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeffrey Barbee, Alliance Earth</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These innovations effectively demonstrated the potential for equipping low-resourced educational laboratories with low-cost alternatives to expensive, imported equipment. We are hoping – with enough funding and sponsorship – that the Zimbabwe event will be the first of many LabHacks on the African continent. These could build a new community of science learners who study science in Africa, on machines designed by Africans for an African context.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100792/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>LabHack Zimbabwe 2018 was sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council UK (EPSRC). It was a joint collaboration between Human Centred Computing (Department of Computer Science) and the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society (Department of Anthropology).</span></em></p>To truly understand their discipline, students need to interact with laboratory equipment. They must both fail and succeed at running experiments.Louise Bezuidenhout, Research fellow in science and technology studies/bioethics, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/954652018-05-02T14:15:47Z2018-05-02T14:15:47ZWhat happens when you put African philosophies at the centre of learning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216483/original/file-20180426-175061-xpswpj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bringing different philosophies together can empower students.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bruce Rolff/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What happens when <a href="https://theconversation.com/african-philosophy-of-education-a-powerful-arrow-in-universities-bow-62802">African philosophies</a> and practices are placed at the centre of learning? How can teachers and students on the continent use the concepts of <em>ubuntu</em> (human interdependence) and <em>ukama</em> (relationality) to come up with homegrown solutions for societal and educational concerns?</p>
<p>These were two of the questions we sought to answer when we set up a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), <a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/african-philosophy/2/">Teaching for Change</a>. It was run jointly by Stellenbosch University in South Africa and <a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/profiles/4014011">Future-Learn</a>, an initiative run by the Open University in the UK.</p>
<p>A MOOC is a course made available for free over the internet and can cater for thousands of people at once. More than 4000 people from around the world – most from the US, UK and a variety of African countries – took part in ours. </p>
<p>Indigenous forms of education, created and honed in African countries by African people, have historically been criticised as somehow inferior to forms from the Western world. But a shift is underway, as we found. Education systems around the world are increasingly recognising the value of local approaches to thinking, learning and being.</p>
<p>Here’s what we – and the participants – learned. These lessons could be valuable to anyone who wants to centre African philosophies in a MOOC or similar course.</p>
<h2>Applying African philosophies</h2>
<p>The renowned scholar Kwame Anthony Appiah <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/7806.html">has shown</a> that humans’ capacities to think, reason, disagree, speak, listen and be listened to are important in constructing and reconstructing understanding. </p>
<p>Constructing and reconstructing an African notion of education, then, depends on borrowing from, exchanging with other cultures, and initiating thought and action that are novel. At its heart it is about respecting others’ rights universally, and about people being <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15244113.2012.678041">reflective and open</a> about their own stories.</p>
<p>Here’s an example of how the philosophies of <em>ubuntu</em> and <em>ukama</em> were applied in the Teaching for Change MOOC. Not all 4000 students were registered at once; 2000 were registered at a time over two six-week periods that extended over two years. Throughout this between 250 and 300 students engaged online while others could be considered active “listeners”. </p>
<p>Students were encouraged to share their views or claims about knowledge, education, schooling, teaching and learning in their own contexts. Invariably, these views were in agreement or clashed with their classmates’. Practising <em>ubuntu</em> demanded that they then articulate their willingness to engage with one another in an atmosphere of openness without insulting or discrediting another’s point of view. </p>
<p>This encouraged people to remain dignified and respectful towards one another in any educational encounter. They were asked to listen attentively to different and even contending points of view. Afterwards, they were encouraged to offer points of view that clarified existing views. </p>
<p>Then, applying the theory of <em>ukama</em>, students were asked to see themselves in an ongoing and relational conversation with one another without prematurely judging another’s point of view as irrelevant. They considered others’ views without rushing to judgement. </p>
<p>Students found these approaches useful. They were taught to not only share their views and stories (and stories, of course, play a large role on a continent with a rich oral history), but to offer reasons for these views. </p>
<p>Learning to justify stories is an important part of African philosophy. Kwase Wiredu, N'Dri Assie-Lumumba and Kwame Gyekye are three notable theorists who consider storytelling in relation to justification through reasons being as significant to what it means to engage in education. A <a href="https://zelalemkibret.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/blackwell-companion-to-african-philosophy.pdf">famous text</a> on African philosophy edited by Wiredu provides textual evidence for the importance of storytelling in cultivating <em>ubuntu</em> and <em>ukama</em>. </p>
<p>Narrating stories or views in this setting followed a communal approach: one told a story, and another listened to it. Then the “story” was retold through engaging with others’ ideas and contributions. So students didn’t just internalise understandings of African education as if nothing should be questioned. Instead they made sense of one another’s stories and in this way developed more informed understandings of the stories being told. </p>
<p>Participants engaged collectively, drew on their own existing thoughts about African education and learned from others. This approach to learning is not in one direction as if teachers have the sole authority to give an account of reasons. Students also have a voice as they assume responsibility for their claims. Students’ voices are at the fulcrum of democratic education which is necessary for assisting them in critically reflecting on their own social, cultural and economic contexts. </p>
<h2>Thoughtful inquiry</h2>
<p>Our task as university teachers on this MOOC was to find the opportunity to connect students to real problems plaguing the African continent. Examples of such problems are military dictatorships, famine and hunger, food insecurity, and societal violence. They were given space to collectively find ways to address and perhaps even resolve these problems.</p>
<p>The students rose to the task, recognising the need for thoughtful inquiry if Africa’s many injustices are to be eradicated. They used the MOOC’s online discussion forums to express their ideas – and most clearly embraced the idea of an African approach to education. </p>
<p>This scholarly effort to bring about societal and transformative change through collaborative teaching and learning is bearing fruit. We have already been approached to run the MOOC again and are working on an amended version. And, thanks to the MOOC, we’ve now published a book called Rupturing African Philosophy on Teaching and Learning: Ubuntu Justice and Education with Palgrave-MacMillan in New York. It will appear in July 2018.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95465/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Education systems around the world are increasingly recognising the value of local approaches to thinking, learning and being.Yusef Waghid, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy of Education, Stellenbosch UniversityFaiq Waghid, Educational technologist, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyZayd Waghid, Lecturer, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/940082018-04-15T19:58:09Z2018-04-15T19:58:09ZCan we really teach ‘Indigenizing’ courses online?<p>On April 16, Canadians — and internet users around the world — have the opportunity to participate in “<a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada">Indigenous Canada</a>,” a <a href="http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/MOOC_Final.pdf">Massive Open Online Course</a> (MOOC) offered through the University of Alberta and the Coursera consortium of online learning providers.</p>
<p>Similar courses — for instance on “<a href="https://www.edx.org/course/reconciliation-through-indigenous-education">Reconciliation through Indigenous education</a>” and
“<a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/aboriginal-education">Aboriginal worldviews and education</a>” — are offered by the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto respectively.</p>
<p>“Indigenization” of the curriculum is an urgent issue in Canadian higher education.</p>
<p>As a non-Indigenous faculty member at Thompson Rivers University, I make no claims to speak for, or about, Indigenous communities. I specialize in learning technologies, have a strong interest in instructional design and e-learning and my doctoral thesis was on <a href="https://prism.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/handle/11023/4150/ucalgary_2017_stranach_matthew.pdf;jsessionid=FABF6690A74C76E867DF323CDF3949EF?sequence=3">social presence in MOOCs</a>. </p>
<p>My university has <a href="https://towards-indigenizing.trubox.ca/">made a priority of “Indigenizing” curricula</a> and expressed the desire to be a “university of choice” both for Indigenous students and for open, distance and online education. Given my role as a faculty member is to support learning technologies and instructional design initiatives, I have taken a strong interest in Indigenization programs across Canada.</p>
<h2>Indigenous ways of knowing</h2>
<p>So what are we talking about when we discuss Indigenization? Camosun College, in their “<a href="http://camosun.ca/learn/school/indigenous-education-community-connections/about/publications/indigenization-plan13.pdf">Inspiring relationships</a>” strategic document provides a useful starting point in this discussion:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Indigenization is the process by which Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing and relating are incorporated into educational, organizational, cultural and social structures.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Of the <a href="http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/Findings/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf">94 Calls to Action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada</a>, seven deal specifically with education while another while another four deal with “education for reconciliation.” </p>
<p>Higher education clearly has a role to play in helping to implement these calls to action — through teacher education programs, and across the entire curriculum.</p>
<p>Within the context of MOOCs — and e-learning generally — there is much potential to align with Indigenization curricular goals. MOOCS, for example, could amplify and extend place-based, problem-based and project-based learning of Indigenous content as well as language revitalization and storytelling.</p>
<p>There could also be great value in bringing Indigenous content to a potentially “massive” audience. In the past, some MOOCs <a href="http://www.karsenti.ca/archives/RITPU_VOL10_NO2_MOOC_ENvf.pdf">have seen enrollments in the hundreds of thousands</a>. </p>
<h2>Didactic teaching methods</h2>
<p>The concern is that there is, as yet, little evidence which speaks to good practices for Indigenizing these types of massive online courses.</p>
<p>The question arises of how to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing and relating into the way these courses are designed, delivered and facilitated.</p>
<p>As an instructional designer I am constantly going back to the question: Who are the intended learners? And what are their needs in relation to the content, subject matter and program of study? </p>
<p>While there is still much to learn about who participates in MOOCs and for what purpose, <a href="http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/2448/3655">some studies on this topic</a> have shown that MOOC participants tend to be university - or college - educated males in their 20s to 40s. Results from my own doctoral research study are consistent with this profile. </p>
<p>It will be interesting to see what outreach the providers of these Indigenizing courses and their institutional partners will engage in — to reach as diverse a range of learners as possible.</p>
<p>Another concern is that MOOCs offered through Coursera, EdX and other similar providers use relatively didactic, one-way teaching methods. The learning management software, course design and learning outcomes have tended to favour a homogeneous, <a href="http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/890/1663">cognitive-behaviourist approach to teaching and learning</a> — with little interaction between instructor and students, and evaluation and assessment frequently automated.</p>
<p>I am curious to see what variations of the typical <a href="https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/10/13/comparing-xmoocs-and-cmoocs-philosophy-and-practice/">“xMOOC” pedagogy</a> and curricular approach may be employed when speaking to and about Indigenous knowledge and world views.</p>
<h2>Diluting and distorting complex content</h2>
<p>It is also worth mentioning that <a href="http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1651/2774">MOOCs have notoriously low completion rates</a>.</p>
<p>It has been argued that this is not necessarily a bad thing — rather, that <a href="http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/882/1689">participants choose their own learning outcomes and pathways through the courses</a>. Again, my doctoral work is consistent with these findings. </p>
<p>The point is that addressing important content using a format which has a low participation and completion rate runs the risk of diluting and diminishing the content within academic and public discourse.</p>
<p>There is also a risk of speaking so broadly of Indigenous issues that these courses distort the complex diversity of Indigenous experiences in Canada. I will be interested to see how the University of Alberta and University of Toronto speak to the complex plurality of First Nations relationships within their home regions of Ontario and Alberta and across Canada generally.</p>
<h2>A surfeit of data</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764213498851">There is also the question of learner analytics</a>. Coursera, Ed.X and their institutional partners collect vast quantities of data on platform users and their pathways through course content. This information can be aggregated and used for a wide range of purposes. </p>
<p>It would be interesting to hear from learning software providers and their institutional partners how their analytics are used, and — from a practical standpoint — how this usage will enhance teaching and learning on the topics addressed.</p>
<p>We are still in the very early days of assessing good practice in Indigenization curricular initiatives vis-à-vis e-learning, distance education and instructional design. </p>
<p>Three of the country’s most respected and high-profile universities are to be commended for bringing Indigenous content to a potentially “massive” audience of learners from around the world. </p>
<p>These efforts, should in turn, lead to valuable lessons in how institutions of higher learning can leverage online learning to improve access to, and quality of, their offerings on Indigenous topics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94008/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Stranach does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>University “Indigenization” efforts using Massive Open Online Courses promise to reach wide audiences. They also raise critical questions about how to embody Indigenous ways of knowing and relating.Matthew Stranach, Coordinator, Educational Technologies, Thompson Rivers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/893542018-01-09T11:15:01Z2018-01-09T11:15:01ZUniversities must prepare for a technology-enabled future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201238/original/file-20180108-83567-ks4agd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A professor teaches an online class with students from around the world.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Harvard-Online-Classroom/9f026ca56cfc4deb98fbcab08efa92d5/11/0">AP Photo/Gretchen Ertl</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Automation and artificial intelligence technologies are <a href="https://theconversation.com/introducing-operator-4-0-a-tech-augmented-human-worker-74117">transforming manufacturing</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-industrial-revolution-really-tells-us-about-the-future-of-automation-and-work-82051">corporate work</a> and the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/retail-meltdown-of-2017/522384/">retail business</a>, providing new opportunities for companies to explore and posing major threats to those that don’t adapt to the times. Equally daunting challenges confront colleges and universities, but they’ve been slower to acknowledge them.</p>
<p>At present, colleges and universities are most worried about competition from schools or training systems using <a href="https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/03/01/technology-and-the-future-of-online-learning.aspx">online learning technology</a>. But that is just one aspect of the technological changes already under way. For example, some companies are moving toward requiring workers have <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/impatient-with-colleges-employers-design-their-own-courses/">specific skills trainings and certifications</a> – as opposed to college degrees. </p>
<p>As a professor who researches artificial intelligence and offers distance learning courses, I can say that online education is a disruptive challenge for which colleges are ill-prepared. Lack of student demand is already closing <a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/800-engineering-colleges-to-shut-down-aicte/1/1040312.html">800 out of roughly 10,000 engineering colleges</a> in India. And online learning has put as many as half the colleges and universities in the U.S. at risk of <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2017/04/28/clay-christensen-sticks-predictions-massive-college-closures">shutting down in the next couple decades</a> as remote students get comparable educations over the internet – without living on campus or taking classes in person. Unless universities move quickly to transform themselves into educational institutions for a technology-assisted future, they risk becoming obsolete.</p>
<h2>Existing alternatives to traditional higher ed</h2>
<p>Enormous amounts of information are now available online for free, ready for watching, listening or reading at any time, by anyone who’s connected. For more than a decade, private companies, nonprofits and universities alike have been experimenting with online courses, often offered for free or at low cost to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-online-courses-can-bring-the-world-into-africas-classrooms-63773">large numbers of students around the world</a>. Research has shown that it’s as effective for students to use a <a href="https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol9/iss2/19/">combination of online courses and traditional in-classroom</a> instruction as it is to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276119100_Innovative_blended_delivery_and_learning_Exploring_student_choice_experience_and_level_of_satisfaction_in_a_hyflex_course">just have classes in person</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200752/original/file-20180103-26163-1brho2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200752/original/file-20180103-26163-1brho2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200752/original/file-20180103-26163-1brho2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200752/original/file-20180103-26163-1brho2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200752/original/file-20180103-26163-1brho2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200752/original/file-20180103-26163-1brho2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200752/original/file-20180103-26163-1brho2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200752/original/file-20180103-26163-1brho2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Is this the future of a college education?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/student-learning-on-line-headphones-laptop-549162715">PR Image Factory/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.class-central.com/report/mooc-providers-list/">Providers of massive open</a> online courses (often called “<a href="http://mooc.org/">MOOCs</a>”) are refining ways for people who complete the classes to present their accomplishments in ways employers can understand easily. For example, students in certain classes from major MOOC provider <a href="https://www.edx.org/">edX</a> can get an <a href="https://www.edx.org/gfa">official Arizona State University transcript</a> listing their courses and grades. An employer would never know the person studied online. (There’s another threat to universities’ business model, too: Students can take the classes and get their grades for free; they only need to <a href="https://www.edx.org/gfa">pay if they are happy with their grades</a>, and if they want official college credit.)</p>
<p>This is a period of rapid change unlike what universities have dealt with for centuries.</p>
<h2>The evolution of the university</h2>
<p>Medieval European universities trained would-be clergy members in canonical law, theological discussion and <a href="http://doi.org/10.3386/w17979">religious administration</a>. These institutions amassed huge repositories of knowledge, storing and indexing them in libraries, which became the focal point of the campus.</p>
<p>As European countries explored the world and established overseas colonies <a href="http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=66617">starting in the 15th and 16th centuries</a>, universities evolved to train officers to manage those territories, study navigation across the oceans and look after colonists’ health. <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-industrial-revolution-really-tells-us-about-the-future-of-automation-and-work-82051">After the Industrial Revolution</a>, colleges changed again, teaching workers how to use new scientific and technological methods and tools. </p>
<p>In the 21st century, the workplace is transforming once more; what businesses, governments and society need from education is shifting, and technology has made the brick-and-mortar library obsolete. It used to be that users of a technology needed to know how it works. In the early days of driving, for instance, it was important for a driver to be able to fix a car that broke down on the side of the road, perhaps far from any expert mechanic. </p>
<p>But in the current <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/post-industrial-society-3026457">post-industrial economy</a>, that has changed: Even a car mechanic uses a computer to connect to car systems to <a href="https://www.solopcms.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Solo-PCMS-automotive-computer-mechanic-768x512.jpg">identify what is not working properly</a>. Very few people need to know how these internal computer systems work; they just need to be able to interpret <a href="https://qz.com/1054261/the-connected-car-of-the-future-could-kill-off-the-local-auto-repair-shop/">sensor readings and error messages</a>. </p>
<h2>A changing job market</h2>
<p>Now, the number of jobs mostly involving routine skills – both physical and cognitive – is <a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2016/january/jobs-involving-routine-tasks-arent-growing">shrinking over time</a>.
