New Republic Online Article: the University v. the Internet

[Delibrarian]

I'm increasingly concerned about MOOCs from a diversity/access perspective, and this recent article in New Republic cemented some of the thoughts I'd been having about how MOOCs do come with a particular threat to hard-won efforts to provide programs to support the ability of economically disadvantaged people to access elite institutions. Michael Crow of AZ State U. sums it up for me in his worry that MOOCs provide a model where " Rich kids get taught by professors and poor kids get taught by computers." I'm concerned that these programs perhaps provide an excuse for Ivy-League institutions to move away from enrollment outreach and need-blind admission programs because they can make the case that their programs are "available". It's not a perfect example, but I have a very good friend at MIT Sloan. I suppose that I could access a lot of the course material that she is experiencing in-person via edX. It would be preposterous to suggest that my experience would be in any way close to hers. I certainly wouldn't get the privileged access to recruiters at FaceBook and Google that she's enjoyed, the relationship building with future leaders, hands-on experience and opportunities to intern with global business leaders etc.. The delivery of content is but one part of higher education, and the conversation about MOOCs often seems to suggest that it is the only part that matters.

[Ilene Frank]

Hmmm...I think many people will never have the opportunity to enroll MIT Sloan or attend any other bricks and mortar institution of higher learning. So if that's not a possibility, Would it be preposterous to think that you could learn something even if you had to miss out on campus experience?  

On Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 11:48 AM, Delibrarian <richa...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm increasingly concerned about MOOCs from a diversity/access perspective, and this recent article in New Republic cemented some of the thoughts I'd been having about how MOOCs do come with a particular threat to hard-won efforts to provide programs to support the ability of economically disadvantaged people to access elite institutions. Michael Crow of AZ State U. sums it up for me in his worry that MOOCs provide a model where " Rich kids get taught by professors and poor kids get taught by computers." I'm concerned that these programs perhaps provide an excuse for Ivy-League institutions to move away from enrollment outreach and need-blind admission programs because they can make the case that their programs are "available". It's not a perfect example, but I have a very good friend at MIT Sloan. I suppose that I could access a lot of the course material that she is experiencing in-person via edX. It would be preposterous to suggest that my experience would be in any way close to hers. I certainly wouldn't get the privileged access to recruiters at FaceBook and Google that she's enjoyed, the relationship building with future leaders, hands-on experience and opportunities to intern with global business leaders etc.. The delivery of content is but one part of higher education, and the conversation about MOOCs often seems to suggest that it is the only part that matters.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MOOCs and Librarianship" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to moocs-and-librari...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to moocs-and-l...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
 
 

--

Ilene Frank, ilene...@gmail.com
Dir. of Library Services Ilene...@uopeople.org
Adjunct librarian, HCC-Dale Mabry campus ifr...@hccfl.edu
Adjunct Assoc. Prof. UMUC Ilene...@faculty.umuc.edu
Tampa Library, Univ. of South Florida, Professor Emerita ifr...@usf.edu

Librarian staff member http://writingcommons.org  il...@writingcommons.org

Ilene Pratt on Second Life 
http://sites.google.com/site/ilenefrank
Ask me about University of the People

[Delibrarian]

Sure you could learn "something" but the value of it would be partial- limited only to the information. There are some learners who participate in higher education solely for the benefit of exposure to new information and the acquisition of new skills, but most people who are involved in higher education are expecting to be able to receive the tangible benefits that are overtly or implicitly promised- that is, a certification of some kind that will potentially enable them to engage in an improved socioeconomic status. This should come as no surprise to anyone, because we've built a whole enterprise around making that promise to people and, more importantly, providing programs that enable them to participate in the process. It was a core function of H.E. when it was highly privileged and exclusive, and it's a core function now- perhaps even more so. It's the promise that has enabled the mass fraud known as the for-profit college system, and I believe that there's the implicit threat that MOOCs may become just as big a fraud, enabling organizations to re-segregate themselves for the traditionally privileged by passing off a second-rate product as a realistic alternative which enables them to withdraw the programs that had opened participation in the first place. Separate but equal programs, you might say, divided along class and economic lines.

