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Interview: Ask President Anant Agarwal About edX and the Future of Education

Posted by samzenpus on from the time-to-learn dept.

Anant Agarwal is a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and the President of edX. A massive open online course platform founded by MIT and Harvard, edX offers numerous courses on a wide variety of subjects and is affiliated with 29 different institutes of higher education. Mr. Agarwal has agreed to take some time out of his schedule and answer your questions about edX and the future of learning. As usual, ask as many as you'd like, but please, one question per post.

44 of 73 comments (clear)

  1. Could someone set up an archive site ? by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 2

    The other day I was looking up an open course offered by Harvard that I had meant to try my hands on for the past few years (I know, I know, I procrastinated).

    I googled it up and clicked on the link - and long and behold, the Harvard server told me that the course had been deleted, due to some "incompatibility" of the video format and their new hardware, or something like that.

    I did not take that course. I have no idea if it was good or not.

    What if it was an excellent course ?

    Now that that particular course is gone (a few lessons still can still be had on youtube), the opportunity cost for many people does accumulate.

    If there was only an archive site for all the open-courses, wouldn't that be great ?

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:Could someone set up an archive site ? by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      Coursera does a nice job of it...

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    2. Re:Could someone set up an archive site ? by agarwaledu · · Score: 1

      I know, why do today what you can put off till tomorrow :-) Seriously, a large number of our learners like you just want to audit a course and prefer it to be always available. For that reason, a significant number of our previous courses are indeed offered as "past courses" or "archived courses". You will see this on the announcements page when you go into such an archived course: "This is a past/archived course. Certain features of this course may not be active, but we still invite you to explore the available materials." To see archived courses you can click on courses at edx.org, select courses, and then select past courses. For example, the justice course from HarvardX is available as an archived course at: https://www.edx.org/course/harvard-university/er22x/justice/571 In general, we strongly encourage our university partners to offer their past courses as archived courses. A few courses (like the one you tried perhaps) are not offered as an archived course. There are several reasons why a university might choose not to offer their course as an archived course. The next version of the course might have started, and so they might take down the archived course because they reuse some of the questions which have their answers available as handouts. Or, the course might need significant resources to run, for example, special grading servers may need to be maintained, for which they may not have resources.

  2. professors by pyrognat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Dear Anant,

    I am a young researcher at your own institution. One might think that online courses (such as those offered by edX) will make professors (at least those who teach) obsolete. What role do you see professors playing in the future of education? As someone on that career path, I am particularly interested in your views.

    Sincerely,
    Nathaniel Stapleton

    1. Re:professors by ediron2 · · Score: 1

      As the head of a university, Agarwal has a vested interest in receiving a continuing stream of cheap grad student and postdoc labor. His views are predictable: mumble mumble 'online courseware' mumble 'disruption' mumble mumble 'grad school good' mumble mumble unicorns rainbows mumble 'everyone should get advanced degrees.'

      There's a bit of irony here: edX is at least embracing the destructive change, even if he's impacting the stark unemployment numbers facing outlier-field PhDs today. Compare this to blind denial: my local fishwrap publisher won't shut up about how his paper will survive, but won't change. He thinks he just has to outwait this faddish innernets-thing...

    2. Re:professors by metlin · · Score: 2

      Most professors are hired not for their ability to teach but rather their ability to do research. In fact, some of the "best" professors are horrible teachers -- they may be experts in their fields, but aren't necessarily the best teachers. As such, I would guess that the role of professors will remain unchanged. If anything, it will free up the professors from teaching responsibilities and they will merely provide "support".

      Plus, I think that is the way it should be -- some of my best professors have been those who've encouraged my interest in the subject and with whom I've taken classes for research credit. They haven't been great at teaching me, but they've been great to collaborate with on research and just give me a broader perspective on their fields of expertise.

      I have since sold my soul to the corporate world, but I am looking forward to going back to school one of these days.

      What I would really like universities to do is provide opportunities for part-time PhD programs for those of us who are interested in research, but cannot leave our jobs and relinquish family commitments and responsibilities.

      So, here is my question for Professor Anant:

      I would absolutely love to do a PhD part-time, but why is it that universities deter this practice? I have found that I accomplish more when I love something and do it out of passion, my other commitments and responsibilities notwithstanding. In many subjects, hobbyists and amateurs have made significant contributions -- so why isn't there an increased focus on encouraging more "virtual research"?

