It’s true that college costs keep rising with no end in sight. From textbooks and supplies to courses and certification exams, college students, and their parents, are definitely feeling the burn. But, there’s a new education innovation that is gaining popularity around the U.S.: Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, are just that — massive, open, online courses that allow students to watch/listen to lectures online, participate in online group discussions and stay current with reading assigned materials and taking quizzes and exams online. So, what’s in it for you? Read on for the latest in education news. Read more
Massive open online courses known as MOOCs are gaining a lot of attention from both students and universities. What began as free open online courses is evolving into a way for schools to attract prospective students and deliver instruction while keeping costs in check. Sometimes referred to as “open courseware,” MOOCs are a phenomena that may change the future of higher education.
The birth of MOOCs
Online education isn’t new but the idea of MOOCs is to open up learning materials to the world-at-large. The result is a course such as the first truly massive MOOC held in 2012. Stanford University professors Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig offered the online course “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” for free to anyone who wanted to enroll. The number of enrollments swelled to more than 160,000 students in 190 countries. Read more