College may provide massive online open classes
By Josh Bull
An increase in faculty interest has led the college to consider offering a new form of online education: massive online open classes.
Massive online open classes, or MOOCs, are usually free online courses that, while not worth college credit, can be used to prepare students for credit courses or to market a college to potential students. This is why the college has put together a task force to explore its options with MOOCs.
MOOCs were first offered by universities like Stanford. Common subjects for MOOCs include preparatory courses in subjects like math and English for students to prepare for more difficult credit courses.
MOOCs are usually free, opening the courses for far more students than a normal course. Stanford’s first MOOC in 2011 had over 160,000 students enrolled. And as the course is online, students don’t have to be local to the institution offering the course.
“Open means that registration can be open to anyone,” said Ed Lovitt, Director of Distance Learning. “It can be here in Johnson County or across the world.”
On top of being free, MOOCs offer other advantages.
“There’s no commitment,” said Vincent Miller, Director of Educational Technology Center. “I could go in as a student or as a user and just see what the subject is about and see how its being taught.”
However, MOOCs generally do not count for credit. Some MOOCs reward “badges” for completion, which could conceivably be good for a transcript or resume, while other MOOCs offer paid assessments for credit.
Regardless, the information a MOOC provides is just as diverse as any college course, from preparatory math courses to Ball State University’s “Gender Through Comic Books,” according to Lin Knudson, Dean of Academic Support.
“It could be your typical college class,” Knudson said. “Just like something you’d take here for credit, only they put it into that online format.”
Contact Josh Bull, reporting correspondent, at jbull3@jccc.edu