      From an academic perspective, you get sufficient education in most master's programs anyway, a lot of which can be completed part-time (and increasingly online). So, why not support research that can be done remotely?

      As an erstwhile grad student who decided to not complete the PhD route, I met with my advisor perhaps once a week, and the only time he really cared was during conference deadlines. So, why can't PhD programs be made available part-time and online? With the exception of some subjects (e.g. chemistry, experimental physics, or biology), there are a lot more that can be pursued virtually (e.g. computer science, math, economics, theoretical physics etc).

      Wouldn't there be increased enrollment of students in doctoral programs if there were the case? You do not even need to lower the standards -- you can still keep the same standard of admissions, qualifiers, and research criteria. You can provide residency requirements, but support doing the doctoral research at your own leisure. Why is this not the case?

      It almost seems like an entrenchment of academic elites to keep the vicious cycle of "doctorate --> post doctorate --> professor --> tenure" going, and minimizing the number of doctoral candidates.

    3. Re:professors by agarwaledu · · Score: 1

      First, let me point out that professors have been using various forms of online learning for decades, so what edx and others are doing with moocs is simply taking what we have been doing to the next level in terms of scalability and quality.

      Think of online learning and platforms to create great online course material not as making teachers obsolete, but as tools for teachers, which will enable them to do a lot more than they could previously with the time they had. Sadly, among the few teaching tools we have given professors in the past few centuries has been a piece of chalk. Blogging sites and online news did not make journalists obsolete, rather created 10 million journalists, while making news much more interactive and exciting. In much the same manner, online learning has the potential to transform education. Online learning and moocs can give existing professors new tools to create additional modalities of teaching. Professors and soon-to-be professors like yourself that are quick to experiment with these new tools, are likely to find success, creating new ways of engaging our millenial generation of students who are perfectly comfortable texting, tweeting, blogging, emailing, moocing, youtubing, slashdotting ( :-) ) and snapchatting.

      We have also been experimenting with blended models of education where you combine the best of online and inperson. Initial results are promising. In one these blended model experiments in which we collaborated with san jose state university, the students watched videos, did online exercises and virtual labs on the edx online platform, and then came to class for in-person activity including working in small groups and interacting with the professor to get a deeper understanding of the material. The pass rate for this course went from a traditional average of about 60% to 90% with the blended class. Research by Brewlow et al (you can see paper at https://www.edx.org/research) also shows that student success in a mooc course was positively correlated with working with an instructor or mentor.

  3. making money by peter303 · · Score: 2

    How do the VCs plan to make back their investments? That was not clear to me.

    1. Re:making money by Thanshin · · Score: 1

      The answer to this obvious question will frame every other question. It should have been included in the main post.

    2. Re:making money by citizenr · · Score: 1

      Dont know about edX, but Coursera is trying to be a Linkedin for people with no CVs. They aggregate all your data (course results) and sell it to potential first employers

      --
      Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
    3. Re:making money by agarwaledu · · Score: 1

      edX is a non-profit startup, but we still need to be self-sustaining. So we are exploring several business models spanning both B2C and B2B. Unlike other MOOC providers, since edX is a non-profit, we do not have VC investors, rather we have institutional funders including MIT and Harvard. Many of our university partners such as the UT system have also contributed $s to our cause. One can view these initial contributions as an early round of investment in edX.

      In the B2C space, we use a freemium model. Students can take our courses for free, and they can even get an honor code certificate for free. However, we charge a small fee for ID verified certificates. In addition to the fee for the ID verified certificate (typically between $25 and $100 for a course), we offer the students the opportunity to contribute voluntarily to our cause by paying more than the minimum fee.

      In the B2B space, we work with corporations, NGO, governments and state university systems. Here, edX hosts the platform for the institution, and the institution offers its courses on our platform for their employees or for other targetted learners. They pay edX for various services such as hosting, education services, training, etc. We have a number of such partnerships underway, including one with IMF.

  4. are teaching faculty dead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Currently, many 2nd and 3rd tier universities rely heavily on (cost-effective) adjuncts and teaching-only "lecturers" for the majority of the instructional duties. To further maximize revenue, these schools could replace adjuncts and lecturers with MOOCs taught by professors at 1st tier universities. Are lecturers and adjuncts dead?

  5. The cost of education by Calsar · · Score: 1

    The cost of college education has been growing at an unsustainable rate. What do you think the underlying cause is and what effect will programs like edX have?

