Reflections on my MOOC experience

The E-Learning and Digital Culture MOOC officially ended today, with the crowd source grades and comments revealed. I have no doubt that discussions among class members will continue, and I have much to think about, particularly about moving what I learned into my own teaching and learning.

In this post, I outline my observations about the experience and a plan for the future for this blog, for though we do not know the future of the MOOC (and previous posts make my skepticism clear) we do know that online learning is here to stay.

The Human Touch in the Online Course

This week's MOOC readings introduced us to the idea of "human touch" and asked whether or not technology allows us to "reassert the human." In "Heart to Heart," a commercial for BT, two sons worry about their mom - first, they talk to one another (and their mom) through chat, and then one son calls his mom and talks with her over the telephone.

MOOCs in the News: Uptopian and Dystopian

The MOOC received a decent amount of attention this week in United States' non-academy focused media: Salon's Andrew Leonard proclaimed "The Internet will not ruin college," and Slate's Will Oremus wrote an article about the "MOOC Meltdown" where an "Online Class on How To Teach Online Classes Goes Laughably Awry." Thomas Friedman, in the New York Times, discussed the revolution that is the MOOC, and not surprisingly, academics responded (mostly negatively) to his comments through letters to the editor.

Technological Dystopias and Education

This week's main post addressed the dystopia of technology: the ways in which it can take over our lives; our willingness to worship it regardless of the negative consequences to ourselves, our environment, or other people; and its ability to dictate what types of information we get.