Have any of you attempted a 'Massive Open Online Course,' or MOOC? And if so, which one(s)?

2015-01-12T15:56:27-05:00

This topic appeared to be all the rage last year, now, and I assume onward into the future. On the business school side, there was talk of MOOCs stripping b-schools of talented propects who might elect a free, world-class education versus paying the $60,000+ (and $100K+ for many of the elite schools).

I will likely continue my studies through taking MOOCs once I'm done with my current schooling IOT remain up-to-speed on business-related concepts. I'm wondering how easy/difficult it may be to complete these courses.

If you're unfamiliar with MOOCs, you may get a quick definition here: http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=mooc . You may also check out a MOOC tracker to see if any courses suit your fancy here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/039fb95a-161c-11e3-a57d-00144feabdc0.html

Mooc Definition from Financial Times Lexicon

Response by CPT Zachary Brooks made Jan 12 at 2015 4:00 PM

2015-01-12T16:00:36-05:00

To my understanding these courses can be open ended and generally work similar to many online college classes with more freedom of time and learning. Some can have an open forum of discussion and access to an instructor, while some can have fixed time frames. The appeal to a course such as this is generally going to be the flexibility of the course and the time required as well as the massive amount of knowledge and opinions available for the classes.

I have been considering a few of these. I have seen many of the technical certifications available and I feel they might be a good study addition to whatever you may be doing on your own.

This is something on my list for the near future, and I may pursue it while deployed this year.

Response by SSgt Josh Fritz made Jan 12 at 2015 4:29 PM

2015-01-12T16:29:56-05:00

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member , I have taken several MOOC courses on Coursera.org. I'm currently enrolled in Intro to Engineering Mechanics (Georgia Institue of Tech) and Artificial Intelligence Planning(University of Edinburgh).
I have taken Intro to Databases, R Programming, Advanced Competitive Strategy, Competitive Strategy, Computational Investing, Algorithms, and An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python.

Coursera has been great for myself and I am constantly telling people about it. Education is something I enjoy and Coursera allows me to try different courses I may not have otherwise taken at a traditional University. Do keep in mind that these courses will challenge you. I often found my time spent was on par or over what their recommended hours spent are (~4-12 hours / week). Good luck in your pursuit for higher education!

Response by LTC David S. Chang, ChFC®, CLU® made Jan 12 at 2015 4:39 PM

2015-01-12T16:39:29-05:00

MOOCs are the greatest thing since sliced bread! The link below has some great information on free MOOCs from elite universities

http://artofthinkingsmart.com/moocs/

MOOCs: Free Online Education With Elite Universities - The Art of Thinking Smart

Understanding MOOCs, free online education with elite universities