  6. Why not get rid of the Honor Code? by blue+trane · · Score: 2

    The Honor Code seems like a holdover from obsolete old educational methods. It seeks to make the free and open sharing of information somehow dishonorable.

    Often students want to help each other in the forums. The quizzes and exercises can provide interesting applications that the instructor didn't go over in the videos. Why censor a student who, of his own free will, wants to help out another student?

    The Honor Code, in forbidding explicit help to questions on assignments, encourages deviousness and obfuscation in the forums. Often, posts will be made deliberately vague, so that one has to make guesses, or "read between the lines", or try to mind-read. Wouldn't it be better to encourage clear, simple explanations on the forums? Students are sometimes as (or more) knowledgeable than the instructors, and can explain things in a better, simpler way. Often the instructors have been at the subject so long that they've forgotten what it's like to look at the material for the first time. Other students can fill in the gaps. But the Honor Code works against this type of peer-helping-peer interaction, because often the most interesting applications of the subject are in the exercises.

    When I've argued for the dissolution of the Honor Code before, one response has been: you just have to wait until after the deadline. However this response is not adequate, because often the deadlines are a few weeks off. When a student is engaged in a particular problem, that is the most opportune time for him to learn. I've had questions I couldn't answer, and haven't gone back to check how to do them after the deadline passes, because I'm now involved in something else...

    I think the Honor Code works against the spirit of openness and freedom of speech that the internet was founded on. What kind of skills are you trying to teach, by enforcing the Honor Code? Does a client care whether you "cheated" by looking up the answer to a programming problem on the internet, when you're writing a program for him?

    I think there are better technological solutions than enforcing an archaic Honor Code. Can you put a "spoiler" tag on posts that reveal how to do an assignment question, and reward those students who don't click on those posts? You're supposed to be tracking our every click...

    Thanks

    1. Re:Why not get rid of the Honor Code? by mounthood · · Score: 1

      An Honor Code covers things other than cheating or "open book" issues. see: https://www.edx.org/terms

      Would you argue against this: "Not engage in any activity that would dishonestly improve my results, or improve or hurt the results of others." ?

      --
      tomorrow who's gonna fuss
    2. Re:Why not get rid of the Honor Code? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      As someone who teaches at the college level, there's a pretty clear answer to this question.

      Collaboration is very useful when solving complex advanced problems. I highly recommend it for senior-level project courses and the like, which allows various students to bring their own perspective and knowledge to projects which may not have a single "right answer."

      But this rarely works for intro or intermediate level classes.

      Allowing unfettered collaboration between students on all (or most) assignments often leads to situations where only a few students do the work, and the rest of the students simply copy the work of others. Many college students simply don't have the discipline to try a problem for themselves before peeking at the answer, or even wholesale copying of a solution from someone else.

      Recently, I taught a class where many assignments were mostly straightforward right-or-wrong answers. It was clear from the assignments that some students were probably copying off of others. But for an experiment, I decided to let it go for a few weeks to see what would happen. The average score on homework assignments was roughly 90%. A few weeks later, the first test was given with similar questions (and some conceptual questions which should be obvious to anyone who actually did the homework), and nearly half the class scored a failing grade.

      In a very similar course taught during a different term, I emphasized a number of times that while discussing assignments was allowed, sharing large numbers of answers or copying work was not -- and clear examples of copying would NOT be tolerated (i.e., a failing grade on the assignment for those who had clearly copied). I also designed the homework assignments in such a way that made copying more difficult, since answers required a little more work shown or brief explanations.

      The homework average in that case was in the mid B range, and the first test scores were in the exact same range. Also, class discussion clearly showed that students knew more and understood more with an honor code enforced.

      Setting aside the issue that it's difficult to give credit on collaborative assignments when you don't know whether each individual student even did ANYTHING -- simply put, on average, students learn better when they are forced to figure some things out on their own.

      By the way -- I think collaboration and group assignments are great too, if they are used in addition to individual assignments. The problem is that in a college course, there often isn't time to do a group/collaborative assignment on topic X, grade it, give back feedback, and then do individual assignments still on topic X. College courses usually move too fast to make such a schedule workable. (In high school or something where classes often meet every day, it's more feasible.)

      The only other option is to make the collaborative assignments optional or not give feedback on them or something, in which case few people do them. Yes, you can still offer them for the small percentage of people who would do them, but often you could also just point them to most textbooks that have some appendix with "selected answers" in the back with the same effect.

