MOOC's and Podcasts- What are the implications ?

PART  2 IMPLICATIONS

MOOC’s  

The Pro's 

• Its' free! 
• Open enrollment a person is not limited by age prior learning grades
• Self paced for those with disciplined, flexible schedule to accommodate learners life and work schedules
• Looks good on a resume, 
• Opportunity for learners to explore different fields without... incurring cost or student loans debt. 

The Con's 
Implications for students;

• MOOC’s usually are not accredited or transferable within other public institutions
• Students need to remained focused to retain self paced discipline of learning; without deadlines the course could experience low engagement and completion rate. 
• Although peer based learning has merit, students have access to other students through meet ups, students can expect a low interaction with the instructor. 
• Is free really free ? MOOCS Free Education. What is the business model ?

Implications for instructors;

• Time and technology awareness necessary to develop MOOC's content
• Low/ no student interaction, potential for lose of engagement 
• No ability to gauge student understanding

My thoughts for upcoming years:  I really enjoyed this topic research; although will not be setting up my classroom using a MOOC model. 

My facilitation style is to use multiple learning styles and mediums using visual presentations,  engaging in classroom discussion and leaning through mentorship or  apprenticeship opportunities.  Students often develop a better understanding through appropriate peer learning and face to face instruction with opportunities to interact and elicit response for questions. I think using multiple mediums for instruction builds classroom energy, raises student engagement, improves communication, cooperation  and an awareness of social ques and expectations.   

  

 Interestingly: Studies show the completion rate of approximately  5% for MOOC's online courses and certification. In comparison to traditional institutions boasting a 72% completion rate. To compare:  Harvard boasted a 98 % completion rate.

PODCASTS

The Pro's 

• They are convenient to use (can listen on transit to work)
• Compatible with varies devises
• Can be played and replayed at anytime
• Condensed topics, subject specific, engaging and tending to be short in duration 
• Very little cost to produce- low overhead in technology needs
• Can be versatile in application, eg: Podcasts to provide on boarding of employees as an overview of the company's policy and procedures. Instructor could use them to instruct students on assignments or to provide back ground information or topic overview- like the  sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, or a 3 part Who did it murder mystery. 

The Con’s 

• Some pod casts cost money
• Students may need to set up subscriptions or profiles
• Must to own or have access to  a devise to download to.
• Students needs  internet access for download. (data useage.)
• Downloading of information with no interaction with author
• Some are not engaging, and some people may not listen to the the podcast in it's entirety
• Podcast's do not support visual learning or more complex learning theories  like describing algebra)   

Interestingly; Podcasts continue to grow in popularity; figures on listener-ship provided by convinceandconvert.com  indicated that in 2018, Six Million more Americans listen to podcast then in the prior year of 2017.

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