Increasing automation at factories is rapidly replacing workers at factories, <a href="https://www.zmescience.com/other/economics/china-factory-robots-03022017/">even in low-wage countries like China</a>. Artificial intelligence technologies like machine learning and computer vision are permanently <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/26/technology-is-killing-jobs-and-only-technology-can-save-them/">eliminating high-skill jobs</a> in offices, too. Many world economies – including in the U.S. – are turning from manufacturing to service, in which most new jobs do not require advanced education. </p>
<p>The remaining jobs <a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2017/may/growing-skill-divide-us-labor-market">will involve fewer routine tasks</a>. The people doing that work will still need some education beyond high school. But they may not have as much need to attend classes at, or even live on, a physical university campus. Colleges that are outside the very top tier of quality and name recognition – and those that have taken on large amounts of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/07/the-paradox-of-new-buildings-on-campus/492398/">debt to build physical facilities</a> – will suffer as demand for their services lessens.</p>
<h2>Competition between colleges</h2>
<p>Another factor challenging universities’ existence is the <a href="https://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/average-published-undergraduate-charges-sector-2017-18">rapidly rising cost</a> of a traditional college education. So far, in the U.S. demand for degrees from residential colleges has remained high because government-backed <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-for-profit-college-trap_us_5814edb7e4b09b190529c588">loans are easy to get</a>. But student loan debt in the <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/default.htm/">U.S. has reached US$1.45 trillion</a> – and as many as <a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2017Q3.pdf">20 percent of borrowers</a> may not be earning enough to pay them back.</p>
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<p>Universities might highlight intangible values of in-person learning, like personal contact and nonverbal communication, but the costs are becoming a larger factor. Parents and students in the U.S. are increasingly asking whether it’s worth spending <a href="https://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/tuition-fees-room-board-over-time">around $30,000</a> – or even <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/about-harvard/harvard-glance">more than $60,000</a> – for <a href="https://handbook.fas.harvard.edu/book/calendar-academic-year">less than 240 days of school</a> in an elite private residential college – more than $250 a night. </p>
<p>Private colleges’ main competition at the moment comes from public universities. Their <a href="https://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/average-published-undergraduate-charges-sector-2017-18">prices are two-thirds lower</a>, but studying still involves taking many courses that are just as easily taught online.</p>
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<p>Soon students will want to take a variety of courses from different universities, choosing each class and school for its particular merits and benefits. That will stiffen competition between institutions, lowering students’ costs – and universities’ revenues. </p>
<p>Courses will become shared experiences for online learning communities. Some colleges might seek to charge students for special in-person learning experiences, but these will be extras for those who can afford them, not the higher education norm they are today.</p>
<h2>Finding a new way to teach</h2>
<p>Some universities – those at the top, with the most money and expertise – are responding to the coming changes to higher education. Some are forming partnerships with international universities and online teaching companies, or building remote-learning programs on their own. Some of these, like the <a href="https://www.extension.harvard.edu">Harvard Extension School</a>, are high-tech adaptations of correspondence courses people used to take by mail. </p>
<p>Harvard Extension School enrolls nearly <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/09/did-i-really-go-to-harvard-if-i-got-my-degree-taking-online-classes/279644/">2,000 degree candidates and over 13,000 non-degree students</a>, who <a href="https://www.extension.harvard.edu/registration-admissions">take classes online, on campus or a mix of both</a>. Students can earn a <a href="https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate-degrees/bachelor-liberal-arts-degree">Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree in extension studies</a>. At an <a href="https://www.extension.harvard.edu/registration-admissions">estimated cost of $49,500</a>, a four-year degree is cheaper than a <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/about-harvard/harvard-glance">single year on campus</a> at Harvard.</p>
<p>But the vast majority of people who take its classes <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/09/did-i-really-go-to-harvard-if-i-got-my-degree-taking-online-classes/279644/">never get a degree</a> at all. They’re just looking for one particular course, or maybe a few, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/09/25/495188445/shaken-by-economic-change-non-traditional-students-are-becoming-the-new-normal">customizing their own education</a>. </p>
<p>Employers will soon take advantage of options like this, too: Universities will find themselves asked to build specific programs for particular companies. And universities will find themselves needing to explore other ways artificial intelligence technologies can help reduce the cost of education.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89354/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Subhash Kak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Artificial intelligence and automation are bringing changes to higher education that will challenge, and may even threaten, traditional universities.Subhash Kak, Regents Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oklahoma State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/859372017-11-05T07:33:47Z2017-11-05T07:33:47ZHow digital technology can help reinvent basic education in Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191584/original/file-20171024-30590-1dre50f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Africa, communication technologies have been used in education since the late 1960s.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.afd.fr/home/presse-afd/evenements?actuCtnId=130329">Ymagoo/Fondation Orange</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>African countries have worked hard to improve children’s access to basic education, but there’s still significant work to be done. Today, 32,6 million children of primary-school age and 25,7 million adolescents are <a href="https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/report/2017/accountability-education">not going to school</a> in sub-Saharan Africa. The quality of education also remains a significant issue, but there’s a possibility the technology could be part of the solution. The digital revolution currently under way in the region has led to a boom in trials using information and communication technology (ICT) in education – both in and out of the classroom.</p>
<p>A study carried out by the French Development Agency (AFD), the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), Orange and Unesco shows that ICT in education in general, and mobile learning in particular, offers a <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002318/231867e.pdf">number of possible benefits</a>. These include access to low-cost teaching resources, added value compared to traditional teaching and a complementary solution for teacher training. </p>
<p>This means that there’s a huge potential to reach those excluded from education systems. The quality of knowledge and skills that are taught can also be improved.</p>
<h2>The irresistible digital revolution</h2>
<p>Access to means of communication is now a key part of daily life for the vast majority of people living in Africa. Mobile telephone prices and the cost of communication have dropped. Mobile telephone use has <a href="http://www.gsma.com/iot/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/gsmamckinseytransforminglearningthroughmeducation.pdf">increased from 5% in 2003 to 73% in 2014</a>. There are 650 million mobile phone owners on the continent (more than the US and Europe combined) and <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/mis2013/MIS2013_without_Annex_4.pdf">3G mobile networks are growing rapidly</a>.</p>
<p>Costs are falling and rural areas will soon be reachable thanks to a number of developments. These include undersea cables connecting Africa to other continents, fibre-optic cables that provide connectivity within the continent and recent satellite connection plans. Access to wired Internet remains low with 11% of households connected. But access to mobile Internet is already helping the region catch up. <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/mis2013/MIS2013_without_Annex_4.pdf">Smartphone penetration levels should reach 20% in 2017</a>.</p>
<p>This rapid expansion of mobile Internet services is already contributing to the region’s economic and social development. This is particularly the case in areas such as financial inclusion (mobile banking), health (mobile health) and farmers’ productivity.</p>
<p>Given the features of mobile telephones (voice calling, text messaging) and smartphones (reading texts and documents, MP3, images and video) and their wide availability, their potential for improving access and quality of educational services is also boundless.</p>
<p>M-learning (or m-education) – educational services via a connected mobile device – is the main lever for growth in educational information and communication technology and for making content available. This could be for learning (teacher training, learner-centred teaching, tests) or making up for the lack of data for education system management.</p>
<h2>New technologies for learning</h2>
<p>Mass communication technology has been used as a principal driver of education in Africa since the 1960s. Countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Senegal developed major programmes using radio and then television to promote basic education, improve teacher training and even teaching pupils directly. These programmes reached a high number of pupils at a relatively low cost. But results in terms of academic performance <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002318/231867e.pdf">remain difficult to evaluate</a>.</p>
<p>The mass distribution of computer hardware then took over in the 1990s. Many national and international programmes started to concentrate on equipping schools with computers to facilitate digital education and offer new educational media in the form of educational software and CD-ROMs. Use was mainly centred on schools. But trials were often launched without clear pedagogical objectives and state-defined policy frameworks.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191585/original/file-20171024-30613-q5i87d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191585/original/file-20171024-30613-q5i87d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191585/original/file-20171024-30613-q5i87d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191585/original/file-20171024-30613-q5i87d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191585/original/file-20171024-30613-q5i87d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191585/original/file-20171024-30613-q5i87d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191585/original/file-20171024-30613-q5i87d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Digital Services for Education in Africa</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The arrival of personal computers in the 2000s facilitated the individualisation of school ICT. The US <a href="http://one.laptop.org/">One Laptop per Child</a> project, launched in several African countries in 2005, aimed to equip schools with laptops at low cost.</p>
<p>Nearly 2 million teachers and pupils are involved in this programme across the world. More than 2.4 million computers (at a cost of around $200 including an open teaching platform) have been delivered. Evaluations show that the use of portable or fixed computers in the classroom has only a limited effect on pupils’ academic performance. But it may have a positive impact on certain cognitive abilities if pupils can use their computers at home in the evening.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171332/original/file-20170529-25241-173eni5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171332/original/file-20170529-25241-173eni5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171332/original/file-20170529-25241-173eni5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171332/original/file-20170529-25241-173eni5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171332/original/file-20170529-25241-173eni5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171332/original/file-20170529-25241-173eni5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171332/original/file-20170529-25241-173eni5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The One Laptop per Child programme equips thousands of African schoolchildren.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/olpc/3031357749/in/photolist-87pDRt-6heLu2-8o8uTh-8o8uus-8o8sYb-8o5jgF-8cy88S-8o8jjE-8o59m4-8iMuLG-5BSv3D-8o8iEw-5BSv3H-5BSv3M">One Laptop per Child/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Contents and uses</h2>
<p>Since 2010 the large-scale diffusion of mobile communications technology has transformed practices with easier access to educational resources in and outside school. The arrival of low-cost, low-consumption smartphones and tablets allows ICT in education to gradually <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/mis2013/MIS2013_without_Annex_4.pdf">move out of the school environment</a>.</p>
<p>There has been a shift from a tool-based approach to one that’s centred on content and use. These mobile tools, particularly tablets, offer important opportunities to tackle the lack of books and textbooks. The distribution of Kindle-style readers to 600,000 children in nine African countries has seen a considerable impact on reading and on <a href="http://www.worldreader.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/iread-final.pdf">pupils’ results in educational tests</a>.</p>
<p>The sending of text messaging containing short lessons, multiple choice tests or audio recordings have also been shown to have an <a href="https://www.ifadem.org/fr/pays/madagascar/dispositif-de-formation">important effect on teachers</a>. This is also true of MOOCs (massive open online courses) adapted to African countries’ needs and capacities.</p>
<p>The cross-fertilisation of teaching models and tools has broadened the potential of information and communication technology in education. Some technologies, perceived as outdated, are undergoing a partial revival thanks to the combination of media that can be used in any single project. For example radio and television programmes are inexpensive and attract a considerable audience. Combined with Internet and mobile phones they provide promising educational results.</p>
<p>The BBC’s <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction/where-we-work/asia/bangladesh/bbc-janala">Janala English-instruction programme for the people of Bangladesh</a> is a good example of cooperation between very diverse actors.</p>
<h2>What are the conditions for success?</h2>
<p>Most African countries are showing an interest in technology in education. But a range of conditions must be satisfied to ensure that they are deployed efficiently within the educational landscape. This includes:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Responding to technical and economic constraints</p></li>
<li><p>Responding to users’ needs and strengthening their capacities</p></li>
<li><p>Finding sustainable funding models</p></li>
<li><p>Facilitating effective multi-stakeholder collaboration.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Although the time for innovation and experiment will never end, now is the moment to put systems and strategies in place for moving to the next level, particularly by setting up stakeholder coalitions. ICT will not resolve all of Africa’s education problems. But it can help to fundamentally change the current paradigm of skills development systems.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was co-authored with <a href="http://ideas4development.org/author/erwan-le-quentrec/">Erwan Lequentrec</a> (Orange Labs) and <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/themes/icts/m4ed/unesco-mobile-learning-week/panellists/francesc-pedro/">Francesc Pedró</a> (Unesco). The text is based on <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002318/231867e.pdf">“Digital Services for Education in Africa”</a>, written by David Ménascé and Flore Clément.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85937/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Information and communication technologies (ICT) offer new opportunities for improving basic education in Africa.Rohen d’Aiglepierre, PhD, chargé de recherche « Capital humain » / "Human Capital" reseacher, Agence française de développement (AFD)Amélie Aubert, Chef de projet « Éducation, formation, emploi », Agence française de développement (AFD)Pierre-Jean Loiret, Responsable du numérique éducatif, Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/777282017-05-18T14:10:27Z2017-05-18T14:10:27ZTo stay in the game universities need to work with tech companies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169496/original/file-20170516-11941-p7tkp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world of higher and professional education is changing rapidly. Digitally-enabled learning, in all its forms, is here to stay. Over the last five years, massive open online courses (<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-dismiss-moocs-we-are-just-starting-to-understand-their-true-value-31037">MOOCs</a>) have enabled universities to share their expertise with millions across the world. This shows how rapidly developing digital technologies can make learning accessible. </p>
<p>These new technologies are shaking up traditional classrooms, too. And as the nature of work changes professionals are turning to high level, online courses to keep pace with new demands.</p>
<p>But much of this new technology is the preserve of private sector companies. This means that universities have to work with them. Yet partnerships with for-profit companies still don’t feel right for many in the higher education sphere. Knowledge has long been seen as a public good, and education as a basic right. Many of today’s universities were shaped by the principles of public funding. </p>
<p>This world was changing well before the disruptive impact of digital technologies, with tuition fees rising above the rate of inflation and the emergence of private universities as part of the higher education landscape. But there’s still unease about technology and its role. The reality, though, is that higher education institutions will have to get over their queasiness if they’re to survive in this brave new world.</p>
<p>Universities may not have the know how or the money to match the innovations coming onto the market through private tech companies. The decision by Nasdaq-listed technology education (<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/13/edtech-is-the-next-fintech/">edtech</a>) company 2U to acquire Cape Town based startup GetSmarter for <a href="http://africacapitaldigest.com/getsmarter-sold-in-103mln-deal/">R1,4bn</a> ($103million) is the largest price tag yet for a South African company working in digital education. </p>
<p>This is an indication of what it would cost a university to set up a full online division. Few institutions will have this money, or the ability to raise it. The alternative is to reconsider the advantages of public-private partnerships, taking care to retain authority over quality. For many universities this could be the only way of keeping pace with the changing world of education. </p>
<h2>The story of a start up</h2>
<p>The story of how GetSmarter got off the ground is a text book case of how a simple idea, combined with guts and luck, can reap huge rewards.</p>
<p>GetSmarter was launched in 2008 with a tiny budget and offered just one online course, in wine evaluation. By 2016 its annual revenues had grown to about R227 million. The foundation for this expansion has been a wide range of courses developed and offered in partnership with the University of Cape Town and, more recently, the University of the Witwatersrand and Stellenbosch University.</p>
