Interview with Jason Mock, an expert on the Coursera MOOC platform

02/07/2013

-Why should anyone choose a course in Coursera and not in edX or another kind of MOOC platform?

I assume you are asking why someone interested in taking a class (not developing one) should choose a course in Coursera vs. other platforms. Truth is, I do not believe anyone should choose to take any course because of platform alone. Rather, I would suggest that someone interested in education via MOOCs shop around and find the course that best meets their need. Predicting that from a course description page alone may be difficult to do, so I would also suggest registering for all of the MOOCs that look to be good choices, try them out, and stick with the one (or more!) that do, in fact, meet the needs.

-Why are MOOCs so successful? Why do you think there are so many people around the world signing up for MOOCs at present?

   I would first turn the question around by asking what defines success in a MOOC. If success is measured by the large number of registrations for MOOCs, then this is explained through simple economics—a product or service (in this case, the MOOC) of high perceived value (learning from experts in the world) offered for a very low price (free, in most cases). There is also a very low barrier to entry to the MOOC—for Coursera, it is simply providing a name and email address and clicking a button. In fact, it is this no-risk but potential for great reward that also drives registrations so high. But I would argue this does not constitute success. Each institution must define that measure. For some, it may be increased enrollments in traditional programs. Others may merely wish to provide public service. Some might seek a financial return on their investment, but I don't think anyone has a strong model for this, yet. Linking an institution's mission to their own unique definition of success is an important first step.

-The use of technology can serve to improve education and students'learning. Still, some experts suggest that this is not always the case. In what way should we use technology in education to improve the quality of learning?

I often say that we should let the teaching drive the technology and not let the technology drive the teaching. It's certainly true that technology can and should enhance teaching and learning. Technology opens up so many doors that were not possible before. Can you imagine just 10 years ago having as much access to people all around the world in the way we do now with MOOCs? So yes, let us employ technology where the pedagogy can use it, but not change the pedagogy just because there is a "new shiny toy" with which we can play. Sometimes, however, some experimentation is required with new technology in order to better understand how the technology can be applied in an educational setting. That's perfectly fine and I enjoy doing that, but it should be clear that those are educational experiments and as with all experiments, the purpose is to learn something from the experiment. Some educational technology experiments will succeed and mature, while others will fail. If a given course and instructor is willing to take that risk, then let the course be an experiment.