      When a student is engaged in a particular problem, that is the most opportune time for him to learn. I've had questions I couldn't answer, and haven't gone back to check how to do them after the deadline passes, because I'm now involved in something else...

      See, you're doing it wrong. In an ideal world, you could just meet with a professor one-on-one or in a group of two or three students or something, and just chat about all these things and learn as you go. Most people can't afford to pay for that sort of education. So, you get feedback after you hand in your assignment, and that's your chance to get the individual attention -- if you ignore it, you've just lost the most important stuff your professor will give you in your entire course

    3. Re:Why not get rid of the Honor Code? by SteveFoerster · · Score: 1

      For students who want an education, no honor code is needed. For students who just want a credential, no honor code is sufficient.

      --
      Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
    4. Re:Why not get rid of the Honor Code? by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      "dishonest" has varying definitions. so people with varying definitions of it are at different advantages.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  7. Prestige of Online Degrees by Calsar · · Score: 1

    I received an under graduate and master’s degree from traditional universities. I also received two masters’ degrees through on-line classes. In my opinion programs like edX are the future of education, but on-line degrees are still not regarded with the same level of prestige as those received through traditional education. In part this has been due to questionable practices of some on-line educational institutions. How can this perception be changed and do you have and do you have any plans in that regard?

  8. Shouldn't teachers be able to create content? by theodp · · Score: 1

    It seems one needs a PhD in CS to create an online course - shouldn't teachers really be able to create content on their own?

    1. Re:Shouldn't teachers be able to create content? by theodp · · Score: 1

      True, but the early videos were monologues. With the introduction of interactivity and exercises, things seem to have moved into the realm of software engineers.

  9. Degree's vs. E-degree's by Sarendt · · Score: 1

    First let me say thank you, I really appreciate edx.org and the freedom it allows for me to continue learning new subjects. I just started taking my first class on edx yesterday, Leaning from Data, via Caltech, it looks to be a very interesting course! My question is about the future graduates from edx or similar online learning centers. Will people from around the world be able to compete in the global job market while using a degree or certificate from an online institute instead of a degree from a physical institute? If so, how do you see that changing our world? Cheers, Scott Arendt

  10. Will there be more EE courses in the future? by asm2750 · · Score: 1

    I enjoyed taking MITx 6.002x with you last year. Is there any chance there will be a EE certificate program or graduate level courses (specialty courses) in the future?

  11. MOOCs more about Teachers than Learners by IRGlover · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As social creatures much of our knowledge is built from social interactions, where we integrate our own experiences and beliefs with that of others to build new knowledge and understanding (i.e. Social Constructivism). The current dominant MOOC model is extremely procedural, teacher-centred and discourages these types of social interactions. While this works well for some subjects (particularly at introductory levels), it is much less effective in other situations. How can the large MOOC platforms, and EdX in particular, encourage a more social method of learning?

  12. Mooc.org by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Recently Google and EdX partnered up to create Mooc.org, which is being called by the Chronicle of Higher Ed the "Youtube for MOOCs". Will we start seeing less of a walled garden where experts in their own field can create these kinds of classes without having to be chosen as being part of a "worthy" institution like we've seen with EdX, Coursera, and FutureLearn? The trend towards inviduals becoming "superprofessors" is troubling, and I see very little collaboration between institutions to make these courses.

  13. real work places are open book / team based / lern by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    real work places are open book / team based / learn on the job.

    Also lot's lots of the times the book may say this but in the real world setting it's some what different.

  14. Motivation in Online Courses by eric.hosman · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Motivation plays a large role in any educational setting, but this is especially true in online courses. How do you best maintain a learner's motivation after the initial novelty has worn off? Online educational opportunities attract a wide array of learners, and we can't expect them all to be intrinsically motivated at a level consistent enough to complete a course, even if they are taking it for college credit or future growth opportunities. What are the best techniques to keep as many learners as possible engaged throughout an online course?

  15. Spying on your students by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    To what extent has the knowledge that the NSA can watch all of your students, both foreign and domestic, affected the number of people signing up for your courses? Do you expect to be able to do business outside the US now it has been confirmed that the US government has access to all your student data, one way or another?

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  16. What about moveing to an badges based system by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Where courses can be more right sized and not jammed / padded out into the older collgle time table system.

    Where you don't have to take a big 2-4-6+ year block of time to get something that says to you know some thing.