<p>GetSmarter’s key breakthrough into the international realm came with professional programmes in association with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Cambridge University. GetSmarter’s first course with <a href="https://harvardx.harvard.edu/">HarvardX</a> will soon be presented.</p>
<p>After its acquisition was announced I talked to the company’s CEO, Sam Paddock, co-founded with brother Rob. We discussed the lessons for other small digital companies – and for universities that are mulling the value of digital learning.</p>
<p>The Paddock brothers leveraged the cash flow from their father’s niche law firm to launch their first online course. They then used upfront payments for that course and the courses that followed to keep financing their next offerings. In the nine years that followed, <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-report-predicts-edtech-spend-to-reach-252bn-by-2020-580765301.html">edtech</a> has become a crowded and complex field. </p>
<p>GetSmarter’s purchase price has garnered a lot of media attention: it’s high, in US dollar terms, and is a vote of confidence in the company. The price represents a valuation of a company’s assets, intellectual property and know-how, and strategic positioning for the future. </p>
<p>But what does it say about the kinds of investments and partnerships that conventional universities will have to make as they adapt to the full disruption from new digital technologies? The key aspect of GetSmarter’s success is how its partnership with universities has played out. As Paddock points out:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We are starting to realise the potential of public-private partnerships, where the credibility and resources of great universities can be combined with the skills of nimble private operators. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Good news for the digital economy</h2>
<p>This acquisition is also good news for South Africa’s digital economy. Paddock says GetSmarter will employ more South African graduates and give them international experience and expertise.</p>
<p>And, he says, ecosystems often develop from one significant investment in an individual company. “This was how <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/about/history/history_ch3.html">Silicon Valley</a> started, as well as London’s ”<a href="http://www.siliconroundabout.org.uk/">silicon roundabout</a>“. Cape Town, GetSmarter’s home city, has been trumpeted as South Africa’s own Silicon Valley: ”<a href="http://ventureburn.com/2016/06/citi-announce-africas-first-ed-tech-cluster/">Silicon Cape</a>“.</p>
<p>The opportunity to lead in digital innovation and application has been widely recognised, for example through the work of <a href="http://acceleratecapetown.co.za/programmes/digital-cape-town/">Accelerate Cape Town</a>. The <a href="http://www.citi.org.za/">Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative</a> (CiTi) has a range of initiatives underway, including a three year partnership with <a href="http://www.citi.org.za/bandwidth-barn-announces-a-three-year-innovation-and-technology-partnership-with-telkom/">Telkom </a> intended to build the digital workforce. </p>
<p>Last year, cellphone giant <a href="http://acceleratecapetown.co.za/digital-skills/">Vodacom</a> announced an investment of R600m to assist in developing South Africa’s digital skills.</p>
<p>GetSmarter’s big win is good news and proof - if universities needed it - that such initiatives can bolster higher education’s offering in a rapidly changing world. Universities in Africa know that they need to keep up with the relentless march of digitally enabled learning. GetSmarter’s journey from bootstrapped startup to a billion rand enterprise is a case study, worthy of attention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77728/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Hall advises GetSmarter on research priorities and academic governance</span></em></p>For many universities, working with private edtech companies could be the only way of keeping pace with the changing world of education.Martin Hall, Emeritus Professor, MTN Solution Space Graduate School of Business, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/765972017-05-11T14:46:24Z2017-05-11T14:46:24ZWhen I grow up, I want to be a researcher…<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168978/original/file-20170511-32618-121i8zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In the molecular-chemistry laboratory of the Ecole Polytechnique at the Université Paris-Saclay.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/117994717@N06/16276695722/in/photolist-qNjjyS-RJf5zq-SydeGo-SKK7PN-SydeMU-kdfJux-pghoEs-SydeJs-qhnsqh-kdgcRK-qi4GAe-S7aSMt-qpiVVY-q4hbzf-RRxdv7-RRxdJJ-RRxdNb-r43uzP-rmdhWN-kdgvpc-v2FyEj-kdiBGh-m19BYT-RRxdrj-q4dAL6-kdjpUN-r3SNj2-saTpbX-TkGfyT-TkGfo2-moun8B-rRBt2D-pQYXn2-q4hDxm-rdWrjw-kdhMKp-t7M5qf-kdhMBP-kXDGXt-q4cWB2-qkvStn-rgNhHq-r8CMvT-qdNA1m-kdfLnv-puzvgM-kdhPP5-qKjy9g-kdhTSA-kdhTqo">Ecole polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>“So what’s your PhD topic again?"…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Nowadays, this is the question most commonly asked to early-career researchers, and the answer is becoming more and more complex. While an interdisciplinary approach is favoured in English-speaking world, the French academic system often keeps doctoral students within methodological limits.</p>
<p>So why maintain such an inflexible, discipline-focused system? How can young researchers make their fields and the scientific foundation on which the build their work their own?</p>
<h2>Breaking down boundaries: the end of labels</h2>
<p>A basic trend: The longstanding boundaries between classic disciplines are breaking down or, at least, being blurred, and many academics feel disoriented. One explanation for this radical shift is probably the development of new media. While "traditionalists” try to hold on to their “specialties”, open-minded researchers use new technologies to break down the walls between disciplines. Indeed, since the 1980s, the English-speaking research world has witnessed the birth of new fields of multidisciplinary research. A model from which France and other countries have begun to draw inspiration in the last decade.</p>
<p>For 21st-century PhD students – the first generation of “digital natives” – the web has been a simple fact for their entire lives. They tend to refuse labels, and unlike their predecessors, early career researchers do not want to choose between specialties, methodologies, schools of thought or countries. They want to embrace them all.</p>
<p>And why would they have to choose, anyway? Thanks to the Internet they have access to almost unlimited knowledge, through MOOCs, TED talks, online publications… In a nutshell, open sources. Many doctoral candidates have graduated with two or three masters and followed several transdisciplinary pathways already. They are thus entitled to diversify their experience, and they wish to keep this privilege, and even cultivate it, when writing their thesis.</p>
<h2>“Y generation” researchers</h2>
<p>The training of the current generation of researchers – strewn with pitfalls and migrations – is not so “unusual” anymore. In a sense, their professional lives will be that way as well. For “Y generation” researchers, a certain volatility becomes necessary, if not essential, to fully comprehend new nomadic objects of research. Why not dissect a Latin text in the same way we examine DNA? Could a philosopher learn something from an examination of African tax systems?</p>
<p>For the 2016 <a href="http://jijc2016.event.univ-lorraine.fr/jijc_accueil.php">Early Career Researchers conference</a> at the University of Lorraine, PhD students discussed their take on interdisciplinarity and its potential benefits. The 2017 edition takes place on June 16 this year returns with a new theme: <a href="https://jijc2017.event.univ-lorraine.fr/?forward-action=index&forward-controller=index&lang=e">“Which questions for what research? The Humanities at the crossroads of disciplines”</a>.</p>
<h2>Asking the right questions</h2>
<p>In 2017 we need to discover what kinds of questions are being asked in research. What are the purposes of research? Which questions best correspond to which types of research? What is our take on fundamental research? What is the split between social-science research, applied research, or interventionist research? With the multiplication of ground-breaking concepts, should research fields be restructured?</p>
<p>How particular disciplines are mastered is clearly defined by French institutions, such as the National Counsel of Universities or the competitive exams for secondary-school teaching in the French national education system. Therefore, we should question the legitimisation of new fields of research within a given academic institutional system. As such, cultural studies have often been strongly criticised in France, whereas their popularity within the English-speaking world is easily understandable considering their interdisciplinary nature.</p>
<p>Certain disciplines taught at universities also have their equivalent in the secondary-school system, and many research departments limit their recruitment of lecturers to candidates who have passed the secondary-school exam. Notwithstanding the many differences between teaching in secondary school and conducting research at university, should academics in France continue this historical mode of recruitment? Can research fields be as easily delimited as the disciplinary knowledge one needs to teach in secondary schools? This issue is all the more pressing as new technologies bolster the constant evolution of research questions. Can they enable the Y generation of researchers to free themselves from the ancient methods of “mastering” disciplines and go beyond the more “traditional” fields of research?</p>
<h2>Towards enhanced research</h2>
<p>While fields of research are increasingly changing, should they all intersect and perfectly match taught disciplines, or could they be much more enriched and flexible? A good example is gender studies, which combines history, psychology, sociology and even medicine. Similarly, shouldn’t we consider research fields within the context and needs of society? It is only logical to question the axiological positioning of the researcher with regard to political militancy or societal debates, especially when their research deals with current affairs.</p>
<p>Moreover, an increasing number of companies and other organisations are now proposing collaborations and partnerships with researchers. Industrial agreements for training through research (for example, the French <a href="http://www.anrt.asso.fr/fr/espace_cifre/accueil.jsp">CIFRE program</a>) establish a partnership between a partner – most often a firm – a research department, and a PhD student. What methodologies can be applied in such collaborations? How do we reconcile the researcher’s methods and the partners’ expectations? We also need to question the uses and the limits such cooperative efforts. Concisely put: how do we distinguish between disciplines? Should we talk about a disciplinary area or should we replace it with the definition of a research domain? Is the creation of inter- and/or trans-disciplinary research teams always necessary? Are they really beneficial?</p>
<p>Facing the multiplication of such questions, early-career researchers need to develop innovative research practices and find ways to address the position of today’s researchers.</p>
<h2>Novel practices, new questions</h2>
<p>For its 2017 edition, the organisers of the Early Career Researchers conference invite PhD students of all <strong>disciplinary backgrounds</strong> to reflect on the following axes:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>What epistemological and deontological approaches should researchers adopt today?</p></li>
<li><p>What are the implications of the human factors behind research?</p></li>
<li><p>Which methodolog(y/ies) for what research: where are the boundaries between disciplines?</p></li>
<li><p>Inter/transdisciplinarity and the contributions of research and new technologies to society: how can different perspectives be reconciled?</p></li>
<li><p>How does research interact with its foundations?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Far from being an isolated initiative, those considerations are beginning to be tackled at international congresses. These include the 2017 PhD colloquium of the <a href="http://congres2017.saesfrance.org/texte-de-cadrage-en/">French Society for the Study of English (SAES)</a>, to be held June 1-3 in Reims, and <a href="https://studies.hypotheses.org/">“Designations of Disciplines and Their Content: The Paradigm of Studies”</a>, which took place at Paris 13–USPC in January 2017.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>It is with this in mind that the early-career researcher conference will be held June 16, 2017, in Metz, France. For more information, visit the <a href="https://jijc2017.event.univ-lorraine.fr/?forward-action=index&forward-controller=index&lang=en">conference website</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jérémy Filet is a member of the steering comitee of the Early Career Researchers International Conference 2017 (JIJC2017). He has been awarded a Doctoral contract to write his PhD thesis in the Research Lab "Interdisciplinarity in English Studies" (IDEA), and he teaches English at the University of Lorraine (France).
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Jeanson est membre du comité de pilotage de la Journée Internationale des Jeunes Chercheurs 2017 (JIJC2017). Elle effectue une thèse en Cifre chez le Groupe PSA au sein du laboratoire PErSEUs de l'Université de Lorraine spécialisé dans l'expérience utilisateur. </span></em></p>How do we and should we work with the first generation “digital native” doctoral researchers?Jérémy Filet, Doctorant en civilisation Britannique du XVIIIème siècle, Université de LorraineLisa Jeanson, Doctorante en Ergonomie Cognitive, Université de LorraineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/769492017-05-10T19:38:45Z2017-05-10T19:38:45ZWhy data-driven science is more than just a buzzword<p>Forget looking through a telescope at the stars. An astronomer today is more likely to be online: digitally scheduling observations, running them remotely on a telescope in the desert, and downloading the results for analysis. </p>
<p>For many astronomers the first step in doing science is exploring this data computationally. It may sound like a buzzword, but data-driven science is part of a profound shift in fields like astronomy. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.science.org.au/files/userfiles/support/reports-and-plans/2015/astronomy-decadal-plan-2016-2025.pdf">2015 report</a> by the Australian Academy of Science found that among more than 500 professional astronomers in Australia, around one quarter of their research effort was now computational in nature. Yet many high school and university science, technology and engineering subjects still treat the necessary skills as second-class citizens.</p>
<p>Referring both to the modelling of the world through simulations and the exploration of observational data, computation is central not only to astronomy but a range of sciences, including bioinformatics, computational linguistics and particle physics.</p>
<p>To prepare the next generation, we must develop new teaching methods that recognise data-driven and computational approaches as some of the primary tools of contemporary research.</p>
<h2>The era of big data in science</h2>
<p><a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/francis-bacon/#SciMetProInsMag">The great empiricists</a> of the 17th century believed that if we used our senses to collect as much data as possible, we would ultimately understand our world. </p>
<p>Although empirical science has a long history, there are some key differences between a traditional approach and the data-driven science we do today. </p>
<p>The change that has perhaps had the most impact is the sheer amount of data that computers can now collect. This has enabled a change in philososphy: data can be gathered to serve many projects rather than just one, and the way we explore and mine data allows us to “plan for serendipity”.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ymZEOihlIdU?wmode=transparent&start=2" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Cleo Loi describes her discovery of plasma tubes in the Earth’s ionosphere.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Take the search for new types of astronomical phenomena. Large data sets can yield unexpected results: some modern examples are the <a href="https://theconversation.com/fast-radio-bursts-new-intergalactic-messengers-15700">discovery of fast radio bursts</a> by astronomer Duncan Lorimer and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-an-undergraduate-discovered-tubes-of-plasma-in-the-sky-42810">discovery of plasma tubes in the Earth’s ionosphere</a> by a former undergraduate student of mine, Cleo Loi. Both of these depended on mining of archival data sets that had been designed for a different purpose. </p>
<p>Many scientists now work collaboratively to design experiments that can serve many projects at once and test different hypotheses. For example, the <a href="http://skatelescope.org/news/ska-science-book/">book outlining the science case</a> for the future Square Kilometre Array Telescope, to be built in South Africa and Australia, has 135 chapters contributed by 1,200 authors.</p>
<h2>Our education system needs to change, too</h2>
<p>Classic images of science include Albert Einstein writing down the equations of relativity, or Marie Curie discovering radium in her laboratory.</p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A page from Albert Einstein’s Zurich Notebook.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our understanding of how science works is often formed in high school, where we learn about theory and experiment. We picture these twin pillars working together, with experimental scientists testing theories, and theorists developing new ways to explain empirical results. </p>
<p>Computation, however, is rarely mentioned, and so many key skills are left undeveloped. </p>
<p>To design unbiased experiments and select robust samples, for example, scientists need excellent statistical skills. But often this part of maths takes a back seat in university degrees. To ensure our data-driven experiments and explorations are rigorous, scientists need to know more than just high school statistics. </p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marie Curie in her chemistry laboratory at the Radium Institute in France, April 1921.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, to solve problems in this era, scientists also need to develop computational thinking. It’s not just about coding, although that’s a good start. They need to think creatively about algorithms, and how to manage and mine data using sophisticated techniques such as machine learning.</p>
<p>Applying simple algorithms to massive data sets simply doesn’t work, even when you have the power of 10,000-core supercomputers. Switching to more sophisticated techniques from computer science, such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-d_tree">kd-tree algorithm</a> for matching astronomical objects, can speed up software <a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/data-driven-astronomy/lecture/OBgrq/a-much-faster-algorithm">by orders of magnitude</a>. </p>
<p>Some steps are being taken in the right direction. Many universities are introducing courses and degrees in data science, incorporating statistics and computer science combined with science or business. For example, I recently launched an online course on <a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/data-driven-astronomy">data-driven astronomy</a>, which aims to teach skills like data management and machine learning in the context of astronomy.</p>
<p>In schools the new <a href="http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/digital-technologies/curriculum/f-10?layout=1">Australian Curriculum in Digital Technologies</a> makes coding and computational thinking part of the syllabus from Year 2. This will develop vital skills, but the next step is to integrate modern approaches directly into science classrooms. </p>
