I originally posted the below comment in response to an article on Wired regarding the future of MOOCs: MOOCs have their merits, including giving free access to world-class education to students who for any reason (affordability, competitive ability, opportunity cost) cannot reach top-tier institutions. For students who are already pursuing a degree, they can help you explore a wider range of topics than a traditional university degree encompasses. However, I should take a step back first. Firstly, I believe that the traditional university model is broken. Degrees are inflexible, require too much time commitment, cost too much, and the nature of the job market means that the skills learnt are of little real world value. Why would I spend 6-7 years pursuing an undergrad and grad course spending close to 200,000 thousand dollars (when I could save that money or use it to start my venture)? Because jobs require "credentials" as an eligibility criteria, even tho
How to Ace Online Classes - Traditional Distance Education and MOOCs - A Step by Step Guide to Success
Introduction You’ve signed up for an online degree after carefully choosing your university and major. Or, you have decided to become part of the revolution in online learning known as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) offered by one of the leading providers such as Coursera, Edx, Udacity or Udemy. This step-by-guide ensures success if you do your best to follow its advice. There are two separate sections: one for traditional distance education courses offered by universities and the other for MOOCs. Traditional online course Choosing the right mode of learning Some courses allow for live, synchronized classes while others have pre-recorded videos. Some may have online exams while others may require you to take proctored exams at a testing center. Before the class begins Do I have to do this class? There are a number of alternatives to taking the course. Many US universities offer CLEP exams that substitute for an online class. In the near future, you c