During the early part of the last decade, Massive Open Online Courses (better known as MOOCs) exploded in popularity, and many of the top providers of MOOCs emerged at that time. Organisations like Coursera, EdX, Udemy, and Udacity, to name a few of the most popular providers, brought online education at a free or relatively low cost to the masses.
The initial hype may have died, but the MOOC is still very much alive and kicking. But is a MOOC worth your time and, in some cases, your money?
The answer to that is, yes, they can be, if you know what you are getting into and you are realistic about the commitment you can make.
The first thing to bear in mind is that not all courses are created equal. A lot of the courses you’ll find on Coursera and EdX, for example, are adapted from the undergraduate courses taught at some of the world’s most prestigious educational establishments and are delivered by teams of experienced educators. At the other end of the spectrum, many courses are one person operations, created and delivered by enthusiasts in their field.
The size of the operation is not necessarily an indication of quality. Your best best is to take some time to read reviews and get a feel for whether others are finding the material useful and how popular a course is. Many courses are free and some providers who charge will also let you dip in and sample a course before you commit to parting with your money. That’s usually enough for you to decide if you like the instructional style and whether the material is at the right level for you.
Some MOOCs are entirely self paced – the materials are made available to you and you progress through them at whatever rate you’re comfortable with. Others follow a cohort model, and a large group of students will all begin a course at the same time. Usually courses that operate on this basis have several start points during the year.
Generally, courses that use the cohort model provide a way for the students in each cohort to communicate and support each other. The most common format for this is online forums where you can ask or answer questions.
One example of a course that operates on this model is the hugely successful CS50x, the online version of Harvard University’s entry-level computer science and programming course, led by the charismatic David Malan, who has become something of a celebrity in MOOC circles.
A strong community is an important thing to look for in a MOOC because, of course, you won’t get the level of support from instructional staff you would expect from a paid course at a bricks and mortar educational establishment. That lack of one-one-one interaction can also be an issue when it comes to marking your work. Courses like CS50x, which are largely technical in nature, often have sophisticated automatic marking schemes so that assignments are graded consistently and fairly. Courses where the assignment work cannot be marked so easily with software, for example arts and humanities courses, will often rely on a mixture of automated marking for multiple choice assessments combined with a system of peer reviewing for subjective or creative work.
The peer reviewing systems usually work by having a small group of people all marking the same piece of work, so that the marking is less likely to be skewed by bias from one particular reviewer. Bear in mind, if you take a course of this nature, you will be expected to grade other students’ work.
On some courses, it is possible to get one-on-one instructional support, but it usually comes at price. Udacity’s model for it’s nanodegree courses, for example, includes the assignment of a mentor to each student and the opportunity for regular virtual meetings to review progress and get help. This is combined with a careers service as well as the usual community support features. But bear in mind that these courses require the financial commitment of a not inconsiderable three figure sum for every month you are enrolled.
A common mistake with MOOCs is to assume that they require a much lower commitment level than courses in full-time education. If anything, I’d say the opposite is true. Many courses require a commitment of 10s of hours every week, and most people will be fitting that around work and family commitments. Getting started with MOOCs is almost too easy – with just a few clicks you can be enrolled on most courses, and starting with something new is always exciting. But keeping the momentum going is not quite as easy, and the low completion rates on many courses is testament to that.
Many courses offer certification of some sort (in most cases you’ll need to pay to receive a certificate, even if enrolment in the course is free). Be realistic though about how much weight a MOOC certificate is likely to carry with potential employers. To be honest, the best reasons for enrolling on a MOOC and seeing it through to completion are because you can gain useful new skills and understanding of a subject for a very small financial investment, as well as developing yourself by overcoming new challenges. And even if that doesn’t open doors to a new career, the personal satisfaction and sense of achievement you’ll get are certainly worth the effort.
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