<p>Computation has been an important part of science for more than half a century, and the data explosion is making it even more central. By teaching computational thinking as part of science, we can ensure our students are prepared to make the next round of great discoveries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76949/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tara Murphy receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a founder and director of Grok Learning. </span></em></p>Science today is increasingly data-driven, but our education system has not caught up.Tara Murphy, Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/643132016-08-25T20:21:33Z2016-08-25T20:21:33ZInterview: Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder and inventor of the home computer<p>If you haven’t heard of Steve Wozniak, it is because he has been overshadowed by his fellow co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs. This is despite the fact that he was the sole person behind the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/iWoz-Computer-Invented-Personal-Co-Founded/dp/0393330435">invention</a> and building of the Apple 1, the first home computer that used a keyboard and normal TV screen as a display. </p>
<p>Steve Jobs was arguably the force behind the creation of Apple, but the technology came from the mind of Wozniak.</p>
<p>Wozniak is currently on a speaking tour of Australia and appeared in Perth this week. I had the opportunity to talk to him before the show and ask a few questions.</p>
<p><em>You can see the full interview between David Glance and Steve Wozniak in the video below.</em></p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Interview with Steve Wozniak.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Wozniak <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wozniak">left Apple</a> in 1985 to finish a degree of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California at Berkeley. He did this under the pseudonym of Rocky Raccoon Clark. After that time, he spent 10 years teaching computing primary school children from Grade 5 - 9.</p>
<p>In terms of the disruption of education, Wozniak says that massive online open courses (<a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/mooc-9120">MOOCs</a>) may be appropriate for the older, more educated, student, but human interaction is always going to be more important at the primary and high school level. </p>
<p>In fact, this reflects Wozniak’s personal experience where he talks about the influence of his father on inspiring him into the area of electronics, and the encouragement and inspiration of teachers at his primary school. This contrasts with his relatively bad experiences at high school and university with teachers that were, in some cases, openly antagonistic.</p>
<p>Asked about Apple’s new app <a href="http://www.apple.com/au/swift/playgrounds/">Swift Playgrounds</a>, aimed at teaching entry level programming in the language Swift, he thinks that there may have been better languages to start with. For Wozniak, one reason for developing computer was to provide everyone with access to computing, along with all the benefits that would come from that, including the ability to program.</p>
<p>At Apple’s birth, nobody thought the concept of the home computer – like the one Wozniak had built – had a future. When Wozniak had worked at Hewlett-Packard, the company turned down his idea of developing a personal computer. </p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Apple 1 Computer, a piece of history and art.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/extremely-rare-celebration-apple-1-computer-1092901">CharityBuzz</a></span>
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<p>In Australia, it is debatable whether Apple would have been funded by the current venture capitalist community. At the time Apple received its first investment from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Markkula">Mike Markkulla</a>. It was yet to turn a profit and had only one client. </p>
<p>When asked about the prospect of a new company like Apple starting today, Wozniak is more optimistic. He believes there is a huge amount of activity in the startup and innovation areas. </p>
<p>He has previously talked enthusiastically about the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/aug/24/steve-wozniak-the-status-quo-doesnt-have-to-exist-we-can-come-up-with-solutions">investment</a> of the Queensland Government of A$405 million in the startup scene. </p>
<p>In terms of privacy, Wozniak feels that all technology companies talked about privacy being central to their product strategies but that only Apple actually delivered on this. The culture of privacy existed before CEO Tim Cook at Apple, but Cook has stood behind the importance of privacy when it came to handing over details of people’s devices to the FBI.</p>
<p>Wozniak, has not really been following the dispute between the Australian banks and Apple. But he was really enjoying using Apple Pay in Australia. He does say that he wishes that the technology behind the payment system was an open standard but hasn’t thought about the problem deeply.</p>
<p>Wozniak says he always wanted to be an engineer. To a large extent, the ascendency of technological companies has elevated the status of the computer and electrical engineer in society. </p>
<p>Popular culture is now reflecting this with extremely popular TV series like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543312/">Halt and Catch Fire</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4158110/">Mr. Robot</a> and the comedy series that Wozniak has actually appeared in, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898266/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4">Big Bang Theory</a>. Unlike Elon Musk, Wozniak has never appeared in the Simpsons, even in the show parodying Apple and “Steve Mobs”.</p>
<p>Despite all of this, Wozniak feels that “nerds and geeks” will still have a hard time at school, a situation that was the case when he was at school.</p>
<p>During our chat, Wozniak expanded on the needs of entrepreneurship. What is critical he says, is the need for business and marketing along with engineering capability. </p>
<p>It is not good enough to have an idea that sounds great if nobody wants to buy it. It is the role of the marketing person to do what Apple has done in not only seeing what the public wants, but to persuade them that they actually want the product you are selling, even if they didn’t know it.</p>
<p>In many ways, Wozniak is a stereotypical engineer. He is a very nice and largely self-effacing person who just happened to use his passion to create something that was truly great. </p>
<p>There is currently an Apple 1 computer that is being <a href="https://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/extremely-rare-celebration-apple-1-computer-1092901?utm_medium=Call_To_Action_Button&utm_campaign=Apple_1_Auction_2016&utm_source=Apple_1_Landing_Page%3Cbr%20/%3E%0D%0A">auctioned</a> with manuals and tape cassettes. It is expected to sell for US$1 million. This is a far cry from the US$666.66 that this computer sold for in 1976. </p>
<p>On the description of the computer, it describes the computer not only as a radical device that would change society so dramatically, but simply as a piece of art. In those terms Wozniak can let his art and its legacy speak for itself.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Glance owns shares in Apple. UWA sponsored the talk by Steve Wozniak in Perth.</span></em></p>David Glance sits down with Apple co-founder and inventor of the Apple 1 computer, Steve Wozniak, to talk about his life, his thoughts on Apple then and now and how technology is changing the world.David Glance, Director of UWA Centre for Software Practice, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/637732016-08-18T20:43:08Z2016-08-18T20:43:08ZHow online courses can bring the world into Africa’s classrooms<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133668/original/image-20160810-18014-1bydg2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When online and offline learning experiences meet, magic can happen.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I am an anthropologist with a special interest in establishing the field of the <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/the-rise-of-the-medical-humanities/2018007.article">medical humanities</a>. This emerging field is wide open for producing new knowledge about the history and culture of medical practices. It focuses, for instance, on representations of patients and medical landscapes in art, literature, philosophy, bioethics, and other disciplines in the arts and humanities.</p>
<p>Usually, our interdisciplinary masters course in this field at South Africa’s University of Cape Town (UCT) attracted fewer than 40 students.</p>
<p>Then a colleague and I were asked to consider creating a Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC. These online courses have become <a href="https://www.coursera.org/">incredibly popular globally</a>, but remain rare in Africa. Ours would be the <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/uct-to-offer-free-online-course-1808620">first of its kind</a> in South Africa. </p>
<p>I was initially sceptical. I’m an associate professor with years of classroom training and individual supervision experience. I had won a Distinguished Teacher’s Award two years earlier and didn’t want to be seen by my peers as somehow betraying that lofty calling of university lecturing.</p>
<p>But after consulting widely I decided to go for it. This is the story of how we opened the doors of our classroom to the world – and why I believe MOOCs have a great future in Africa.</p>
<h2>Warnings</h2>
<p>Many of my colleagues across the university disliked the idea of a MOOC. They argued that this would be little more than a branding exercise for the institution. Others complained MOOCs were a form of labour exploitation, since we weren’t paid extra for the hours of preparation nor credited for having taught the course, since MOOCs are non-credit bearing.</p>
<p>I was warned MOOCs “dumb down” the classroom environment. Some scholars felt their arguments were too complex to communicate in the truncated space offered by a MOOC. They feared their intellect would be compromised by teaching such a course – heaven forbid we should try to communicate our genius with a general public by making it legible. </p>
<p>Some argued we should focus our energy on South African students rather than diluting it by offering time to thousands of nameless, stateless people. I agreed with this point. </p>
<p>These discussions left me feeling despondent. But after intensive dialogue with UCT’s <a href="http://www.cilt.uct.ac.za/">Centre for Innovation and Learning</a> – whose staff developed what would become our first MOOC – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkXaXuLk8Pg">professor Steve Reid</a> and I agreed to enter this strange new world. </p>
<p>This MOOC was an opportunity for us to build networks with a wide range of people interested in the intersections between social science, the arts, and the medical and health sciences. </p>
<p>It also turned out to be an amazing chance to teach our face-to-face students very differently.</p>
<h2>A totally new experience</h2>
<p>The MOOC, <a href="http://www.futurelearn.com/courses/medicine-and-the-arts">Medicine and the Arts: Humanising Healthcare</a>, kicked off in March 2015. It attracted more than 8000 students from more than 100 countries and seven continents (sadly no-one registered from Antarctica). The MOOC featured seminars by medical doctors, artists and social scientists.</p>
<p>We also drew our face-to-face students into the MOOC process, creating what’s known as a <a href="https://www.knewton.com/infographics/flipped-classroom/">“flipped classroom”</a> – the exchange of content between online and offline learning. </p>
<p>A flipped classroom is one in which students registered with a university have the chance to connect online with a virtual class. At the same time, for a classroom to be truly flipped, online students must engage with fee paying students and their lecturers. </p>
<p>Our face-to-face students were able to watch seminars online before the seminar presenters came to lectures in person. Our course evaluations produced surprising comments: several face-to-face students described how they found value in using the virtual classroom as a “rehearsal” opportunity for regular classroom sessions.</p>
<p>Operating in the open online classroom allowed students to formulate their ideas in a non-threatening environment. They didn’t have to deal with the anxiety of being academically judged and assessed. </p>
<p>One student, a second-language English speaker, expressed relief that the online space allowed for “learning in the moment” – to bring ideas into a conversation, “to see what others think, then think about my own views and the best ways to express them”.</p>
<p>Our UCT students also benefited from engaging with the MOOC participants: thousands of people from around the world. Several students agreed to be mentors on the MOOC site, developing supportive relationships with their MOOC peers. Our MOOC students, many of whom were already well versed in the growing field of the medical humanities, shared reading material and films related to arts in medicine. </p>
<p>One UCT student mentor commented that, while initially daunted, she found interacting with the diverse participants created an extraordinary space to learn new ideas about medicine and the creative arts.</p>
<h2>Lessons</h2>
<p>One of the <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20130622164019140">criticisms</a> of MOOCs is that they don’t democratise access to education. Their detractors argue that the digital, online nature of these courses means they’re more likely to be taken by people living in the global North who have access to reliable, fast, cheap internet connections. But even developing countries are becoming more connected and access to the internet is opening up.</p>
<p>In the first run of the course, 26% of the around 8000 participants were from Africa. That’s compared to an average of 4% for other courses on the FutureLearn platform, which hosted the MOOC. Our success is partly linked to improved internet connectivity on the continent.</p>
<p>But I’d suggest that our MOOC was particularly interesting to people from Africa because it tackled issues of structural violence and inequality that underpin the uneven distribution of infectious and non infectious disease on the continent. </p>
<p>The speakers on this MOOC offered creative platforms for addressing illness and human resilience in Africa. They also presented innovative ideas for health intervention in the context of poverty and state negligence. The course also offered African perspectives on science and the arts. Clearly, there’s an appetite on the continent for homegrown content.</p>
<p>There were shortcomings. Copyright laws were a challenge. We couldn’t post artworks without paying enormous fees. Peer-reviewed books required publishers’ permissions. Academic journals that weren’t open source couldn’t be used.</p>
<p>This meant that our face-to-face students benefitted from a more rigorous curriculum than their MOOC peers. But those copyright issues also forced us to think creatively: we had to source literature, novels, films, articles and artworks that spoke alongside the prescribed readings and which we could post on the FutureLearn site. </p>
<p>Our students’ <a href="https://www.class-central.com/mooc/3015/futurelearn-medicine-and-the-arts-humanising-healthcare">feedback</a> suggests we overcame these challenges. </p>
<h2>A growing movement</h2>
<p>The next run of the Medicine and the Arts: Humanising Healthcare MOOC, the fourth time it’s happening, starts in late August 2016. In the past year, other South African <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/general-news/2016/2016-06/wits-is-first-university-in-africa-to-offer-moocs-on-edx.html">universities</a> have <a href="http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=3016">launched</a> MOOCs. </p>
<p>Our experiences suggest that MOOCs have a real role to play in Africa. They offer a powerful means to bring intellectual and political projects across the continent together. They also tap into a student body that’s increasingly enthusiastic about learning more about the continent by way of interpersonal relationships. </p>
<p>Universities that are prepared to truly flip their classrooms, bringing offline and online together, are in for an exciting ride.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63773/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Levine does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>MOOCs are an opportunity for African universities to bring the continent’s thinkers and theories to the world. They also have great benefits for full-time students to experience a flipped classroom.Susan Levine, Associate Professor, School of African and Gender Studies, Anthropology and Linguistics, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/533302016-01-21T10:46:46Z2016-01-21T10:46:46ZConfessions of a MOOC professor: three things I learned and two things I worry about<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108759/original/image-20160120-26082-53j4s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Could MOOCs transform higher ed?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/familymwr/5322123751/in/photolist-97igYk-33PQq9-9J2tgr-9J2rUV-kc3smZ-kc3r9t-p1x6sq-EVfcZ-5sKSHN-4gWYKB-9J5jWs-9J5jDh-9J2svr-9J2rp4-5AVVjm-ebbjre-9J2unR-9J5iWN-53XTba-afFZq2-nDpUHd-nmVQ5c-nFcNhP-nmVU18-nBnXWq-nmW8W5-nD8Eb6-nDcQgu-nD8DD4-nmVQ9u-nDcZTf-nDq3xS-nD8Pgv-nDqGpz-nDcZ3C-nmVY1n-nFcWuF-nFcWmV-nD8N2M-nDqFaR-nmVXbL-nDqEMB-nD8MgP-nDq129-nDqE1g-nBo4gU-nFcUuP-nD8Lb2-nmVVhg-nDcW8Q">U.S. Army</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We have heard a lot of talk about MOOCs, or massive online open courses, over the last couple of years. On the plus side, MOOCs often draw enormous <a href="http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/moocs-are-still-rising-at-least-in-numbers/57527">enrollments</a> and are easy to sign up for and use; all you need, it seems, is an Internet connection and an interest to learn. </p>
<p>On the down side, they have significant attrition rates – about 90 percent of those enrolled <a href="http://www.katyjordan.com/MOOCproject.html">never complete</a> a course – and, according to their most alarmist critics, these courses may even <a href="http://www.inside-higher-ed.com/kevin-careys-good-idea-moocs-needs-help/">threaten the jobs</a> of college professors nationwide. </p>
<p>Indeed, despite the large dropout rate, MOOCs certainly end up serving a significant number of students. If the initial enrollment in a MOOC is 40,000 and only 4,000 actually complete the course, that’s still a lot of students compared to a traditional classroom. A professor teaching four courses a year in classes with 30 students each would have to teach for more than 33 years to reach 4,000 students. </p>
<p>It’s true that if these courses ever caught on across the culture in a fundamental way, as many have been predicting, they could significantly transform higher education.</p>
<p>Amid all the kerfuffle, and based on having taught <a href="https://www.coursera.org/instructor/johncovach">several courses</a> for Coursera over the past two years (and more than 250,000 students worldwide), I have learned a few things that cause me to both hope and worry about the future of higher education as we have known it for the last several decades. </p>
<h2>The three things I learned</h2>
<ul>
<li>MOOC students are mostly older than college students</li>
</ul>
<p>Roughly two-thirds of my students have been over the age of 25. Admittedly, I teach courses on the history of rock music, which might tend to attract older students. But my numbers are not much different from Coursera’s numbers generally. </p>
<p>When we think about college courses, we assume the students are age 18-24, since that’s the usual age at which one gets an undergraduate degree. There are a significant number of people out there, however, who are interested in continuing to learn later in life. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108762/original/image-20160120-26101-17h33hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108762/original/image-20160120-26101-17h33hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108762/original/image-20160120-26101-17h33hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108762/original/image-20160120-26101-17h33hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108762/original/image-20160120-26101-17h33hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108762/original/image-20160120-26101-17h33hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108762/original/image-20160120-26101-17h33hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students who take MOOC courses tend to be older and are mostly international.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mathplourde/10425003764/in/photolist-gTdSqd-e6NW3q-ggH827-rAzYJv-dRvhn4-bVGbrg-dDRGpb-h1FxoP-qRGwfS-nvZ6HN-ffV2Sy-ftGwPa-ftGvY6-ftGv6M-ftGuXK-ftWNtw-ftWMJQ-ftGrFn-ftWMcb-ftGqUg-ftWLeC-ftGpAH-ftGprx-ftWJRS-ftWJGf-ftGosM-ftGoig-ftGofi-ftGnZe-ftWHMQ-ftWHHQ-ftGnT2-ftGnyk-ftGnuT-ftGnbT-ftWGPG-ftGmT6-ftWGjw-ftWFZs-ftGkPe-ftWFp5-ftGjTX-ftWEx9-ftGjiH-ftWDHs-ftWDe9-ftGicz-ftWCQu-ftWCf3-ftWBWj">Mathieu Plourde</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Continuing education courses at colleges and universities have served that public to a certain degree, but it is clear that there is more demand among older students than many might have suspected. Given the chance to learn according to their own schedule and location, many find this option very attractive.</p>
