Coursera is a fee online education platform, founded by Stanford University professors
Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng. These courses can be taken online and are provided
in cooperation with 33 high level universities. (at the time of this
publishing)
In the talk Professor Koller discusses the nature of
education, technology implications, and disparity. Koller notes that many jobs
need a high level of education, although many graduates with higher-level
degrees can’t find work. One point that made me laugh (and think) was with
regard to a professor who reaches 100,000 students with Coursera online, and
that to reach as many people in a traditional environment it would take him 240
years to reach the same number of students. I appreciated the acknowledgement
that it’s not only the poor who need greater access to (higher) education, but
also those who are “house-bound” due to a variety of circumstances.
While watching the video, most of my concerns early on were
addressed, adequately. Koller points out individuals who had courses (credits)
recognized by universities, and one family in which the father/ husband landed
a job based (partly?) on the Coursera work he did at hoe while his daughter was
sick and housebound. She also notes how grading is done. I’m not 100% convinced
that identifying the major “common” mistakes learners have and subsequently
giving general feedback to all is the best method. (though better than no
feedback or less-than-adequate explanations) I recently took a Google Power
Searching course online. For the kind of course it was the feedback was
appropriate, but for a full-on university course I would expect more. (even if
it’s free)
The courses are properly segmented, so they are broken down
into units just as traditional study would be. Another great point is that some
cities that have several people in the same course have spawned study groups.
People in some courses have actually connected at restaurants for sessions in
which they support each other’s learning.
The issue of who has access to electricity, let alone a
computer and internet access, wasn’t adequately addressed. Perhaps that wasn’t
the point. It also brings up the discussion of how we break the education
disparity gap. Is it that we need to bring this online education to (what one of
my students referred to as) “education stations”, accessible to everyone.
Perhaps these community learning stations could be staffed by an educator/ tech
specialist(s) to assist with independent learning and technological/ logistical
issues that inevitably pop up.
I’m still in the “balance” camp. I appreciate online study
and have done it with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), Deakin
University, the IBO and even Google. But even with chat rooms, discussion
boards, Skype and Google Hangouts, I prefer being in the room with a cup of
coffee and people to bounce ideas with.
My Global Issues Network students found and chose this video
as a discussion piece. In that chat they compared it with Khan Academy.
KA is a site with (on average) 10-minute videos about anything you may want to
learn or need to brush up on. Some topics include interactive materials and
assessments. It’s free.