I don't think it's terribly controversial to suggest that the online education experience is second rate and unsatisfying compared to an education that occurs IRL, with the opportunities for personal and professional networking that IRL or on-campus education provides. The Sloan example is pretty dramatic- I don't think that anyone in my friend's cohort of students who graduate in May didn't have either a job or a business plan with investors lined up six months or more ago. The connections that I made in library school from in-person classes have had tangible benefits for me in a way that my online classes haven't equalled. 

On Monday, April 8, 2013 12:28:18 PM UTC-4, ilene.frank wrote:

Hmmm...I think many people will never have the opportunity to enroll MIT Sloan or attend any other bricks and mortar institution of higher learning. So if that's not a possibility, Would it be preposterous to think that you could learn something even if you had to miss out on campus experience?  

On Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 11:48 AM, Delibrarian <richa...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm increasingly concerned about MOOCs from a diversity/access perspective, and this recent article in New Republic cemented some of the thoughts I'd been having about how MOOCs do come with a particular threat to hard-won efforts to provide programs to support the ability of economically disadvantaged people to access elite institutions. Michael Crow of AZ State U. sums it up for me in his worry that MOOCs provide a model where " Rich kids get taught by professors and poor kids get taught by computers." I'm concerned that these programs perhaps provide an excuse for Ivy-League institutions to move away from enrollment outreach and need-blind admission programs because they can make the case that their programs are "available". It's not a perfect example, but I have a very good friend at MIT Sloan. I suppose that I could access a lot of the course material that she is experiencing in-person via edX. It would be preposterous to suggest that my experience would be in any way close to hers. I certainly wouldn't get the privileged access to recruiters at FaceBook and Google that she's enjoyed, the relationship building with future leaders, hands-on experience and opportunities to intern with global business leaders etc.. The delivery of content is but one part of higher education, and the conversation about MOOCs often seems to suggest that it is the only part that matters
 
 

[Rebecca Hedreen]

I would contest your statement about the online experience. I'm actually in contact with more of my classmates from my online MAEd than from my on ground MLS. In neither case am I still in contact with any of my professors. In both cases I was in school primarily for the certification. While I probably learned more content in the MLS, I had more challenging experiences with the MAEd. For the most part, I enjoyed my online courses--they also eliminated that frustrating issue of thinking of something for discussion 2 hours after class was over! Humor aside, the discussions were definitely better online, with everyone participating, and not dominated by those who raised their hands the fastest or talked the longest.

I'm more concerned with the "digital divide" issues with online education. At my urban university, I work with plenty of students who have neither the computer experience nor the equipment access to adequately handle an online course at the start. For instance, there are few scheduling advantages to an online course if you have to conform to the schedule of computer labs and public libraries for computer access, especially when working full time. You can only "do your classwork at 2 in the morning" (as the marketing says) if you can get on a computer then.

There may well be a division, but I suspect it will not be as simple as you propose. Well off students can afford to go to "good" schools and will be able to supplement their local classes with whatever online courses they wish. Not so well off students, who can afford a decent computer and get computer help, will be able to take online courses and take advantage of the variety and range of courses, even if their on ground opportunities are limited. Poor students will be stuck with whatever is available locally, good or bad.

[JOHN SHANK]

For those of you who would like to learn more about MOOCs and libraries the following conference 

NFAIS | Trends in Higher Education: Content, Services and Business Models, April 26, 2013

will be looking at how MOOCs along with other courseware technologies are being adopted at major colleges and universities. The conference is in Philly but will be broadcast fully online this Friday. Enjoy and feel free to share with any interested listservs or people.

click here to get info. --  http://sco.lt/90yNH7

---

From: "Rebecca Hedreen" &lt;delib...@gmail.com>
To: moocs-and-l...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, April 22, 2013 7:20:21 PM
Subject: Re: [MOOCs and Librarianship] New Republic Online Article: the University v. the Internet