<ul>
<li>MOOC students are mostly international and already college-educated</li>
</ul>
<p>Only about a third of my students live in the United States. The rest come from more than 150 countries around the world. This percentage of international students is consistent with other Coursera MOOCs. </p>
<p>Interestingly, a majority have already earned at least a bachelor’s degree, with a significant number also holding a master’s or Ph.D. degree. While others are seeking skills that will help advance their careers, many of these students are learning simply for the fun of it. </p>
<p>Our surveys have shown that most are very satisfied with the courses – they are an older, well-educated and international cohort of students who believe in MOOCs.</p>
<ul>
<li>MOOC culture is mostly a “free” culture</li>
</ul>
<p>As with music on the web, MOOC students expect the courses to be free, or very close to it. If each of the 250,000 students who enrolled in my courses had to pay even a dollar for the course, the numbers would fall significantly – probably by as much as 90 percent. </p>
<p>Most people would be willing to pay only for the credential that the course offers. A course with no credential has got to be free if enrollment is going to be massive. </p>
<p>My courses offer a free option that provides students with a statement of completion they can print out. Many have expressed great pride in earning this modest credential: they post them on Facebook.</p>
<h2>Two things I worry about</h2>
<ul>
<li>The flattening of expertise</li>
</ul>
<p>In an online world that counts Wikipedia as a trusted resource, the expertise of the university professor can no longer be guaranteed to win the day. Scholars may argue that Wikipedia must be <a href="http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k70847&pageid=icb.page346376">used with caution</a>, but that’s not the way everyone else sees it. </p>
<p>Some of my students use Wikipedia and other online sources very effectively. The democratic access to information that digital technology facilitates flattens the hierarchy of expertise: a university professor’s claim to superior expertise is no longer unquestioned.</p>
<ul>
<li>Alternative modes of awarding credentials</li>
</ul>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/08/upshot/true-reform-in-higher-education-when-online-degrees-are-seen-as-official.html">rise of badges</a> and certificates makes it possible for students to earn an alternative credential to university credits and degrees. Universities can argue all day long about whether or not an online course is equivalent to a traditional one, but if alternative credentials come to be acknowledged by employers as useful in assessing a candidate’s skills and preparation, and if students value them, this is in many ways a moot point. </p>
<p>And when older, more experienced students have a satisfactory experience with a MOOC, the validity of this form of learning and the credential it provides increases within the culture. </p>
<p>Finally, it is difficult to control the validity of such credentials outside of the United States. Just because some American employers may be wary of an online credential does not mean that all employers are.</p>
<ul>
<li>The threat to colleges and universities</li>
</ul>
<p>College and universities “sell” an education. The price they can charge for this product depends to a great extent on the fact that they have an almost exclusive ability to grant credentials, based partly on a culture that acknowledges that university faculty possess superior expertise. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108768/original/image-20160120-26087-1ebp6ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108768/original/image-20160120-26087-1ebp6ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108768/original/image-20160120-26087-1ebp6ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108768/original/image-20160120-26087-1ebp6ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108768/original/image-20160120-26087-1ebp6ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108768/original/image-20160120-26087-1ebp6ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108768/original/image-20160120-26087-1ebp6ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How will the online transfer of knowledge change higher ed?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/37996625142@N01/601687741/in/photolist-VaNNz-Vci2q-nDcPWb-av2zik-98PULS-9C1qxi-7SUM1J-8kkJZH-dryLjj-dryKCY-dryKqo-dryyAa-dryyhi-dryy2n-dryK8W-dryxLt-dryAs6-aiim4Q-uYmodP-5pGtc3-dryyWX-dryHew-bvtmo7-uFuRc1-fCCN1t-9J2ri6-dryAd4-thLuuR-ocgNoF-aBpG52-ao6Ab6-afFZq2-nDpUHd-nmVQ5c-nFcNhP-av2nVJ-nmVU18-nBnXWq-nmW8W5-nD8Eb6-nDcQgu-nD8DD4-nmVQ9u-nDcZTf-nDq3xS-nD8Pgv-nDqGpz-nDcZ3C-nmVY1n-nFcWuF">ashley cooper</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But if the culture embraces the idea that there are other valid sources of expertise, then universities are in for a severe downturn in business. This will not be the case in all areas of education, but it certainly will spell trouble in many of them. </p>
<p>We can no longer expect to be the only viable alternative for education and training. This is maybe not the end of college as much as the end of an educational monopoly. </p>
<p>Some colleges will fail.</p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>Colleges and universities must work to secure their claim to superior expertise, not within the ivory tower but within the culture at large. MOOCs are very useful in spreading the word about the fantastic thinking and teaching that goes on inside of universities. </p>
<p>The public should know more about what we do – they need to be invited in. Schools also must make certain that the credentials they provide really are the best preparations for success, and, just as importantly, that they are perceived this way among the general public. </p>
<p>We also should stop thinking of higher education primarily in terms of American students between the ages of 18 and 24.</p>
<p>In a world that will surely introduce significant and substantial competition in many areas of education very soon, universities must act now. </p>
<p>Consider this: Napster, the online music store, was introduced in the year 1999. In the 16 years since, the music business has been transformed by file sharing in ways that have been quick and deep. Nobody could have predicted it then. </p>
<p>Higher education must be sure it is not the same kind of victim of change. Let us not fiddle while Rome burns.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53330/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Covach does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A scholar who has taught 250,000 students worldwide through the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) reflects on the changes that these courses are bringing. Should all those in higher ed be worried?John Covach, Director, Institute for Popular Music, University of RochesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/489362015-11-06T11:02:45Z2015-11-06T11:02:45Z‘Powerpoint was not his thing’: a poem on teaching and technology<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100435/original/image-20151101-16550-2vn4om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Parana River in moonlight. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gi/5210825434/in/photolist-8WsQRQ">Gisela Giardino</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I am a scholar and teacher of Spanish and Portuguese. I am also a poet. </p>
<p>The several books of poetry I have published in English, Spanish and <a href="http://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/ling450ch/reports/Guarani1.html">Guarani</a> (an indigenous South American language and one of the official languages of Paraguay), plus numerous readings of my work, both in Paraguay and at home in New York, have taught me the artistic joys of the poetic word and its efficacy in public discourse. </p>
<p>The poem, obviously, is a work of imagination, but it is my contention that such a work can be an alternative way of understanding and therefore an alternative form of editorial journalism. </p>
<p>The most fundamental source of the educational vision portrayed in the poem I have written for The Conversation is the many thousands of hours I have spent with students over a long teaching career. </p>
<p>Having said that, I hasten to add that no resemblance is intended, even remotely, between the narrative situation presented and any of the educational institutions with which I have been associated, including my long-time much-beloved employer, SUNY-Oswego. </p>
<p>The forces to which the poem alludes are much broader. </p>
<p>The rise of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the inroads technology can make in the basic human relationship between teacher and learner – these and similar developments are at work in our society as a whole, and the debate surrounding them is global in scope. </p>
<p>Using the elevated tone and deliberately archaic language of epic verse, the poem’s intent is to write those forces larger in the imagination than they are in present reality, to exaggerate their current profile in order to dramatize what they could become. </p>
<p>As to its style and tone, the poem’s roots are in various epic traditions but readers will also find echoes of the tech writer Nicholas Carr; of movies like Dead Poets’ Society and Good Will Hunting; of Paraguayan literary masters like <a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Augusto-Roa-Bastos">Augusto Roa Bastos</a> and <a href="http://www.portalguarani.com/472_juan_manuel_marcos.html">Juan Manuel Marcos</a> (novel and poetry) and, in its playful parts, even a hint of Dr Seuss. (A full list of my literary “credits” follows the poem.) </p>
<p><em>(Note on pronunciation: In observance of the poem’s rhythm, the protagonist’s middle names “Ignatius Gene” may be pronounced as normal in English, ig-NAY-shus jeen, but the Paraguayan name from which this derives, Ignacio Genes, should be said as in Spanish, eeg-NAHS-yo HAY-nays.)</em></p>
<pre class="highlight plaintext"><code> Channeling Homer, Among Others…
I
Not the song of siren-seekers
washed in gore upon a reef,
or Hector on the Trojan plain,
or Cid who risking body
in the horse-loud crowd
of battle-drum and scimitar
made victory out of blood,
no epic song is this
of these, but rather epic
of the mind, no less dangerous
than all their battlefields,
but fought upon the blood-
drenched plains and trenches
of book and classroom,
where courage of the intellect
meets scimitar of budget
cut and mindless fiat
of endless plutocrats intoning
measurement of that which
has no measure.
II
His name,
Juan Emmanuel Ignatius Gene
O'Higgins, PhD in code of résumé
and memo, expert in forgotten holocausts
and vast interstices unseen
between the lines upon the map,
Paraguay, in other words,
Paraguay his theme, his passion,
mission, demise, redemption.
Son he was of Irish guy
from Southie and mom from
shantytown hard by the Paraná
who met and loved in the father’s
Fulbright-funded bed beneath
the fullness of a fattening
moon. Jasy henyhe she said
in Guarani and coitus wrote
the words in English on his
brain, the moon is full,
and Juan Emmanuel began in semen
spilled upon her river, hard
upon the Paraná. Thus was made
and grew the boy, precursor
of the man, in summers
by the Paraná and winters
in the gritty Boston snow
piled against the chain-link
playground fence, his fists
hard as curbstones fending tires
from the ragged Southie sidewalks
and the green-beer-sucking
drunks in foreplay of St Patty’s Day,
grew he here, and there,
and came to know man’s state
is not the metropole, the evanescing
center swelled in fad soon gone
and power soon dispersed,
but one of Paraguays, of Southies,
of margins where persists
the warmth of human flesh,
fencerows where persist the weeds
of truths the tractor long
despised, each of us a Paraguay,
a body among bodies, a voice
not of device disembodied
but of palpitations of the living
throat, came he to know
this, swore he to make it
known and chose the teacher’s
way.
III
Jasy henyhe she’d said,
and his moon waxed full
in love of students, each
a Paraguay hard by the Paraná
descending to whatever
sea, each a voice he sang
in chorus with, farm kids
avid for the world beyond
manure pond and feedlot,
grocer’s children wanting
other than a daily ledger
of hams and lettuces, would-be
gangbangers saved by book and dream
of something more from stink
of prison john and sameness
of the pavements. Told he them
in class about his namesake
of the Paraguayan War Ignacio
Genes, hero who in combat
lost an eye and used his other
one to shield his brothers,
his single Cyclops eye a waxing
moon for them and us; told
he also them of Barrett, Roa Bastos,
Emiliano, Chaco thirst, Cerro Korá,
Ramona Martínez, residentas,
Ortiz Guerrero, de la Mora, Jesuit
and Guarani, and thousand million
un-named feet of un-named walkers
stumbling in dark of exile, greed, depravity
and grief to greet again the dawn
upon a shoeless blister. You,
he said, are these if you
but knew. Rise he said
to stoop to drink the water
that I lead you to. The
stinking mud is yours no matter
what, be hero in it, let your
single eye be waxing moon for northern
farm and pavement, grocer’s shelf
and banker’s vault. That distant
Paraguay be metaphor for here,
for now, for you.
IV
Powerpoint
was not his thing, nor leaned he
overly on Wiki-factoids gleaned
from Google’s vast and churning
cloud upon a screen for user-
friendly access antiquating
memory; no enemy was he of such,
but rather foe of opiated overuse
in detriment of man. Thus read he
them from books and spun
his magic out of alchemy
of word and print and mind, and bid
he them put on persona of the Other
and leave their desks and move
as actors in the theater of learning,
and laughter and movement
were their language. And made
he them traverse the dog-piss
snow of January in the parking
lots to fetch the printed word
of libraries, bodily traverse
the campus air that they might
know that body and mind are
lovers, nor holds the mind
to anything not sifted through
the efforts of the flesh; it was
his body’s eye that Genes gave
to spur the waxing moon of freedom
in the mind of many. Nor resented
they his call to book and library,
but loved him for it more, nor called they
more for apps and Wiki-screens
and disembodied ease, but reveled
rather in respect he gave
to wholeness of their thinking
body-minded selves, they who
sported on the green and flaunted
skin in spring to drink
the frisbee-joyous air en route
to class, loved they him for this,
and loved he them.
V
But came one day
a lie that slunk in frowsy crannies
of curricula and syllabi, and hung
upon the winter-weary campus breeze,
and bided time in e-mails
and the minutes of perfunctory
ennui-laden polyester meetings, a multi-
visaged lie with roots enough
in truth of need to sway
the well-intentioned gullible
and stroke the greed of cynics,
a glib shape-shifting hydra-
headed lie part fiat of the bottom
line, part flim-flam sales
pitch of purveyors, demagogic
populism, or wish indeed sincere
for good, yet nonetheless,
a lie. It said, efficiency
is all. It said, make straight
the way to drone-dom
in diminishment of cost. It
said the ancient bargain
trading effort of the body-mind
for betterment of life, our
ancient soaring chant of sacrifice
and sweat, is moot,
is mothballed in the new
millennium of ever-easier machines
un-making man. No need,
it said, to stir from seat or bed
in quest of knowing, nor even
need to know, it is known
for you. No need to drive
a car, it is driven, nor need
to flush the toilet, it is flushed,
nor need to walk the woods,
nor need to read a map,
nor need to pit the body-mind
against the wanton wind in lofty
affirmation of the self. No need,
it said, for Paraguay as metaphor
for man. No need for man, indeed.
Irrelevant, it said, and set the moon
to waning on the Paraná.
VI
Came
minions of the lie, came memos,
e-mails, texts, reports ad hoc,
inquiring why the love of books
when all is stocked within
the cyber-cloud, inquiring
why the gathering of bodies
in a class when synchronicity
of keyboards and facsimile
of voice and face upon a screen
will do the job, and the moon
waned more while waxed a logic
that portrayed itself inevitable. Ad
hoc became ad hominem, came
minions to his class in guise
of friendly observation. And taught he
as he always taught, and the class
they saw was light, was art,
was theater, was Socrates,
was dream of every learner
keening for the graceful
stretch of mind and body
into space unknown, was reason
why we gather sons and daughters
into schools and spur them
into plenitude of man and not
to lassitude of larva, metal,
stone. No drone, said he, was Genes
in the groaning eyeball-costing
fight, but man, as man aspires
to become. Rose the students
to ovate, embraced they him,
loved they him as loved he
them. Rose the minions too
in momentary lapse infused
by distant memory of dream
to teach, reached out also
to embrace…, then dropped
their arms in tendering
instead a squalid shake
of hands, their logic of the lie
resurgent from its wistful
lapse. Your future is assured,
they said, tenure and respect
are yours they said, if you but…
and placed they in contingent
clauses all a world of strings
attached: if you but… forsake
the luddite past of book
and pen, your sentimental
fondness for the family
of class, your notion of the learner
as a greater whole than all
the petty bell-curve of his
résumé and GPA and bank
accounts. Access, cost, utility,
and ease, be these your shibboleths
in this new singularity where man’s
machines suck share of his humanity
and his blood is but the driver
of the bloodless goosestep
of electrons, and Paraguay
and all the Paraguays and all
the Southies and all your
farmer’s sons and grocer’s
daughters are merely asterisks
within the Internet now
upper-cased as if a God. They
spoke the lie, and waited
for his yes, and all he said
was no.
VII
And with that no
the eye he lost in battle was
his job, his mortgage, colleagues,
place within the circle of his
students’ arms. Yet also was
that no a moon sudden waxing
like a fist upon the face
of facelessness, his fist
as once he used it in the Southie
schoolyard slush upon the quisling
jaws of thugs.
VIII
Read I of him
one red-eye sweltering night
upon my Fulbright-funded bed
beneath a moon so white
upon the Paraná it spoke
to me of snow, and cooled
me as I read. And saw I then
the moon is more than mere
reflector of another’s light
as science holds, but marks
of its own right, the tides
of human blood and tribulations
of the human soul. A blurb
is all I read, filler in the local
rag, page forty-three between
an ad for condoms and someone’s
invocation of the Virgin, a line or two
about a Paraguayan-Yankee
hybrid guy who erstwhile
taught in university up north
and now was eighth-grade teacher
here in Paraguay. Odd, said I,
and made the obligatory Google
search, and found the case
of Juan Emmanuel Ignatius
Gene O’Higgins, Ph.D., stripped
of job for saying no. And
the moon that made me
think of snow upon the Paraná
also gave my mind to know
that North and South are two
but Man is one, and Juan
Emmanuel is Man. And went I
when the sun arose, to find,
perchance to interview, the man.
And as I rode my bike
upon the red dirt road beside
the crones preparing tereré
and lorries painting smoke
across an asthma-colored sky,
my eyes embraced the toddlers
squalid in the clawing dust,
the children manning carts
en route to chicken-peck the dumps
for scraps of bread or metal,
the prematurely nubile
waiting for a pimp or john,
and wondered I what was
the measure of our teaching
if not for these, and what
the way of schooling man
if not as man engaging man
within that self-same dust,
as Genes risking eye
against the poison mist
of war. No shortcut of machine
or screen exists for school,
nor found I shortcut
on the red dirt road to reach
the schoolyard where he was,
but came I by my bike
upon the gnarled clay and saw
his class at recess play
and him among them, and watched
them at a distance, and saw
his easy hand upon their backs
was challenge to their better selves,
his easy Guarani upon their ears
was balm upon their body-mind
to be their best in spite of dust,
to walk as Man upon the wizened
crust of earth, and knew
that he was right. And turned
I from their schoolyard
play, and upward looked, and saw
upon the blazoned sky, though
it was day, the waxing moon
of Paraguay.