    It can also make ongoing education / learning new skills have more meaning as well.

    What about merging Professional certification systems into an over all badges based system?

    Do you think this is an good idea?

    1. Re:What about moveing to an badges based system by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      And the 4+ year pices of paper is even a bigger cost extra money just to get certified in something

    2. Re:What about moveing to an badges based system by agarwaledu · · Score: 1

      This is a good idea.

      Good old degrees with 4 years in college, in stove-piped departments are an antediluvian concept. Why 4 years? My bachelor's degree at IIT madras was a 5-year program, and I probably use 20% of that in my job at this point in my life. Why specialize in one field? In today's fast moving, nimble world, learners and employers are looking for multidisciplinary education. Further, they are looking to refresh their skills as the workplace needs change.

      A degree, fundamentally, is a signalling mechanism. It tells an employer that the holder likely has a set of skills. In the modern world, employers are looking for a diverse set of skills. So a promising alternative is one where learners acquire a traditional degree for 2 years (certainly less than the traditional 4 years), so that they can satisfy the bean-counting HR folks that need to see something that spells degree on the resume (and that will go away too with time). Then, the learner augments that with various other signals -- call them badges, or mooc-style certificates, so that employers can now see the whole portfolio.

      A couple of weeks ago, edX also announced another interesting signalling mechanism, an XSeries certificate. Here a learner can take a sequence of courses in a given discipline on edx, and by passing all the courses in the sequence, earn an XSeries certificate. MIT and edX announced XSeries certificates in foundations of computer science and supply chain management for a start. Some of you have commented that individual courses do not mean much to employers, but mastery of a discipline is akin to a mini-masters or a minor program, and is meaningful. We believe these XSeries credentials from edX will have strong signalling value to employers and take MOOC credentialling and badging one additional step forward.

      I can go on and on about this. I believe that in the future degree transcripts will be replaced by a colorful portfolio of credentials, including badges and certificates. OK OK, and degrees too, for backwards compatibility.

  17. Should we have an A GED For college? by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    Clarence Page at the Chicago tribune thinks we should what do you think?

    http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-03-11/news/ct-oped-0311-page-20120311_1_college-costs-rise-kayla-heard-college-attendance

    1. Re:Should we have an A GED For college? by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1

      http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-03-11/news/ct-oped-0311-page-20120311_1_college-costs-rise-kayla-heard-college-attendance

      Hmm... from that article:

      "These are jobs that do not require higher-level learning skills, critical thinking skills, or writing skills or anything of that nature," [Vedder, education expert] said in a telephone interview. [snip]

      Let's go a step further, says Vedder.

      "As college costs rise," he said, "people are asking: Aren't there cheaper ways of certifying competence and skills to employers?"

      Hmm... so, we want to "certify" the "competence" of someone for an employer for a job that does not require "higher-level learning skills, critical thinking skills, or writing skills or anything of that nature." Isn't that called a high school diploma? Or, maybe even an 8th-grade graduation certificate? Seriously. You should not need a bachelor's degree to work in the sort of job described here. In fact, you shouldn't even need a high-school diploma for a job that doesn't require communication skills, writing skills, etc.

      Only one of my grandparents graduated high school, and most of my grandparents' siblings didn't graduate either. Most only completed 4-8 years of school. But I've read the letters they wrote to each other during WWII, which often show a better command of English than many college undergraduates whose papers I've graded. I saw what they accomplished in their lives. I also know that the ones who actually completed high school were prepared to go out and get a job that DID require some writing and communication skills, as well as some critical thinking.

      No -- we absolutely should NOT have a GED for college. We need to stop this ridiculous expansion of credentials, and we need to hold to higher standards for middle school and high school. If a person with a high school diploma isn't qualified for a job that does NOT require "higher-level learning skills, critical thinking skills, or writing skills or anything of that nature," what the heck is that person qualified to do? And if the answer is "nothing," then why did this person spend 13 years in the educational system?

  18. Right non online schools are pushly about transfer by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    They pull BS like

    ‘Well, sure, you completed English composition, but you didn’t take our class,’ and sort of cheating students out of transfer credits by insisting that they retake essentially the same classes,”

    And in some cases the sates had to pass laws forcing colleges to take community college credits.

  19. Headhunting by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 1

    I asked one of the edX higher-ups (not Dr. Agarwal) about this.

