Comments on: Superprofessors are people too. http://moreorlessbunk.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/superprofessors-are-people-too/ "History is more or less bunk." - Henry Ford, 25 May 1916. Mon, 20 May 2013 15:36:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: University teacher http://moreorlessbunk.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/superprofessors-are-people-too/#comment-5710 Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:33:01 +0000 http://moreorlessbunk.wordpress.com/?p=9220#comment-5710 Yesterday, there was a guest lecture that I wanted to catch at my university, and (for a variety of reasons) it was more convenient for me to watch a live streaming version of it at home, as opposed to actually attending.

The streaming was good, with a large portion of the screen showing the power point slides, and a smaller window showing the speaker.

As I watched, my mind wandered a bit, and I tried to figure out why I wasn’t all that engaged. Basically, it was all so… passive.

I wasn’t there. I wasn’t actively involved in the lecture, in terms of being able to sit in the same room as the lecturer, and to ask questions, and to read the lecturer’s body language.

So, I wonder if this isn’t part of the problem with MOOCs. Watching TV isn’t the same as attending a university. One is active, even if it is the low level activeness of actually getting to lecture, and the other is just more screen time.

]]> By: Anne Corner http://moreorlessbunk.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/superprofessors-are-people-too/#comment-5706 Fri, 25 Jan 2013 05:56:38 +0000 http://moreorlessbunk.wordpress.com/?p=9220#comment-5706 I haven*t said anything for while but I can’t let this one go by. There are hundreds of reasons that there is only a 10% completion rate on MOOCs and they mostly have nothing to do with the quality of the education. Here are a few examples: 1) I got sick and fell behind 2) I had job/family responsibilities that got in the way 3) the class went over the holidays and I didn’t have time 4) the material turned out to be above my level 5) the subject wasn’t what I expected 6) my English wasn’t good enough 7) I had already taken this class and just wanted to see how this one was different 8) I had already taken the class from another teacher and just wanted to see how this one was different. I could go on but I think you get the idea.

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