</code></pre>
<hr>
<p>This poem draws inspiration from a number of sources including Paraguayan literary masters like <a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Augusto-Roa-Bastos">Augusto Roa Bastos</a> (fiction and poetry), <a href="http://www.portalguarani.com/472_juan_manuel_marcos.html">Juan Manuel Marcos</a> (novel and poetry), <a href="http://www.portalguarani.com/415_renee_ferrer.html">Renée Ferrer</a> (poetry) and <a href="http://www.portalguarani.com/394_susy_delgado.html">Susy Delgado</a>(poetry); the Chilean poetic genius Pablo Neruda; the Argentine poet and journalist
<a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Jose-Hernandez">José Hernández</a>; former professors of mine like <a href="http://rassias.dartmouth.edu/john/">John Rassias</a> and Robert Russell; my emeritus Oswego colleague Ivan Brady; and, in the playful tone of parts of the poem, even a hint of Dr Seuss.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48936/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracy K Lewis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A professor of literature who is also a poet tackles the issue of the inroads technology has made in the relationship between teacher and learner.Tracy K Lewis, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, State University of New York OswegoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/473162015-09-23T09:35:53Z2015-09-23T09:35:53ZAn innovative form of cheating emerges in MOOCs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95727/original/image-20150922-25782-12pj7gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new identity for cheating?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/23905174@N00/1594411528/in/photolist-3qTLZW-d38cp3-sWxSmo-5Y7RKJ-9fNk7-cXXqXy-nW6PMg-8ozF9f-nU4jaN-nDBwzC-6xcF5U-8vBW4Z-4QRwAQ-6QYTKP-nU3dqU-nU3bhL-nVMy9z-nXRYvc-nVXM6Y-nXS62Z-nDAYxD-nDAWP8-nVXLGS-nDA8Ui-nXS5EB-nU3baw-nVZ8tb-nW5Bhi-nDB1GZ-nDAedy-nVXDsw-nVXC8s-nDA673-nXRT8t-nDzVhz-nVZ571-nVXNGo-nDAiJC-nU3f7j-nXRT6V-nDB1YF-nDB7wV-nU34nd-nXS9uR-nVZhBS-nVXJqh-nDB8Li-nU36t7-nVZgDj-nVMpxM">Don Hankins</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What if Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) aren’t actually courses at all?</p>
<p>Our research teams at Harvard and MIT have shown <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2381263">over</a> and <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2586847">over</a> again that MOOC students <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/edtechresearcher/2015/07/today_is_my_last_day.html">look</a> and <a href="http://edr.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/0013189X14523038v1?ijkey=a/dQNp/wcnbIM&keytype=ref&siteid=spedr">act</a> nothing like conventional students of either residential universities or online programs. </p>
<p>With a broader age distribution, a more diverse and international student body, wide variation in commitment, and a surprising number of teachers, the MOOC “classroom” looks like no physical classroom on earth.</p>
<p>Now, I and my colleagues, <a href="http://www.curtisnorthcutt.com/">Curtis Northcutt</a> and <a href="http://feynman.mit.edu/ike/homepage/index.html">Ike Chuang</a> of MIT, have <a href="http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1508/1508.05699.pdf">discovered</a> a different novel behavior on the MOOC frontier: a new form of cheating, that only MOOCs can enable.</p>
<h2>A new cheating technique emerges in MOOCs</h2>
<p>Our research has identified a cheating technique in MOOCs where people exploit the ability to create “multiple personalities” online. We call this CAMEO (Copying Answers using Multiple Existences Online). </p>
<p>Here is how it works.</p>
<p>A CAMEO user <a href="https://courses.edx.org/register">registers on a MOOC platform</a> not once but twice. This creates two identities. The first identity is a “harvester” that uses a guess-and-check strategy to gather correct answers. The second identity is a “master” that submits the correct answers.</p>
<p>In some courses, people can use CAMEO to obtain a certificate of completion in under an hour. </p>
<p>This kind of cheating is difficult if not impossible in conventional courses.</p>
<h2>The prevalence of cheating in MOOCs</h2>
<p>Reassuringly, this doesn’t happen too often. Only 1.3% of certificates (1,237 certificates across 69 courses) have been earned by CAMEO. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the percentage is much higher for “super-certifiers” – those who have earned 20 or more certificates. We found that 25% of these super-certifiers have used CAMEO. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95730/original/image-20150922-25752-e8nwuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95730/original/image-20150922-25752-e8nwuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95730/original/image-20150922-25752-e8nwuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95730/original/image-20150922-25752-e8nwuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95730/original/image-20150922-25752-e8nwuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95730/original/image-20150922-25752-e8nwuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95730/original/image-20150922-25752-e8nwuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cheating on MOOCs is very different from conventional cheating.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicoleabalde/5432472223/in/photolist-9h3QJc-7JxyWy-gud6Vb-5A8Kpt-8Hr9qf-761HEK-aEJoVe-7yNCUz-9XHZPK-dQuc4i-dQxj92-97irvK-tQpdX-6RK4ev-qJ4FY-97iCCV-K2Ao6-K2zVe-K2sJQ-K2rKS-K2Cei-K2rNJ-r6KzsC-r6Fxde-qaC8VB-8f7TjY-K2Bj6-4cQboL-iB1U5F-66mc1f-5UHvGW-4q12oP-i6ZJeA-9ugPeV-fZv757-4q11XX-97muQE-97mkHb-97i9ax-97mEt3-97iJSx-97mL1m-97mNxJ-97iFdV-97id98-97ixia-97iMMc-97mAXJ-97mRDj-97msY7">Nicole Abalde</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Thanks to our algorithm, we are able to tell when achievements in the MOOC space really are too good to be true.</p>
<p>We also found intriguing differences in CAMEO prevalence – both across courses and across countries. For instance, of all certificates earned in computer science courses, only 0.1% were earned by CAMEO cheating. </p>
<p>We believe this is because of the more authentic assessments in these courses, which involve solutions that are difficult to harvest.</p>
<p>Rates in the US were lower (0.4%) than rates in countries like Albania (12%), Indonesia (4%) and China (2%). These rates may indicate that the perceived value of MOOC certificates is higher in these countries than in the US.</p>
<h2>The uniqueness of CAMEO</h2>
<p>Is 1,237 certificates (1.3%) a significant problem?</p>
<p>We believe it is. CAMEO is not like conventional cheating from friends or online sources. When you can copy from yourself, you can copy endlessly. This can result in the outright falsification of a MOOC certification.</p>
<p>Although the strategy is novel for academic cheating, it reminded us of other strategies, like “multiple account” tricks in open online forums (<a href="http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6079604&tag=1">sockpuppeting</a>, where users reply supportively to their own posts) and open online games (<a href="http://www.stes.fi/scai2006/proceedings/168-175.pdf">self-collusion</a>, where users gain points by playing against easier versions of themselves). </p>
<h2>Why cheat at MOOCs?</h2>
<p>Should we shrug at MOOC cheating? Or should we denounce it? I argue, neither. </p>
<p>The “shruggers” assume that MOOC certificates have no value except motivating students to learn. A “shrugger” thinks that cheaters bypass the learning process and thus cheat no one but themselves.</p>
<p>But MOOC certificates have more value than simple motivation. The motivation is internal (<a href="https://www.edx.org/verified-certificate">edX’s</a> “Challenge yourself… working towards a certificate keeps you motivated”), instrumental ( <a href="https://www.coursera.org/signature/">Coursera’s</a> “Build your professional qualifications”) and external (<a href="https://www.edx.org/verified-certificate">edX’s</a> “Share it with the world”). Some high school students are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/nyregion/online-summer-courses-attracting-college-bound-high-schoolers.html">using MOOC credentials</a> to enhance their college applications.</p>
<p>The “denouncers” assume that MOOCs exist to replace or devalue conventional higher education credentials. To the “denouncers,” cheating devalues MOOC certificates and suggests that they will never replace or threaten conventional college courses. </p>
<p>But it’s difficult to conclude that MOOCs are doomed on the basis of moderate prevalence of a particular cheating strategy. As we noted, CAMEO rates are fairly low.</p>
<h2>How to discourage cheating without discouraging learning</h2>
<p>The important question is not how to prevent cheating, but how to do so without paralyzing instructional designers or discouraging well-intentioned learners. </p>
<p>The most obvious solution is to enact virtual or in-person proctoring, as <a href="https://www.edx.org/press/edx-selects-rpnow-software-secure">edX is already planning</a> for higher-stakes uses of MOOCs for college credit.</p>
<p>The question that remains to be answered is whether MOOC providers can keep the costs low enough to increase not only learning but certification for massive numbers of students. </p>
<p>Without massive numbers of trusted certificates at low costs, MOOCs risk their central identity as massive open courses. A MOOC should be more than a free online textbook. Certification should mean something.</p>
<p>CAMEO throws down the gauntlet for MOOCs. We hope they will respond.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47316/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Ho receives funding from the Spencer Foundation and the Institute of Education Sciences for his work on assessment. </span></em></p>Students are creating ‘multiple personalities’ to cheat on MOOCs. How do they do that? What are its implications?Andrew Ho, Professor of Education, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/438792015-08-25T10:48:03Z2015-08-25T10:48:03ZFar from bust: five ways MOOCs are helping people get on in life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89976/original/image-20150728-3945-ggbgoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Online learning is now a little wiser and more sustainable.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">elearning via scyther5/www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) – free, short courses made available to everybody online – were <a href="https://www.pearson.com/avalanche.html">expected</a> to herald the end of higher education as we knew it when they began. But the hype soon died away and <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/comment/opinion/five-myths-about-moocs/2010480.article">critics bemoaned</a> the fact that learners quickly lost enthusiasm and <a href="http://theinstitute.ieee.org/ieee-roundup/opinions/ieee-roundup/low-completion-rates-for-moocs">dropped out</a> in large numbers. </p>
<p>After promising free education to those who couldn’t afford soaring tuition fees, most people signing up to do free online courses were also already highly educated – 80% already held a degree according to one <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v503/n7476/full/503342a.html">study</a>. And there <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/jun/12/moocs-viable-alternative-traditional-degree">were concerns</a> that employers would not trust certificates from MOOCs on CVs. </p>
<p>It appears that MOOCs have followed the well-worn footsteps of earlier innovations in what <a href="http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2819918">analyst firm Gartner</a> has called the “hype cycle”: they have moved from the “peak of inflated expectations” to the “trough of disillusionment”. </p>
<p>But we think that MOOCs will soon emerge blinking into the daylight of Gartner’s “plateau of productivity” – older and less exciting, but perhaps a little wiser and more sustainable. We’ve picked out five key aspects of how people are really using MOOCs now that the early “boom and bust” phases of their life cycle have passed. </p>
<h2>1. MOOCs as teaching laboratories</h2>
<p>Many institutions, are using MOOCs to develop high quality online learning materials, such as <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-beta/it%E2%80%99s-all-about-assets">Rice University</a> in the US. Educators use materials in MOOCs to test out their teaching methods and materials, with ready feedback from high numbers of learners, with diverse backgrounds and aspirations. In many cases, these materials are also then re-purposed for use on campus, often in what is called the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-hybrid-classroom-and-is-it-the-future-of-education-37611">flipped classroom</a>” model, where students are asked to prepare for class by accessing online materials. </p>
<p>Sometimes this is satisfactory for the lecturers, such as one <a href="https://www.class-central.com/report/caltech-mooc-flipped-classroom/">professor at the California Institute of Technology</a> who said it exposed students to the material twice and gave them time to reflect. But sometimes it has <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveblank/2014/02/10/what-i-learned-by-flipping-the-mooc/">raised more concerns</a> than satisfaction – such whether or not students will actually watch videos set as homework. </p>
<h2>2. Enhancing careers</h2>
<p>Several surveys suggest that learners are using MOOCs to enhance their attractiveness to employers. <a href="http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/better-understanding-through-data-completion-motivation-and-learning-minnesota-moocs">A study by the University of Minnesota</a> found that most of its MOOC learners were enrolling for professional purposes.
Another <a href="http://thebrokeronline.eu/Blogs/Boosting-Employment-in-Small-and-Medium-Enterprises/Can-Massive-Open-Online-Courses-help-improve-employability">study</a> suggested that learners are using MOOCs to boost their employability, especially in developing countries. </p>
<p>Learners are choosing from a range of available MOOC options. This might include focusing just on specific weeks or topics from a number of MOOCs across various platforms. We expect to see a maturing of tools to <a href="http://moocs.southampton.ac.uk/portus/category/moocosystem/">curate open MOOC content</a>.</p>
<p>From the employer perspective, <a href="http://http://www.openeducationeuropa.eu/en/news/moocs-are-high-demand-especially-web-design-according-new-ec-study/">a study published by the European Commission</a> suggests that MOOCs can address skills shortages in web technology and web design by providing training in specific areas that traditional degrees cannot cover. The former UK universities ministers, David Willets, foresaw the scenario in which <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/employers-could-turn-to-bespoke-moocs-willetts-says/2013465.article">employers accept MOOCs as evidence of skills</a> on a CV. </p>
<h2>3. Adding value to courses on campus</h2>
<p>The idea of MOOCs complementing rather than replacing traditional university education is reflected in both the recruitment strategies of some universities, and how learners respond to them. There are in-campus programmes that have a MOOC versions running alongside, such as the <a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/web-science">Southampton Web Science MOOC</a>, with prospective students using the free online version to raise their profile, network with course tutors, and gain an interview for BA or MA entry. </p>
<p>This is especially the case when access to degrees is restricted, or when there is competition for funding. For example, the British Council and the University of Southampton offer an online MA in English Language Teaching. Learners completing the associated “<a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/understanding-language">Understanding Language</a>” MOOC were offered a discount on the upcoming MA, and the number of applications to the university rose at least threefold as a result. </p>
<h2>4. Making learning more engaging</h2>
<p>Well-publicised low completion rates indicate that many MOOC learners have no specific desire or need to cover an entire course within its published timescale. However, research indicates that there are steps that lecturers can take to encourage more learner interaction and deeper engagement with MOOC material. </p>
<p>One <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjet.12268/full">recent study</a> reported success with techniques such as reducing the length of videos, introducing an element of competition – known as “gamification” – and endorsing the sharing of experiences via social media. This approach was carried out in Australia’s Curtin University with an <a href="https://www.open2study.com/courses/astronomy-discovering-the-universe-through-science-and-technology">Astronomy MOOC in the Open2study platform</a>, with positive outcomes reported.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DJBdbCQf7zc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An astronomy MOOC from Curtin University.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Opening up education access</h2>
<p>The technical infrastructure and hardware behind MOOCS are improving, and more importantly the <a href="https://theconversation.com/developing-countries-and-the-mooc-learning-revolution-19355">implications of cultural and economic diversity</a> for MOOC learning are better understood. </p>
<p>In 2014, the Saudi Arabian government used the open source platform created by edX – the non-profit platform launched by Harvard and MIT – to launch its own MOOC portal, <a href="https://www.edx.org/press/saudi-arabia-edx-join-forces-bridge-gap">providing online classes</a> tailored to disadvantaged groups. However, the need for tailoring of content and awareness of alternative navigation strategies relating to demographics <a href="http://www.ascilite.org/conferences/sydney13/program/papers/Marrone.pdf">are creating</a> both challenges and opportunities, including reaching agreement on what adaptations need to be made for which cultural groups.</p>
<p>So, far from crashing and disappearing, MOOCs are acting as catalysts for change and are maturing into useful tools to complement and add value to more traditional learning experiences rather than replace them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Manuel León Urrutia receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Harris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How Massive Open Online Courses are maturing into useful tools.Lisa Harris, Associate Professor, University of SouthamptonManuel León Urrutia, PhD student, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/437412015-07-03T05:28:01Z2015-07-03T05:28:01ZAs learning moves online, trigger warnings must too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86989/original/image-20150701-31909-1nplaen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beware what a click could trigger. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Laptop via www.BillionPhotos.com/www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When I was a first-year student at university, our class of 300 students watched Jodie Foster get gang raped in the film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094608/">The Accused</a>. Our professor, an experienced teacher, told us before the movie that: “anyone not comfortable with scenes of violence against women could leave and complete an alternate assignment”. Nobody left. </p>
<p>Now, 15 years later I am a senior lecturer in a university and we are still having debates about these kind of trigger warnings that lecturers give their students before reading or watching graphic material. Since then, the pace of higher education has not changed but the way that we impart information has; from online learning to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and “gamification” – where students play a game as they learn, we are living in a world where as Canadian philosopher <a href="http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/mcluhan.mediummessage.pdf">Marshall McLuhan put it</a> “the medium is the message”. </p>
<p>The nature of university study is changing, with <a href="http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/us-news-ranks-best-online-programs">one in four students</a> in the US taking at least one online class during 2012, and numbers climbing. Traditional undergraduate university students in lecture halls are now just one part of a market that includes working adults and others drawn in by the flexibility of online learning. However, with this flexibility comes ambiguity, and the lack of face-to-face communication can increase misconceptions about the purpose of covering graphic or explicit material. </p>
<p>The grassroots movement of students asking for trigger warnings <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/us/warning-the-literary-canon-could-make-students-squirm.html?_r=1">started as a</a> simple request from a literature major at the University of California, Santa Barbara: give students a heads-up before covering graphic material that could cause flashbacks of trauma. Like wildfire, the trigger warning issue has caught public attention around the world setting off debates between students, staff, and faculty from the internet to the ivory tower. For students and faculty that interact completely online, when the ivory tower is the internet, the trigger warning can look completely different. </p>
<h2>Open for discussion</h2>
<p>I often give a guest lecture in education classes on videogames and learning. This includes an online section where students are asked to review games like <a href="http://www.columbinegame.com">Super Columbine Massacre RPG</a>, <a href="http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/53-610/">Decisions that Matter</a>, <a href="http://playchoicetexas.com">Choice Texas</a> and <a href="http://www.darfurisdying.com">Darfur is Dying</a> among others. This leads to an online discussion about what players learn when they play these games. </p>
