What do you think?
Rate this book
Everything you always wanted to know about MOOCs: an account of massive open online courses and what they might mean for the future of higher education.
The New York Times declared 2012 to be "The Year of the MOOC" as millions of students enrolled in massive open online courses (known as MOOCs), millions of investment dollars flowed to the companies making them, and the media declared MOOCs to be earth-shaking game-changers in higher education. During the inevitable backlash that followed, critics highlighted MOOCs' high dropout rate, the low chance of earning back initial investments, and the potential for any earth-shaking game change to make things worse instead of better. In this volume in the Essential Knowledge series, Jonathan Haber offers an account of MOOCs that avoids both hype and doomsaying. Instead, he provides an engaging, straightforward explanation of a rare phenomenon: an education innovation that captures the imagination of the public while moving at the speed of an Internet startup.
Haber explains the origins of MOOCs, what they consist of, the controversies surrounding them, and their possible future role in education. He proposes a new definition of MOOCs based on the culture of experimentation from which they emerged, and adds a student perspective--missing in most MOOC discussion. Haber's unique Degree of Freedom experiment, during which he attempted to learn the equivalent of a four-year liberal arts degree in one year using only MOOCs and other forms of free education, informs his discussion.
Haber urges us to avoid the fallacy of thinking that because MOOCs cannot solve all educational challenges they are not worth pursuing, and he helps us understand what MOOCs--despite their limitations--still offer the world. His book is required reading for anyone trying to sort out the competing claims, aspirations, and accusations that color the MOOC debate.
The New York Times declared 2012 to be "The Year of the MOOC" as millions of students enrolled in massive open online courses (known as MOOCs), millions of investment dollars flowed to the companies making them, and the media declared MOOCs to be earth-shaking game-changers in higher education. During the inevitable backlash that followed, critics highlighted MOOCs' high dropout rate, the low chance of earning back initial investments, and the potential for any earth-shaking game change to make things worse instead of better. In this volume in the Essential Knowledge series, Jonathan Haber offers an account of MOOCs that avoids both hype and doomsaying. Instead, he provides an engaging, straightforward explanation of a rare phenomenon: an education innovation that captures the imagination of the public while moving at the speed of an Internet startup.
Haber explains the origins of MOOCs, what they consist of, the controversies surrounding them, and their possible future role in education. He proposes a new definition of MOOCs based on the culture of experimentation from which they emerged, and adds a student perspective--missing in most MOOC discussion. Haber's unique Degree of Freedom experiment, during which he attempted to learn the equivalent of a four-year liberal arts degree in one year using only MOOCs and other forms of free education, informs his discussion.
Haber urges us to avoid the fallacy of thinking that because MOOCs cannot solve all educational challenges they are not worth pursuing, and he helps us understand what MOOCs--despite their limitations--still offer the world. His book is required reading for anyone trying to sort out the competing claims, aspirations, and accusations that color the MOOC debate.
- GenresNonfictionEducation
241 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
15 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Haber
4 books18 followersJonathan Haber is an educational researcher, writer and recovering entrepreneur working in the field of technology-enabled learning and teacher education. His Degree of Freedom One Year BA project, which involved trying to learn the equivalent of a BA in just twelve months using only Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other forms of free learning, has been featured in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Wall Street Journal and other major media sources. His writing on education-related topics has also appeared in Slate, EdSurge and other publications.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 21, 2024
The book starts from the beginning with a real educational purpose. Aristotle, formal logic, basic principles, and the development of the subject. And then the author asks: can critical thinking be taught? Sure - it is more than 2000 years of experience. And then ... can we assess or evaluate progress? Analyzing various tests and tools, the author is skeptical about their efficiency. And as a conclusion, I would say, using bad logic, that one of the proposed answers - to provide educators working in the classroom with the
resources they need to succeed - is not good enough to enlight where do we go from there question.
resources they need to succeed - is not good enough to enlight where do we go from there question.
February 25, 2018
While the book is a bit out of date (MOOCs have moved along since it was published) I still found it to be a good introduction to the phenomenon of the (albeit without really looking too in-depth at research done in MOOCs).
August 24, 2018
Overall a nice little book, but outdated at parts, and I feel like the author's bias is present, most visibly in the part parts about cheating (at university or in MOOCs).
December 5, 2014
Great little book covering the hype and the hope of online education. I hope Haber revisits the "state of the MOOC" in the upcoming years. Educators of all levels should read this as a primer on the MOOC debate.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews