Author: rbordner2015

MOOC Costs-Benefits: The Student-Consumer

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The student (or more accurately for most) or consumer is supposed to be the big beneficiary of the MOOC environment.  The 2012-13 hype was of unlimited access to every course, all taught by the best in each discipline, leading to effortless learning by any one globally at their own time and pace.  As with almost everything, the reality is of course much more complex.  So part 2 of the Benefit-cost list:

  • STUDENT-CONSUMERS:

Benefits: Consumer-driven model, customer driven selection, consumption

  • Comparison shopping-course materials available to all, 24/7, no risk of unknown in taking class
  • No distance issues, no limitation of ‘only nearby campus’
  • Ultimate ‘commuter student’, little wasted time

Costs: Student must be self-motivated, have excellent time-task discipline

  • Steep learning curve with a lack of support services (writing assistance)
  • Need to have language/grammar skills in place prior to class—all courses are writing intensive (via blog/text dialogs/email posting)
  • Able to work effectively w/o group support, w/o strong social interaction

From the standpoint of an educator at a very unique institution, one of only 3-4 institutions listed as Hawaiian-Pacific Islander focused, I see a major failing in the current MOOC model.  The large proportion of the student-consumers that Hewlett Foundation and other groups built the original MOOC model on the desire to provide access to quality higher education to the global community, specifically those who would otherwise not have access to such education.  From our standpoint in the Pacific, a major problem is that this same population does not have the language/grammar skills to maximize their investment–while they can consume some of the materials, though comprehension may be an issue, the main problem comes with the desire for proof of completion (certification-credits).  Their ability to communicate effectively (and more importantly their perception that they can do so) is compromised.  Realistically in the modern world the validation of knowledge is as important as the consumption-understanding gained.  The use of exclusively elitist institutions globally in the initial MOOC development makes this gap even more striking, and is the major factor driving our initiative to move institutions with a richer understanding of these challenged potential scholars into their MOOC world.

A quick and dirty Cost-Benefit analysis of the MOOC world, Part 1: Universities

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Much of this blog will be devoted to the ‘world of the MOOC’ as this is a major direction we are taking on at Chaminade Behavioral Sciences.  To make sense of what is going on in 2015 globally, I have been consuming materials generated about MOOCs and also enrolled in a excellent MOOC offered by Univ. of Edinburgh’s Education Dept. entitled “E-Learning and Digital Culture”, available on Coursera.  Not only is the course interesting, but the quality of the video productions and course materials shows a great deal of thought on the part of the course faculty.  As a result I came up with a short benefits-cost list which I will present in parts below.  The first is the University POV–they are the drivers in the MOOC ‘movement’?? with a number of different agendas, the most recent being the ASU undergraduate initiative [http://asuonline.asu.edu/online-degree-programs/undergraduate].  I see the following as key issues:

For The UNIVERSITY:

Benefits: PR—current MOOC model is based on elitist institutions, so membership implies elitist status

  • The Institution can advertise products to a new global audience for little cost
  • Image of intellectual competencies in course offerings
  • The Institution can present and develop a brand image
  • Online visibility can be useful in driving traditional enrollment
  • Avoid physical plant limitations—infinitely large classes (UEdinburgh MOOC 20,000+ enrollment/less than 300 active students)
  • Collapse of location/distance issues—a small regional campus now has global visibility and accessibility
  • A common perception among college administrators that MOOCs of major cost savings and lower risk (don’t need minimum number of student seat-time for course to be profitable)—
  • On-demand education, all courses automatically offered as needed, all ready to go 24/7

Costs: Substantial persistent infrastructure costs (server housing, digital maintenance)

  • Persistent ‘back-end’ costs (persistent tech support)
  • Video production costs
  • Direct labor costs (faculty-TA-staff time)
  • Intellectual property rights costs, “syndication rights” to persistent MOOC presence by ‘builders’ [i.e., faculty]
  • Smaller, less prestigious institutions are now in direct competition with the top national and international universities (i.e., ASU undergraduate initiative attraction to Nevada community college students)

There are certainly other benefits-costs, but in reviewing the literature I see little discussion of all the cumulative factors, especially as the MOOC issue has become both polarized and simplified, with highly emotive (oftentimes moving into evangelical) diatribes on both sides.  The Edinburgh course does a good job of illustrating the simplistic nature of much of this discussion.

A Step into the Digital World

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The first small steps into the exposed digital world, driven by the need to get to grips with the future of online education.  While I’ve spent several years studying symbolic identity in structures in Second Life, that has the advantage of being both abstract and relatively anonymous.  Adding a blog removes those comfort zones.  Ironically it’s driven by joining a U. Edinburgh MOOC entitled E-Learning-Digital Cultures which requires a blog.  So we’ll see how it goes.