<p>Prior to students participating in this activity I post an announcement that gets emailed to all of them simply stating that: “We are exploring different types of games freely available on the internet. Some of these games are on topics that you may find hard to deal with. Please post a response in the ‘Ask the Instructor’ if you would like to talk about the assignment.”</p>
<p>By posting an announcement on the system there is a degree of certainty that all the students will at least receive the message; whether they read it or not cannot be controlled. The closed discussion forum where students can ask the instructor a question or set up a video chat gives the students the opportunity to voice concerns. In the five years I have been giving this lecture, both in the US and the UK, not one student out of thousands has posted in the “Ask the Instructor” section. In fact, this assignment which comes with the email announcement tends to have more participation then the assignments that do not come with email trigger warnings. </p>
<p>Tonia Dousay, an educational technology professor at the University of Wyoming, teaches classes on message design where she uses in-line trigger messages where the video is embedded, such as this one about how to fly a jet which uses an analogy of a woman playing golf. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EUJ2bkOA4g4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A classic clip from the War Department.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dousay says: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I show How to Fly the P-47, the warning is usually along the lines of: ‘Please consider the context of this video when it was produced. Who was the intended audience? What’s their ethnicity? What’s their age? What’s their socioeconomic status?’ Thus, the warning is embedded in the question. In my weekly video overview for the week this video appears, I re-emphasize with my voice that students should consider the context when viewing the video and challenge students to explain how they might reach the same audience today without using the same tactic.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Gamified modules and MOOCs, where students can earn badges for completing tasks, in online learning offer another challenge for faculty. In such modules the way forward is to complete the task and a new task is then released. In one gamified module in Introduction to Child Psychology students are asked to watch a programme called <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/education/programs/2112_wildchil.html">Secret of the Wild Child</a> about a 13-year-old child who had been chained to a potty for much of her life. The programme has its own trigger warning embedded on the webpage. </p>
<p>But this can cause problems. If a student has concerns about the content of this programme in a class that may have thousands of participants and only one instructor, the wait time may be considerable and the student will be stuck at that point until the concern can be addressed. </p>
<h2>Caution on entering virtual worlds</h2>
<p>Augmented and virtual reality experiences are growing within higher education as well. Researchers at the University of Houston’s Graduate School of Social Work <a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/virtual-reality-is-being-used-to-treat-heroin-addiction">have built</a> a hyper-realistic world to recreate situations that trigger cravings for drugs like heroin. With technology advancing to the point of immersive sensory experiences (this experience has a scent machine and treadmill) trigger warnings become even more applicable for the virtual world. </p>
<p>Some in the media <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/05/19/restraint-of-expression-on-college-campuses/trigger-warnings-encourage-free-thought-and-debate">have compared</a> trigger warnings to the equivalent of content warnings on CDs and movies – but we this kind of media is different to set in class. Students are expected to interact with the content and synthesise it into their own work. Students no longer receive their education directly from a person standing in the front of a lectern and the learning experience may now take place virtually or across augmented realities. </p>
<p>This means we need to question the way in which we prepare our students to tackle the material that is presented. Faculty should take proactive steps to address potentially triggering material that they set students to watch or read online, prior to a meltdown occurring.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43741/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dana Ruggiero does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Lecturers need to flag up graphic material with their students before they click on it.Dana Ruggiero, Senior Lecturer in Learning Technology, Bath Spa UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/381992015-03-02T18:02:19Z2015-03-02T18:02:19ZIn defense of the great MOOC experiment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73520/original/image-20150302-15965-13k7c8r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Are MOOCs sustainable?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/93112746@N05/11059505474/in/photolist-hRhRES-9Vdrg8-dQkC93-d69m5W-bR3ThV-ggH827-gTdSqd-cJrxNA-dRvhn4-dUTNf5-dDRGpb-h1FxoP-nvZ6HN-ffV2Sy-bVGbrg-ftGwPa-ftGvY6-ftGv6M-ftGuXK-ftWNtw-ftWMJQ-ftGrFn-ftWMcb-ftGqUg-ftWLeC-ftWKWq-ftGpAH-ftGprx-ftWJRS-ftWJGf-ftGosM-ftGoig-ftGofi-ftWHMQ-ftGnZe-ftWHHQ-ftGnT2-ftGnyk-ftGnuT-ftGnbT-ftWGPG-ftGmT6-ftWGjw-ftWFZs-ftGkPe-ftWFp5-ftGjTX-ftWEx9-ftGjiH-ftWDHs">mksmith23/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Let’s face it; we should expect a level of impatience with all things digital. We live in an era where an iPhone release is met with excitement quickly followed by a collective sigh: when is the next release? Shiny things lose their luster quickly in a design-thinking, highly networked world. </p>
<p>A year ago I boarded a plane for the 2014 Coursera Partners’ conference with a Pocket app full of stories declaring massive open online courses (MOOCs) a failed experiment after just two years. As I fly out for this week’s <a href="http://conference.coursera.org/">2015 conference</a> my reading list is flooded again with opinions declaring that this alternate form of offering modularized learning experiences to the masses has failed to measure up. </p>
<p>The only difference in a year is that attention turned from a criticism of course completion rates to the question: are MOOCs sustainable? Seems like a fair question. But is it sufficient? Don’t we want to understand the overall impact of MOOCs? Have we given ourselves enough time to experiment, prototype and scale?</p>
<p>As assistant vice provost for <a href="https://record.umich.edu/articles/digital-education-and-innovation-leaders-address-office-goals">digital education and innovation</a> at the University of Michigan, I have the privilege of partnering with the many faculty who were pioneers in establishing MOOCs, as this university was one of the trailblazing institutions. I also get to encourage and help faculty members that want to advance teaching and learning through the creative use of technology and learning analytics.</p>
<p>Why are we motivated to write the history of MOOCs so soon? This level of impatience seems at odds with the typical longevity of experimentation with teaching and learning. </p>
<h2>Universities are places of discovery and change</h2>
<p>There is a marvelous contradiction in the world of universities. We are, at one and the same time, supremely impatient engines of creativity and powerfully patient conservators of cultural tradition. We are in search of solutions that will enable engaged, personalized and life-long learning.</p>
<p>So, how we can declare MOOCs a failure in year two, and again in year three, while we simultaneously scan the centuries-old “experiment” that is large lecture halls and ask passively for incremental change? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73515/original/image-20150302-15956-bvk507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73515/original/image-20150302-15956-bvk507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73515/original/image-20150302-15956-bvk507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73515/original/image-20150302-15956-bvk507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73515/original/image-20150302-15956-bvk507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73515/original/image-20150302-15956-bvk507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73515/original/image-20150302-15956-bvk507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">MOOCs will not address all the challenges that universities face.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mathplourde/8448541815/in/photolist-dSyZ94-cv7uVU-cwEbMA-e4vnEA-e4A4GW-desGMt-dQqHN3-ftGudZ-ftWGq1-ftGaGt-ftWSUE-ftWMVf-ftGe8c-hRhRES-9Vdrg8-dQkC93-d69m5W-bR3ThV-e6NW3q-dUTNf5-dDRGpb-gTdSqd-ggH827-cJrxNA-dRvhn4-h1FxoP-nvZ6HN-ffV2Sy-bVGbrg-ftGwPa-ftGvY6-ftGv6M-ftGuXK-ftWNtw-ftWMJQ-ftGrFn-ftWMcb-ftGqUg-ftWLeC-ftWKWq-ftGpAH-ftGprx-ftWJRS-ftWJGf-ftGosM-ftGoig-ftGofi-ftGnZe-ftWHMQ-eQ1Dmw">Mathieu Plourde/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many of us believe passionately that high quality education can be delivered nimbly, affordably and at scale. We also know we’re not there yet. There are wonderful explorations of learning underway, whether your academic sport is modularity, <a href="http://solaresearch.org">learning analytics</a>, <a href="http://www.gradecraft.com">gameful learning</a>, <a href="http://digitaleducation.umich.edu/about/dig-digital-innovation-greenhouse/">digital badging or personalization</a>. </p>
<p>There is no single solution. Yet, MOOCs have been strangely cast as the heroic Most Valuable Player (MVP) to this sport. They will save the day. Wait, the preliminary reviews are in - guess they won’t. </p>
<p>Without good numbers overnight we conclude they are a failure. Expectations are everything. Problematically, the massive public discussion around the destiny of MOOCs focuses on the wrong kind of “MVP”. MOOCs are not the Most Valuable Player that will independently address all challenges faced by universities, students and others impacted by higher education institutions. MOOCS are another kind of MVP: a Minimal Viable Product. </p>
<p>MOOCs renewed the conversation around teaching and learning. They have given life to educational experiments in <a href="http://solaresearch.org">learning analytics</a>, <a href="https://blended.online.ucf.edu/about/what-is-blended-learning/">blended learning</a>, and <a href="http://www.mblem.umich.edu">alternative credentialing</a>. They have pushed forward important policy conversations around student privacy, academic review, data sharing and cross-institutional collaboration. </p>
<p>But they are, nonetheless, a minimal viable product. This kind of MVP has the core features that allow the offering to be deployed, and no more. Perhaps the greatest outcome for a MOOC is for it to go away and to give life to new long-lasting changes to the way we enable engaged, personalized and lifelong learning.</p>
<p>I’m not suggesting that universities should be uniformly slow and methodical or fast and risk-loving. Both approaches make sense. Some challenges demand near instantaneous dissemination of knowledge while others are dependent upon careful experimental structures and protocols unique to research universities. </p>
<h2>Michigan’s experiment with MOOCs</h2>
<p>At Michigan, there are two fundamental questions that drive <a href="http://digitaleducation.umich.edu/curricular-innovation/moocs/">our experimentation with MOOCs</a>: One, how can experimentation with MOOCs help us redefine public residential education at a 21st century research university and enable engaged, personalized and lifelong learning? And two, what is it that is only possible at a great public residential research university? </p>
<p>As we’ve moved beyond the initial wave of experimentation with MOOCs, our evolution has taken many forms. Let me provide some early examples of how we are thinking about MOOC 2.0 at the University of Michigan:</p>
<p>• Taking a MOOC on <a href="https://record.umich.edu/articles/first-residential-mooc-u-m-students-focuses-health-care-policy">US healthcare policy</a> and adapting it for use on our own campus. </p>
<p>• Remixing and reusing content from a MOOC on <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/modelthinking">Model Thinking</a> to bring complex systems thinking to a blended nursing course on optimal models and systems for healthcare delivery.</p>
<p>• Leveraging modules and digital assets from a MOOC on the <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/introfinance">introduction to finance</a> to flip the finance core and create advanced, personalized learning experience for MBA students. </p>
<p>• Utilizing assessments developed for global learners in a MOOC on the <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/introthermodynamics">introduction to thermodynamics</a> on campus to enrich the residential learning experience.</p>
<p>• Building a repository of expert perspectives through MOOCs like <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/cataractsurgery">Introduction to Cataract Surgery</a>, <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/aidsfearandhope">AIDS: Fear & Hope</a> and History of American Roots Music, to enhance residential offerings. </p>
<p>• Developing an open MOOC data initiative to advance scholarship around teaching and learning. </p>
<h2>Are MOOCs sustainable?</h2>
<p>Each of these examples, and many others, is helping us to think differently about the delivery of high quality learning experiences in a digital age. </p>
<p>So should we think about MOOCs as minimal viable products? Should we think about MOOCs as rapid dissemination of knowledge? My answer is, yes, to both, and more. </p>
<p>MOOCs are intended to be iterative. We should expect them to evolve. But are they sustainable? Sustainability is the wrong framing. If we’re focused on a MOOC as an idea that is first delivered through a minimal viable product and evolves in different ways, we may agree on a different set of organizing questions. </p>
<p>When MOOC experimentalists from many of our great institutions meet in southern California this week I hope we’ll learn from each other about the many ways in which we’ve evolved our thinking since the dawn of MOOCs a mere three years ago.</p>
<p>My hope is that our embedded quiz includes more than two drop-down options (sustainable or unsustainable) and focuses instead on the myriad branches of experimentation that have ensued in a remarkably short amount of time. </p>
<p>Higher education leaders refuse the traditional tradeoff argument: it can’t be fast, cheap and good. In communities bound together by a commitment to the discovery of what’s next, these rules are merely cautionary.</p>
<p>We know that to truly transform learning we must think impractically before layering in constraints. Universities can and should live with contradiction as patience and impatience are both positive virtues. We need to embrace a culture of experimentation that encourages us to investigate new things, find pathways to scale and share what we learn. </p>
<p>Let us not constrain our thinking about sustainable innovation to the immediate impact of MOOC 1.0. Like information, the ideas born from MOOCs want to be free. </p>
<p>If we agree that we should not accept a reality where we must choose between fast, good and cheap, shouldn’t we embrace more experimentation and ensure we institutionalize and disseminate the learning that results?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38199/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James DeVaney does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Is there an impatience to write the history of MOOCs? Have universities even given sufficient time to experiment with MOOCs?James DeVaney, Assistant Vice Provost for Digital Education and Innovation, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/373722015-02-10T02:53:25Z2015-02-10T02:53:25ZWhy MOOCs will fail – they’re not dating sites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71560/original/image-20150210-24651-sxj5dz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Spenser</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of my <a href="http://themisbehavingeconomist.com/">Phd students</a> is studying how parents make decisions about education for their children (you can participate in his survey <a href="https://rmit.asia.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_d5rSWuTBs2s0yMt">here</a>). We economists treat this as a problem of investment under uncertainty, which is to say that education is a bit like buying a stock, in that it has an uncertain future rate of return but a known upfront cost. </p>
<p>But it’s actually a harder problem than that, because unlike a stock, which will have dividends and hopefully capital gains, both measured in dollars, the return to education has many dimensions. Some are from labour markets and are measured with money, but other returns give rise to less tangible contributions to personal well-being along with broader spillovers to society. So economists have had to get good at measuring these total benefits and then using them to reverse engineer the choices people make about education. </p>
<p>Now I’m mentioning all of this because we’ve just noticed a fairly large hole in the case for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course">MOOCs</a> (massively open on-line courses) as compared to traditional bricks and quadrangles universities with expensive buildings and eye-watering fees. It’s this: the reason MOOCs will fail to displace universities is that, unlike universities, they’re not dating sites.</p>
<p>We make this claim based on some very recent work by economist <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2554768">Gustaf Bruze</a>, who applies some clever economic modelling to large Danish data sets to generate very interesting and insightful findings about the “returns to schooling”. Specifically, he finds that “Danish men and women are earning about half of their returns to schooling through improved marital outcomes”. </p>
<p>The case for MOOCs has always been that they can deliver the same educational services, but at a fraction of the cost through the use of new technologies and business models. But this Danish study quantifies the extent to which educational outcomes are not the only valuable service that universities deliver – namely that a further and large component of the implicit demand for education is <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/2095670?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">assortative mating</a> – and MOOCs might not be so good at that. </p>
<p>In the economics of education, there are two broad explanations for the demand for a university degree. There is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_capital">human capital</a> model, which argues that you go to university to learn things, and these things are like investments in capital, namely they increase your productivity, making you more valuable on the labour market. You invest up to the point where the cost of the education equals the expected return on your increased skills. </p>
<p>This predicts that by lowering the costs of acquiring human capital, MOOCs should increase the demand for higher education. </p>
<p>The other model is <a href="http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2014/04/bryan_caplan_on.html">costly signalling</a>. This argues that you go to university to acquire a signal to send to potential employers that you are smart and hardworking. You already know this of course, but employers don’t, and the problem is that anyone can make that claim. </p>
<p>So you have to do something that only smart, hardworking people will not find <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_theory">prohibitively costly</a>. Interestingly, lowering the costs of a degree degrades the value of the signal. This will drive credential inflation, forcing the truly smart and hardworking to pursue graduate studies, or some other costly pointless thing, in order to differentiate themselves. </p>
<p>The private rate of return to higher education is not in debate here – it is substantially positive, with a wage premium around <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.com/downloads/reports/rihe.pdf">60% over non-graduates</a> and with an annualised return on the order of <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21600131-too-many-degrees-are-waste-money-return-higher-education-would-be-much-better">10-18%</a> – although as a recent report by Andrew Norton from the Grattan Institute shows, <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/report/mapping-australian-higher-education-2014-15/">it does matter what you study</a>. </p>
<p>What these types of studies tend to emphasise is: </p>
<p>(1) the importance of studying hard things, for example STEM subjects</p>
<p>(2) the importance of finishing them (called <a href="http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2012/01/the_present_val.html">the sheepskin effect</a>), ideally at prestigious places. </p>
<p>Now MOOCs might well be more effective ways of studying, especially of hard things. And MOOCs are tightly linked with some of the world’s most prestigious universities (e.g. <a href="http://online.stanford.edu/courses">here</a> and <a href="https://www.edx.org/">here</a>). </p>
<p>But are MOOCs more effective ways of dating? That’s the question it seems that no-one is asking. This matters because, as the Danish study shows, a large component of the return to higher education is due to better quality matches in household formation. </p>
<p>And if MOOCs are terrible at that (this is not a foregone conclusion; they may evolve to include <a href="https://theconversation.com/moocs-and-meetups-together-make-for-better-learning-35891">local meetups</a>, for instance) then that may well be the unreplicable competitive advantage (what investors call a ‘moat’) classic universities have.</p>
