1. What are the precautions being taken to ensure that online courses are not “gamed” by students. With the lack of a professor, it is very easy to cheat on these tests. On the same note, do these online courses hold the same weight against university courses if there is an academic vulnerability?

2. If there is a greater shift to online learning, how will research and lab work be carried out? Will students have to go to a designated area to apply themselves? Will research become a “thing of the past?”

3. With free learning websites such as khanacademy, what is the benefit of enrolling in a MOOC? Is it the validity of having a professor give the lessons and grade? Will the MOOC business be threatened with free, open-source alternatives

4. One of the Chronicle articles states,
“Regardless of their initial level of preparation … students were more likely to fail or withdraw from online courses than from face-to-face courses. In addition, students who took online coursework in early semesters
were slightly less likely to return to school in subsequent semesters, and students who took a higher proportion of credits online were slightly less likely to attain an educational award or transfer to a four-year institution.” Are MOOCs just a trending phenomenon or do you believe that they offer a low-cost, educational alternative that is equivalent to a face-to-face college education?
Sub-Question: Are MOOCs just a business looking to get low-income students for low-cost prices, or are they genuine in quality?

5. The article by Thomas Friedman states, “We demand that plumbers and kindergarten teachers be certified to do what they do, but there is no requirement that college professors know how to teach. No more. The world of MOOCs is creating a competition that will force every
professor to improve his or her pedagogy or face an online competitor.” Do we actually believe this, or are professors less responsible for teaching in MOOCs? Without face-to-face interaction, a professor may also be able to get away with poor teaching. Furthermore, isn’t there already competition between colleges based on professor quality?