Discussion Online Learning vs Traditional Learning

[Jaffa]

"Why do people leave [MOOCs]?"

• Lack of interest
• Time constraints
• Poor quality Mooc
• Tech issues
• Take only what's needed

 

[Nedzad]

Tough question to answer. I think that MOOC is just a business platform as just anything else.
For the most learning platforms, in the beginning they are free, but as they grow they need money so you'll end up paying.
I don't think that MOOC is going to end, but there isn't any free platform today, because for everything you need money.

 

[Nedzad]

What's your opinion on Informal vs Formal education.

I can agree that today formal education is must have for beginning professional career. But as you progress with your career, I think that informal education is having deeper impact than formal.

I want to hear your experience and opinion.

 

[Carolyn]

This is a very interesting question that you raise. With today's open and free access to knowledge on so many different levels, informal learning has become part of everyday life thanks to the internet. As you say, a formal education is still the basis of our learning pathways, but with the emergence of multiple forms of e-learning along with developments in digital technology, the opportunities to deepen and improve on skills and knowledge are massive and very exciting.

 

[Duke]

I don't think it's a question of which one is better - both forms serve well in different circumstances. If people have the opportunity and means to get a formal education, then they should most definitely pursue it. However, acquiring knowledge through more informal channels can now be a continous process thanks to online learning, particularly for specific skills that are required in certain professions, IT & software for example.

 

[Carolyn]

The Australian National University recently conducted a survey to establish whether the students who'd completed some of their MOOCs had actually learned something.

They conducted an anonymous survey asking the students who had previously done on-campus courses “How much do you think you gained from this online course, compared to the typical face-to-face courses you have done?”

The results showed 87% of the students felt they had gained as much or more from online learning compared to on-campus learning. The main reason MOOCs were preferred was because of the ability to pause and re-play the material.

Source: https://www.edx.org/blog/87-students-say-they-gain-much-or-more#.VMgDzcZ7xgA

It would be great to read your reactions to these results.
Post your comments below...

 

[kajalsengupta]

This is a great boost to online learning and MOOCs. The fact that it was posted on the blog of a MOOC provider makes one a little suspicious though.

 

[MattB]

Everyone has different learning preferences and techniques. With online courses and MOOCs, the current most common format includes lecture videos, slides, e-books, quizzes, assignments etc
From your experience with taking online courses, what features & tools would YOU include to design your perfect MOOC?

 

[MattB]

Some would say it is a great way for the student to consolidate and extend his or her own learning. Those in the other camp might claim that it is by no means a viable form of assessing a piece of work as the person grading your assignment may not be qualified to do so...

What are your thoughts and experiences with peer assessment on MOOCs?

 

[Nedzad]

Wow, nice topic. In my opinion peer assessment are sword with two blades. It's nice and transparent in one way, but really pain in the ass in another.

Most of my peer work has been great, but more than occasionally I saw subjective opinions while assess-meting. Most of the people don't understand some technologies or don't know how people are operating at all.

So we need some system that is bullet-proof, we need more feedback on assessments. So, to maybe interact with our "peer" before they announce their final mark.

 

[Nedzad]

@MattB you're on fire mate with all of this topics

I was thinking about to create my own course, tutorial for all beginners on MOOC.

Most of the courses have more or less the same approach. Lecture videos, slides, assignments and quizzes. It's not bad, don't get me wrong. But we need more "interactive" tools, we need to think "outside the box" on this. Need some interactive blackboards, games, puzzles to amuse participants.

 

[MattB]

Thanks for your reply @Nedzad .
Interactive tools definitely make courses more fun and engaging, but there is a danger that they could damage the "standing" of an academic high-level course by making them appear too simple. I wonder if you've delved into this any further and thought about how you could use games & puzzles as an effective learning tool, even for the more academic subjects...

 

[MattB]

Hello again!
The problem for me is that there is always going to be a large difference in the skills, knowledge and experience of those enrolled on a course so the quality of the grading will be very variable. It would be great if courses could have a selection of "verified" assessors who are qualified to do the grading for any given subject.

 

[Nedzad]

@MattB I didn't done any special research on that. But using some of brain teasers, of jigsaws that will relax mind from the topic of learning. It's like a pomodoro technique. You learn let's say one topic for 30 minutes. Let's divade that time, ever 10 minutes we can insert jigsaw, funny clip from youtube, or brain teaser. We will relax our mind, also the participant will feel happy or accomplished or amused at the end.

I think that time, when you were like in school for 45 minutes it's hard really to pay attention. I have ADD, and for me it's hard really to keep focus, specially if you have monotone voice, and interested topic.

 

[Nedzad]

Hello again!
The problem for me is that there is always going to be a large difference in the skills, knowledge and experience of those enrolled on a course so the quality of the grading will be very variable. It would be great if courses could have a selection of "verified" assessors who are qualified to do the grading for any given subject.

Yes, that can be one of solution. But also for me, if there is a interactive way to communicate to your peer. If you don't understand something in my assignment, let me explain it for you. Via interactive discussion, forum or table. I put my email on the end of the report, so If someone is confused he/she can contact me via mail.

 

[Sujit Pal]

I don't think Peer Assessments work very well in a MOOC environment. For one thing, Peer Assessments are used when the work being assessed cannot be judged objectively, ie, like a multiple-choice answer that a computer program can correct. So all sorts of biases (sometimes real, sometimes imagined) creep in. The problem is compounded by course instructors trying to set up pseudo objective standards for grading, ie rate some aspect of the work on a 5 point scale where each scale has a short blurb explaining the meaning. If these standards are known in advance, people will build their work to conform to these objective standards and thereby "game" the system (sometimes forcing the peer to select one of these choices even though the work falls short in other areas that may be important).

The one place I have found Peer Assessments to work well (for the student but probably useless for marking purposes) was during the Social Network Analysis course on Coursera, where the final project was to use SNA for some real life project. People submitted their papers into the Coursera peer assessment system as normal and (I think) there was peer grading, but people also posted these links to the Discussion Forums. As a result, there was lots of conversations and a huge amount of learning that happened for all of us, as we got to see all (shared) projects not just the 3 or 4 assigned to each peer for review. The instructor Prof Lara Adamic was on the forums encouraging and offering suggestions for improvement.

 

[brewbooks]

I think peer assessment works reasonably well. My best experience has been where the instructions are well thought out and the scoring rubric is clear and detailed. I have had good experiences in "Exploring Neural Data" and "Clinical Neurology" with peer assessments. It is also important that enough students assess each other, I think five might be a good number.

 

[brewbooks]

...people also posted these links to the Discussion Forums. As a result, there was lots of conversations and a huge amount of learning that happened for all of us, as we got to see all (shared) projects not just the 3 or 4 assigned to each peer for review. The instructor Prof Lara Adamic was on the forums encouraging and offering suggestions for improvement.

Sujit,
I like the idea of this sharing, it makes sense in a massively open class.

 

[Carolyn]

Here's a link to an interesting article on Peer Review Feedback featured on MoocLab's Mooc Scoop

http://sco.lt/5mbG1B

 

[brewbooks]

Here's a link to an interesting article on Peer Review Feedback featured on MoocLab's Mooc Scoop

http://sco.lt/5mbG1B

Feedback on Peer Review Feedback
I didn't find this as applicable to peer assessment within MOOCS, this was more about academic peer review. The embedded YouTube video was long and scattered; it had some useful tidbits but I did not finish it.