Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Alan Levine has a good take on "what are called the "AI-MOOCs" or better, Cathy Finn-Derecki's delicious acronyum 'EdUCKA'." They are, he writes, "to me, the offering of courses as some sort of product." The criticism is, of course, that while "the focus is on the product the course, the numbers… what part of the educational experience is being left out? It's the personal attention, the guidance, the social fabric for the students." I think you can push back too far in this direction - the argument begins to sound like the defense of traditional in-class education. Sure, just throwing up some videos and onlize quizzes doesd not constitute education - we all knew that. But what's missing isn't "the personal attention, the guidance" - if you need that, get a dog. Community, interaction, activities, expression - these are what transform content into education, and these are what the connectivist MOOCs add to the mix.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2024 02:23 a.m.

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