<p>This is not really the argument that most Vice Chancellors have in mind when selling their product (and paying my salary!). And it’s also likely that this private benefit translates into some social harm when assortative mating drives <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2384288">income inequality</a> (see <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21595972-how-sexual-equality-increases-gap-between-rich-and-poor-households-sex-brains-and">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21640331-importance-intellectual-capital-grows-privilege-has-become-increasingly">here</a>). </p>
<p>But the real story here is that those same Vice Chancellors shepherding their university’s enormous property portfolios might sleep a little easier knowing that these MOOCs are not going to eat their lunch and destroy their business model with their relentless cost advantages. Because MOOCs can’t supply the thing that Danish men and women, and likely Australian ones too, also want in their return to schooling – high quality matches not just with jobs, but with each other.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37372/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
One of my Phd students is studying how parents make decisions about education for their children (you can participate in his survey here). We economists treat this as a problem of investment under uncertainty…Jason Potts, Professor of Economics, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/359492015-02-04T11:14:30Z2015-02-04T11:14:30ZIs online education good or bad? And is this really the right question?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69032/original/image-20150114-3891-d7ex7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">"Office hours" in the age of online</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Happy Together/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the past twenty years, I’ve heard this question asked many times about online education. It might be tempting for enthusiasts to say “of course it is good,” but I see this as a kind of “trick question.” We should consider asking this question in the context of the traditional classroom.</p>
<p>Have our experiences in traditional classroom been stellar? All of us have had great classes in traditional settings and perhaps some that were not. I would suggest that quality and effectiveness of learning are not tied to “mode” of instruction. </p>
<p>In the same way that we can have good (and not so good) traditional classroom courses, we can also have good (and not so good) online courses. Further, re-conceptualizing and converting a traditional classroom course to an online course doesn’t necessarily make it better or worse. </p>
<p>What does the research tell us? And what are the lessons for teaching – and learning – in the future? </p>
<h2>Research about online education</h2>
<p>An abundance of studies have examined online education. They explore effectiveness through a number of criteria including satisfaction, retention and achievement.</p>
<p>An objective review published by the American Educational Research Association (<a href="http://rer.sagepub.com/content/74/3/379.full.pdf">How Does Distance Education Compare with Classroom Instruction? A Meta Analysis of the Empirical Literature</a>) examined the literature between 1985 and 2002. </p>
<p>The authors analyzed 232 studies at all academic levels (K-12 and higher education) examining achievement (based on 57,019 students), attitude (based on 35,365 students) and retention (based on 3,744,869 students) outcomes. This meta-analysis highlighted that some applications of online education were better than classroom instruction and some were worse. </p>
<p>Another notable analysis was published by the US Department of Education in 2010. The <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf">Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies</a> found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed modestly better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. </p>
<p>What should we conclude from this? </p>
<p>I believe it tells us that online learning <em>can</em> be effective – but that alone is not a guarantee that it <em>will</em> be effective. It is not predetermined that online education is better (or worse) than a physical classroom. </p>
<p>Perhaps a more important question to ask is, “<em>How</em> can online education be effective?” </p>
<h2>Developing an online course</h2>
<p>After two decades of work in and dedication to this field, I believe that we can positively impact the learning experience for students in online courses. A vital aspect of this is the support and assistance provided to faculty who are designing online courses and that we openly discuss the advantages and constraints of this “type of classroom”. </p>
<p>Effective online courses are developed through the systematic design of instruction with emphasis on the achievement of course learning objectives. This rigorous approach to course development and the creation of learning activities (which vary by course) is fundamental to create an effective learning environment and increases the potential for student learning and their construction of new knowledge. </p>
<p>Thoughtful course planning takes best practices (e.g., consistency of course interface and similarly structured course modules) into account and should be complete prior to the start of the course. In one <a href="https://urresearch.rochester.edu/institutionalPublicationPublicView.action?institutionalItemId=2499">research study</a> it was interesting to note that faculty who go through the process acknowledge that this conscientious approach to pedagogical review also has positive impact in traditional classrooms. </p>
<p>Admittedly, one great advantage of online learning is the enhanced access for students: removing the constraint of commuting to a specific location at a certain time. <a href="http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/survey_report/2013-survey-online-learning-report/">Annual studies</a> document that millions of students are able to enroll in online courses. But what are the educational advantages of the online classroom? </p>
<p>A common misperception of online education has been that it is an isolating experience for students. In fact, <a href="https://urresearch.rochester.edu/viewResearcherPage.action?researcherId=26">research studies</a> that I have conducted with colleagues show quite the opposite. </p>
<p>Through asynchronous discussion boards, there can be increased interaction, both in quantity and quality, with and among students. These class discussions are not constrained to a small window of time but can transpire over a week or two. This environment allows all students to engage and actively participate in the discussion. </p>
<p>Compare this to a traditional classroom where the discussion might be dominated by a subset of students, while the rest of the class is passive. Every online student can have a voice and be heard. In addition, expanding the time for discussion permits students to reflect and explore additional information, thoughtfully consider the views of their classmates, and then take the time to construct their own contribution, which can lead to higher quality responses. </p>
<p>Another advantage is the ability to facilitate peer review – a beneficial instructional strategy for learners to share their individual views and knowledge with their classmates regarding papers or projects. This feedback benefits the student author and the student reviewer. Managing peer review is significantly easier in my online classroom (a discussion board enables exchanges) compared to my physical classroom with the corresponding constraints, where students would need to bring hard copies of their work to distribute to their classmates and then need to create an additional event to somehow exchange feedback. </p>
<h2>Focus on learning</h2>
<p>This is not meant as a criticism of the traditional classroom. I have enjoyed teaching in physical spaces for more than 25 years and found the experience rewarding and valuable. I will continue to do so. But I believe we need to be careful not to romanticize the traditional classroom. </p>
<p>Not all traditional learning experiences are equal. There is a significant difference between a lecture in a large auditorium with hundreds of students and a small seminar room with 15 students. </p>
<p>The physical classroom has one advantage – the “spontaneity” of the discussion that can occur. These occasions can be wonderful learning opportunities. This lack of spontaneity has been a constraint in online classes due to the limitations of required bandwidth for live (synchronous) web conferencing. However, some of the technological challenges have recently been alleviated and I am able to complement my online courses with class discussions where students can see and hear each other, regardless of their physical location. </p>
<p>So what’s the future for online classes? My hope is that we continue to evolve different models of online learning. The spirit of “blended” or “hybrid” online courses strives to capture the best of online with the best of traditional classroom experiences. </p>
<p>Ultimately, I believe we will progress and develop instruction to the point where these historically based distinctions and categorical terms will blur and become less meaningful, and we will simply just focus on learning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35949/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>From 1995-2002, Eric Fredericksen was a Principal Investigator for grants received from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for ALN (Asynchronous Learning Environments). Eric is a member of the Board of Directors for the Online Learning Consortium (formerly Sloan Consortium), the professional society in higher education focused on quality online education. In 2013, he was honored as a Sloan-C Fellow.</span></em></p>For the past twenty years, I’ve heard this question asked many times about online education. It might be tempting for enthusiasts to say “of course it is good,” but I see this as a kind of “trick question…Eric Fredericksen, Associate Professor, Warner School of Education, University of RochesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/358912015-01-22T10:46:25Z2015-01-22T10:46:25ZMOOCs and meetups together make for better learning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68614/original/image-20150110-23795-okmff2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beyond Silicon Valley MOOC Meet-Up, Athens, Greece, June 11, 2014.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yiorgis Yerolympos</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Everyday, thousands of students around the world perch themselves in front of computer screens in homes, libraries, coffee shops, and Internet cafes to take a massive open online course (MOOC). </p>
<p>It’s no wonder MOOCs are so popular. They’re free. They’re taught by professors at accredited, well-known institutions. </p>
<p>In April 2014, I developed a MOOC on entrepreneurship for <a href="http://www.case.edu/">Case Western Reserve University</a> which has attracted more than 39,000 students from 190 countries to date. </p>
<p>Once the course launched, the team and I spent hours reading and responding to posts on my discussion boards. I answered the hundreds of student emails and connected with them on LinkedIn. I hosted weekly live online <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBELrG1nZ2U6DzqlJeWjKanDIxwNwI_99">panel discussions via WebEx</a> with international thought leaders on entrepreneurship to provide additional opportunities for student engagement. I even visited with MOOC students in Greece, Macedonia, the Czech Republic and Spain on a trip sponsored by the US Department of State. </p>
<p>Despite our efforts, however, the amount of face-to-face interaction was limited, a common criticism of online courses.</p>
<h2>One downside to MOOCs</h2>
<p>Dhawal Shah, CEO of MOOC review aggregator <a href="https://www.class-central.com/">Class Central</a>, explained: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“MOOCs have unbundled courses from universities in a way that scales top-quality, affordable learning experiences to willing students across the world…but one thing they do not provide is in-person interaction, which can be critical for many students and types of courses.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To address this issue, a movement in the MOOC world has begun to host local meet-ups. Students independently organize gatherings in public places such as a library or university classroom. They discuss course topics to deepen their understanding of the material and build local networks and support groups.</p>
<p>My MOOC, <a href="http://www.coursera.org/learn/entrepreneurship-development">Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies</a>, uses my home city of <a href="http://www.thisiscleveland.com/">Cleveland, Ohio</a> as a case study for students to understand and learn how to grow an entrepreneurial ecosystem. </p>
<h2>A rust-belt city provides an opportunity</h2>
<p>After years of economic decline, Cleveland was ranked last by <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/">Entrepreneur Magazine</a> in 2002 for support of entrepreneurship. At this low point about 10 years ago, a massive effort was launched to develop Cleveland’s start-up community. Cleveland could not create a start-up community like Silicon Valley. The city doesn’t have droves of young tech billionaires making investments in local start ups. Instead community leaders got creative and recruited support from people and institutions that were not typically associated with a start up community. Government, public and private donors, and the private sector worked together to develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem providing funds, mentoring, and resources for new businesses. </p>
<p>I created a MOOC so that people in other communities could learn from Cleveland’s journey. Implementing a Cleveland-like strategy to develop a start-up friendly community requires the support and leadership from an array of people, time, money, and a coordination of multiple efforts. To catalyze discussions, I encouraged my students to organize local meet-ups to explore ways of applying the lessons from my course. </p>
<h2>An idea gets exported</h2>
<p>One MOOC student in Düsseldorf, Germany, <a href="http://about.me/arjantupan">Arjan Tupan</a>, accepted the challenge. Arjan, an entrepreneur who started his own consulting company, brought together several local partners, including a university <a href="http://www.ebc-hochschule.de/en/">EBC Hochschule</a>, a non-governmental organization supporting entrepreneurship <a href="http://www.startupdorf.de/">StartupDorf</a> and the <a href="http://duesseldorf.usconsulate.gov/">Consulate General of the United States, Düsseldorf</a> to host meet-ups in two local co-working spaces in Düsseldorf.</p>
<p>During their meet-up sessions, students watched video lectures from the MOOC, hosted local experts as guest speakers and engaged in brainstorming sessions to discuss ways to improve support for entrepreneurship in Düsseldorf. At their fifth and final meet-up in November 2014, the group developed several projects for 2015, including the creation of “pitch clinics” for entrepreneurs, a local start-up Hall of Fame, a shared calendar for the entrepreneurship community and a plan to create original from a Düsseldorf perspective. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68504/original/image-20150108-23801-1bm9pfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68504/original/image-20150108-23801-1bm9pfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68504/original/image-20150108-23801-1bm9pfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68504/original/image-20150108-23801-1bm9pfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68504/original/image-20150108-23801-1bm9pfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68504/original/image-20150108-23801-1bm9pfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68504/original/image-20150108-23801-1bm9pfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">David Jetel from Sirius Venture Partners addresses Beyond Silicon Valley MOOC Meet-Up in Düsseldorf, Germany, November 13, 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">StartupDorf</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Local meet-ups organized by Arjan and other partners around the world had a significant impact on the learning experience of Beyond Silicon Valley MOOC students in these communities. These grass-roots gatherings gave students the same opportunity to learn from one another as in a traditional classroom, as Jeff Wofford, the Facility Manager at the <a href="http://belize.usembassy.gov/">United States Embassy in Belmopan, Belize</a> who facilitated MOOC-inspired meet-ups in Belize, experienced.</p>
<p>“Students here gained a lot of insight by taking the time to sit and discuss the lessons in person,” Wofford noted. “We had a nice cross-section of attendees, from <a href="http://www.ub.edu.bz/">University of Belize</a> students to Belizeans who had owned and operated businesses for decades. In several instances, a comment made by one of the students lead to one of those great ‘a-ha!’ moments with another student, and the exchanges went both ways.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68613/original/image-20150110-23795-10jg0el.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68613/original/image-20150110-23795-10jg0el.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68613/original/image-20150110-23795-10jg0el.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68613/original/image-20150110-23795-10jg0el.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68613/original/image-20150110-23795-10jg0el.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68613/original/image-20150110-23795-10jg0el.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68613/original/image-20150110-23795-10jg0el.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Participants in the Beyond Silicon Valley MOOC Meet-Ups at the Deputy Chief of Mission Residence, United State Embassy, Belmopan, Belize, June 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">US Embassy Belmopan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I worked with U.S. embassies and consulates, local universities, seed accelerators and the <a href="http://www.microsoftinnovationcenters.com/">Microsoft Innovation Centers </a>to organize meet ups around the world. Some partners translated subtitles of my video lectures into local languages, which also deepens the student experience and helps to reach a larger audience. Beyond Silicon Valley has been translated into 10 languages, the most of any course on the <a href="https://www.coursera.org/">Coursera</a> platform. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>I am not alone in emphasizing meet-ups as an integral part of my MOOC. More than 60 groups in 52 cities have formed to take MOOCs on <a href="http://moocs.meetup.com/">Meetup</a>, the world’s largest network of local groups. Coursera, the largest provider of MOOCs, has a <a href="https://www.coursera.org/about/programs/learningHubs">Learning Hubs Initiative</a>, which establishes physical spaces for students to access their classes. Coursera <a href="http://blog.coursera.org/post/84322385012/new-learning-hubs-locations-hosted-by-the-new-york">reports</a> that their Learning Hubs participants show higher completion rates ranging from 30 - 100% vs. the 6.8% Coursera-wide average. </p>
<p>Researchers at the <a href="http://chili.epfl.ch/">Computer-Human Interaction in Learning and Instruction Lab (CHILI), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne</a> in Lausanne, Switzerland reported in a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01587919.2014.917708#.VLFnC8nAvGk">June 2014 study</a> that “watching MOOCs in groups provides (a) highly satisfying learning experience as learners feel connected and interactions among them are enabled.” As the BBC’s Sean Coughlin wrote in his <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26925463">April 2014 article</a> about the expansion of MOOC meet-ups around the world, “even virtual students want to have a cup of coffee and a conversation after a lecture.” </p>
<p>I enjoy teaching my traditional face-to-face courses at the <a href="http://weatherhead.case.edu/">Weatherhead School of Management</a>. Each semester I have the opportunity to meet and nurture the professional growth of some 200+ students. That experience is valuable and presents opportunities that a student is unlikely to derive from a MOOC. But the Beyond Silicon Valley MOOC has demonstrated to me that online courses can be incredibly effective and spread ideas to people in corners of the world who may never travel to Cleveland or be able to afford a class at a school like Case Western Reserve. Despite the lack of professor-student interaction, local meet-ups can produce a more meaningful educational experience and spark innovation for the online student. </p>
<p>Teaching is not an end in itself. I don’t see my job as simply to deposit new information into the heads of my students. A course should inspire students to think, reflect, and act – to create something new and worthwhile in the world and influence the future. With an online course, students must by necessity take responsibility for their learning and also how they engage with and act upon their knowledge. Fostering this process and watching it unfold through my MOOC has been one of the most gratifying experiences. I can’t wait to see what the students will produce in 2015.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35891/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael E. Goldberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Everyday, thousands of students around the world perch themselves in front of computer screens in homes, libraries, coffee shops, and Internet cafes to take a massive open online course (MOOC). It’s no…Michael E. Goldberg, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Design and Innovation Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.