Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Could Coursera be peaking?

I have to say that I think MOOCs are great.  I love their simplicity, their scale and the potential flexibility in how they can be used.  I admire what Coursera have done and probably like many would be thrilled if our little institute was asked to join them.  Well that's not gonna happen!  So it gives us the impression that Coursera is exclusive.  Combine that with their closed approach to content ownership and many people's reservations about their monetisation of user data and it does leave you with a feeling of discomfort.  Could that be a problem for them?  It is significant to note that Stanford, the birthplace of Coursera, has decided to join EdX, a much more open initiative. (or is it the other way round?).  If the more prestigious institutions become worried about involvement with an overtly commercial MOOC company, perhaps they may be more comfortable with more open solutions which will both allow them to reach large numbers and clearly maintain their public service credentials.  Like Apple and the mp3 player, Coursera may have made the existing idea of MOOCs mainstream, but somewhat like Android, it may be overtaken now by a more open model.

2 comments:

  1. Hi, Brian, I totally agree with you. There are three models, and the so called Dewey model is the best one for Linux users and teachers who like and show Open Content. P2PU.org is the university for the Mozilla Foundation and that is one of the best solution for some kind of studies. If we go towards Social Learning, P2P University is a must-analyze model. Coursera and Udemy are based in the market model and EdX and MITx in the Open model. I think we can call the Dewey's one the Community model...

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  2. Hi Gorka. It's also interesting to note that 3 universities have "backed away" from working with 2U (formerly 2tor) a creator of highly exclusive online online courses.
    http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/17/three-universities-back-away-plan-pool-courses-online

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