    Apparently, there's a lot of interest from companies looking for good talent. For example, people who score in the upper 10% of a high-tech course would be of interest to many companies. Especially in today's market, where putting out a job listing will get thousands of inappropriate resumes.

    IIRC, the top 2% of the original AI course (Udacity, not edX) students could optionally have their resume sent to Google for consideration.

    The edX higher-up was of the opinion that the future of high-tech hiring would be in the form of online course grades - you would list the courses you took and the grades you got as part of your resume. Companies would advertize for people who had taken specific courses and received certain grades.

    1. Re:Headhunting by peter303 · · Score: 1

      I dont think HR would be interested in the grades of single course. That is a pipe dream. I probably took 40 courses at MIT and another 25 Stanford. And the only time specific course came up were for summer jobs.

  20. Internationalization and multilingual support by gwstuff · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Do you foresee such courses to be conducted primarily in English? In the long run, how do you see them being made accessible to speakers of other languages?
    One possibility is to get them dubbed by translators, but then there is the inevitable loss in translation. Can one imagine setting up a network around the world and get the best professors record lectures in their native language.

  21. Collaboration is OK in online courses by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 1

    I've been in several online courses.

    The honor code doesn't disallow you from helping someone else through a problem, it disallows you from solving the problem for the other person.

    We see this all the time in the discussion forums - someone comes in with "I don't know how to do this", and everyone jumps in to help. If it's a homework problem we can rephrase, use analogy, and solve a similar problem... but we can't outright give the answer or the exact steps for solving.

  22. What about trades / tech school like skills that a by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2

    What about trades / tech school like skills that are not really the best fit for an 4+ year college setting but have jobs that want the collgle credentials when some with HS and on job training / trades / tech school can do the job?

  23. Ph.D in Computer Science? by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

    I am very interested in considering the process to get my Ph.D. in Computer Science, online?

  24. certification by markhahn · · Score: 2

    People tend to focus on surface issues when considering how traditional Higher Education (HE) will relate to Online Education (OE). Things like the concept of lectures, or the character of universities if research and teaching are severed.

    But much of the value (and much of an instructor's effort) actually goes toward establishing some measure of competency of the student: a grade. Other comments here have mentioned Honor Code, for instance, but that's not so much a problem as simply an attempt to ensure that a face-to-face course's grading is accurately assigning competence to individuals. for OE, it's even more natural to seek some form of collaborative learning (or outside assistance), especially if the OE course is self-paced. And really, why shouldn't a student simply continue to take the OE course until they are competent (or give up)? In which case, the import of an OE course is mainly in the competency testing - it's certification aspect.

    So, is certification the way that traditional HE institutions become relevant to the future where everything is OE?

  25. Will professors be replaced by actors? by theodp · · Score: 1

    As production value becomes more important , will professors eventually be replaced by actors who may not have a command of the material, but can use a well-written script to deliver course material in a more engaging fashion?

  26. Online vs offline by cliffjumper222 · · Score: 1

    As a hiring manager, I would not care if a candidate had completed their degree online or offline so long as it was a real degree (we can test some things, but the whole point of a qualification is that it's supposed to mean something). However, there seems to be a big reluctance by established universities to give degrees based on these online courses so far. What needs to change for that to happen and will it ever?

  27. Are Big Data the secret ingredient of MOOCs? by HommeDeJava · · Score: 1

    Greetings Dr Agarwal,

    The invisible part of MOOCs is the massive collection of data on the behavior of students. Here, we're talking about Learning Analytics and Big Data which should be used to improve the next generation of MOOCs. This is a common practice of Web 2.0, the improvement process à la Google that exploits the data of its millions of users to improve its search engine. Here, students' data are a goldmine.

    It is not easy for a teacher to find the sources of confusion and less effective pedagogical approaches from the small samples of data collected with a class of 20 students each year. Moreover, those students are pretty similar (the sample is statistically pretty homogenous). At the contrary, a MOOC with its thousands of students from all around the world and with very different backgrounds can use effective statistical data mining methods to detect problems and improve teaching. MOOC can also use machine learning to discover situations (or patterns) where students have common problems, in order to present evidence or explanations to help them.

    More, compared to human, a computer never gets angry and it is always ready to resume its explanations, making it an ideal teaching tutor.

    Do you see the potential for continuous improvement of MOOCs mainly due to Big Data, the secret ingredient of MOOCs in the long term?

    Claude Coulombe
    Montréal