[출처] Associations Now_Technology_2017. 1. 17.

THE STATE OF THE MOOC: WHAT ASSOCIATIONS SHOULD KNOW

Massive open online courses, or MOOCs, have been around long enough that some strong takeaways are starting to show themselves. Read on to see what Harvard and MIT have learned about MOOCs—and what your association should keep in mind.

The buzz around massive open online courses, or MOOCs, hasn’t dissipated in the years since the trend has picked up.

That’s a good thing for associations, which have looked with interest at this online education model, driven by free or low-cost offerings, in recent years.

The problem is that this model is so new that we’ve had little idea of how to gauge its effectiveness for both the student and the facility—not a lot of research has been released to the world concerning the education offerings that work the best.

Fortunately, a new report from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), each of which offers classes on a popular MOOC platform called edX, could help clear the air.

The study, covering the first four years of using edX for this purpose, is one of the largest studies on the phenomenon yet, and highlights both the successes and pitfalls around these platforms. Among them:

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IS NOW THE TIME FOR YOUR MOOC?

This dovetails into what could be a positive trend for associations, albeit one with a double-edged sword: Education outside of the university system could gain momentum through MOOCs, especially with the growth of certifications. That’s good for associations, which tend to offer a lot in the way of education.

But those certifications need to have the right level of weight, or they could get lost on the shuffle. A paragraph from the Economist piece lays down the point astutely:

The trouble with digital badges is that they tend to proliferate. Illinois State University alone created 110 badges when it launched a [program] with Credly in 2016. Add in MOOC certificates, LinkedIn Learning courses, competency-based education, General Assembly and the like, and the idea of creating new currencies of knowledge starts to look more like a recipe for hyperinflation.

The market for MOOCs is starting to mature and show some decent directions for the future, but your association still has to do its homework—and you still need to know how to properly consider how all this learning is going to look on either a resume or its modern equivalent.

With specialized education taking a lot of interesting directions in the future, now’s a good time to dip your toes into MOOCs.

Just be aware that it’s going to be a learning experience—for both you and your online students.

By ERNIE SMITH

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