{"id":54986,"date":"2023-10-20T16:29:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T16:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/should-moocs-be-used-as-credit-for-high-school-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T16:29:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T16:29:35","slug":"should-moocs-be-used-as-credit-for-high-school-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/should-moocs-be-used-as-credit-for-high-school-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Should MOOCs be used as credit for high school? – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
Massive open online courses (MOOCs<\/a>) are moving beyond the hype they generated in 2012. MOOCs are now reaching a point where they may soon find their niche<\/a> in the educational ecosystem. One possibility being discussed<\/a> is that MOOCs could be used as formal credit for high school.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It appears as though secondary students are already engaging in MOOCs. Free online courses from some of the world\u2019s top universities are being taken by high school students<\/a> to supplement their study at school. However, while MOOCs can provide some great content, the teaching and assessment methods probably aren\u2019t appropriate for high school students.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n At first glance, MOOCS appear to create a number of benefits for school students. Students are able to access material designed and delivered by some of the best university professors in the world.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to providing students with insight into the content of a range of university programs, free online courses also possess the ability to offer students a cross-cultural perspective on learning, connecting to other course participants from around the world.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n MOOCs also offer an alternative to school-based<\/a> and external<\/a> learning interventions for both struggling and advanced students, offering a supportive mechanism to reinforce and promote access to content.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In Australia, where tracking or streaming students based on ability<\/a> is not a formal policy, MOOCs offer advanced students an opportunity to undertake more rigorous work in a flexible learning environment.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Students affected by disabilities<\/a> or disadvantage, as well as those attending rural,<\/a> distance<\/a> or home schools<\/a>, may also benefit from free online courses as a way to participate in collaborative learning and access a wider range of content.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Although we see some potential for the development of MOOCs in the high school sector, the purpose of MOOCs needs to be taken into account. MOOCs were initially developed to enable learning via large-scale collaboration between students studying material developed for post-secondary education.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In order for this to work effectively at scale, students often need to be able to assess the quality of their peers; a process that has questionable validity in the context of a MOOC.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n MOOCs have also diversified significantly since the first of them were developed. Topics that are of broad interest have been developed into courses that showcase talented teachers, researchers and the institutions they represent. Others are targeted at a particular cohort, demographic or for professional development purposes.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In short, MOOCs now come in many different varieties. Some MOOCs might be relevant to secondary students, others not so much. The diversity of MOOCs means that each would need to be considered for credit on a case-by-case basis. Estimates in 2014<\/a> put the number of MOOCs available at over 2400 and growing rapidly, making this a complicated task.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Another underlying problem with giving secondary students credit for MOOCs is that it still isn\u2019t clear how these courses integrate within the existing curriculum. It is therefore unclear if MOOCs can realistically replace<\/a> the opportunities offered in traditional classrooms.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\nMOOC benefits for secondary students<\/h2>\n
Caution is required<\/h2>\n