The Times Bundle

The Professors’ Big Stage By: Thomas L. Friedman

“There is no requirement that college professors know how to teach. The world of MOOCs is creating a competition that will force every professor to improve his or her pedagogy or face an online competitor.” Are MOOCs really debilitating the power of professors? Do you believe this to be a productive or weakening competition for the world of academia?

The Trouble with Online College and Secrets to Success in Online College Learning

“Courses delivered solely online may be fine for highly skilled, highly motivated people, but they are inappropriate for struggling students who make up a significant portion of college enrollment…” Do you believe this statement to be true? Argue your case. How would you have written a letter to the editor of that article?

Keeping an Eye on Online Test-Takers By: Anne Eisenberg

What do you think of these measures to prevent online cheating (ie use of cameras, implementation of fees)? Are they ingenious or an invasion of privacy?

California Bill Seeks Campus Credit for Online Study

“It would be the first time that state legislators have instructed public universities to grant credit for courses that were not their own…” How could this potentially change education forever? Is it just a problem for universities seeking money for courses or a problem also for the student seeking the best education for a low price?

 The Chronicle Bundle

It’s MOOAs, Not MOOCs, That Will Transform Higher Education By Laurie Essig

“Administrators of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your salaries.” If MOOAs are the ones that will transform higher education, do you think administrators would agree to this for the benefit of higher education despite the fact that their salaries will dwindle?

Student Aid Can Be Awarded for ‘Competencies,’ Not Just Credit Hours, U.S. Says By: Kelly Field

Student Aid being awarded for ‘competencies’ apparently can “accelerate the pace of collapse for poor quality private and public colleges and universities.” Will this change in policy cause this? Or will it cause the exact opposite causing higher education to reform poor quality private and public colleges and universities?

A Massively Bad Idea By: Rob Jenkins

MOOCs are being considered “a massively bad idea.” Considering the fact that those who enroll in online courses ten to complete at an even lower rate than do students who enroll in face-to-face courses and other facts mentioned in this article, comment on the original statement.

 The Article By: Ann Kirshner

“It is those leading private institutions (ivy leagues) that should be using their endowment’s and moral authority to invest in new solutions and to proselytize for experimentation and change, motivated not by survival but by the privilege of securing the future of American higher education.” Is this statement true? Do these private institutions have a moral duty to the future of higher education?

SUNY Signals Major Push Toward MOOCs and Other New Educational Models By: Steve Kolowich

This article was all about designing MOOCs to be able to give credit to students of different universities than the university offering the MOOC. This is extremely controversial. Do you believe that such a design will pass through the numerous Boards of Ed and Congress despite it meaning a huge amount of money and possible influx of severe paperwork and confusion?

A Pioneer in Online Education Tries a MOOC By: Ann Kirshner

MOOCs seem to be the new growing fad in higher education, especially since most of them are free. Also, if a well-known educator claims that she is learning something from a MOOC, one then knows that MOOCs are trustworthy. Would you try a MOOC? If no, please elaborate.

The Professors Behind the MOOC Hype By: Steve Kolowich and What You Need to Know About MOOCs

Are MOOCs worth it? Do you believe that they deliver the needed results? All of the money that all of these institutions have spent, like Harvard, MIT and Stanford, do you think that it is all going towards a good/useful cause?

Miscellaneous File

Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning

Why would community colleges have a higher increase in MOOCs than any other type of institution?

“Irrational Exuberance”: The Case of the MOOCs

The “exuberance” refers to the hype surrounding MOOCs. The “irrational” refers to the fact that these courses are free and are available to anyone in the world. How would you define MOOCs? Are they truly an “irrational exuberance,” or something else entirely?

The Ethics of MOOCs

Credentialing MOOCs is a huge ethical issue. It has been mentioned and elaborated on in a majority of these issues. Do you believe that they should be credentialed?

 Much Ado About MOOCs 

Despite all of the changes/dilemmas that they could cause for faculty and the structure of higher education, should MOOCs be incorporated in current curricula?

The History of the Student Credit Hour By: Jessica M. Shield

The credit-hour measure has many “inadequacies” such as its “inattention to student learning and its time and location based method for recording learning.” Since this system was originally created more than a century ago, do you think that it should undergo more changes to accommodate this growing era of technology and its implications? How would you go about accomplishing this?

What Online Learning Can Teach Us about Higher Education By: Peter Stokes

Between “traditional,” “web facilitated,” “blended/hybrid” and “online,” which one do you think colleges should invest more in, based on all of our readings? Why?

Do you really think an actor can replace a professor when it comes to “online” classes?

The Future of Higher Education: How technology will shape learning

This article basically states that students want technology to become integral to their education and that online classes should become a part of a student’s curriculum. Is that what you would want? Explain using evidence from this article or any previously read.