Thinking about MOOCs

I'm collecting up too much information about MOOCs getting ready for a CIP talk about MOOCs and intellectual property. In my travels I found "The Summer of MOOCs" - Digital Campus - Episode 90 - George Mason U podcast http://digitalcampus.tv/2012/09/10/episode-90-back-to-school-special/ The participants critique MOOCs with the usual: MOOCs may be able to supply training, but not real learning - not the kind of deep learning that you get on a campus where you also learn before and after class. What that sounds like to me is criticism from educators who have not participated in constructing or conducting a quality online course! We ought to be comparing MOOCs that are being offered to other online courses. Get back to the No Significant Difference web site and check on numerous articles comparing online and hybrid courses to face-to-face courses - and often researchers find that there is no significant difference. http://www.nosignificantdifference.org/ Is an on-campus education the very best education where deep learning always takes place and students lives are change forever? We've all been there and probably most of us have found value in being on campus and all that interstital learning that goes on before and after a scheduled class - but is that the only way to learn?? That can't be true! Study online has proven to be successful for many. Plenty of people have done their learning in less than ideal conditions with little participation in the traditional four-year on-campus college experience. I was reminded of Shai Reshef's remarks at a Harvard University Berkman Luncheon discussion from 2010. See Part 5 5:31 - 8:18 A student asks about the physical place and extra curricular activities. He wonders if anything can be done to encourage socializing outside of courses. What about a university World of Warcraft team? Shai Reshef asks if students miss something by only studying online? He points out that for University of the People students it's either study online with UoPeople or not study at all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on4pN-DOSsQ&feature=relmfu .

Comments about the podcast: Dominik Lukeš make some GREAT points! http://researchity.net/2012/09/15/the-great-mooc-slander-realities-and-narratives-of-education-and-learning/
Summary of the podcast here: http://allmoocs.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/the-summer-of-moocs-podcast-at-digitalcampus/ ;

K-Pop - Gangnam Style South Korea Diplomacy

Al Jazeera: K-Pop Diplomacy: South Korea's Soft Power Goes Gangman Style. http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/k-pop-diplomacy-0022328 Psy - Gangnam Style http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0 Gangnam style - http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/kpop-psy-gangnamstyle/ The Psy - Gangnam style video itself is on this web site Read this one http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/eatyourkimchi-al-jazeera-and-k-pop/ More info about Psy Gangnam Style Explained: Breaking Down Psy's Viral Hit http://news.linktv.org/videos/gangnam-style-explained-breaking-down-psys-viral-hit And maybe this one 7 Bizarre K-Pop Songs You Need to Watch Now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaCtIiC41ws&feature=relmfu

University of the People is not free - mostly free

This recent article "A Free Online University Tests the Waters" http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/03/us/03iht-educlede03.html prompted a couple of people on the Open Educational Resources discussion forum (oer-forum@lists.esn.org.za)) to point out that "free" is a misnonmer. Students are now asked to pay a small fee to take the final exam in each course. That reminded me to make a small donation to the general scholarship fund. (Link available from the home page at http://www.uopeople.org ) Donating time is a help, but so is donating some money.