For Aliens in MoocLand : What is an MOOC ?

MOOCs (pronounced "mook" or "moos" or "em oo oo see" or however the hell you want to say) is expanded as Massive Open Online Course(s). They are courses that are provided on the Internet through a virtual classroom. They have been dubbed as the next big thing in education. 

A MOOC basically contains video lectures, usually interleaved with quizzes, an online grader to grade your assignments and a forum for classroom like discussion.

Have a look at this pic from Wikipedia, I hope you'll get it:

Now, what is so awesome about MOOCs? Have a look at this YouTube video or read on.

1. Open to All

MOOCs don't have age limits and neither do they ask for eligibility certificates. You can join any course you want - no strings attached (No, not the movie but kinda like that)

2. Quality Content

Many of us are stressed with the fact that what we learn at college is not good enough. Indian? read this report by a parliamentary panel.
MOOCs come with quality content. Quality content is not a part of the MOOC definition, but, so far, they seem synonymous. You get to learn from dream universities and outstanding instructors like Peter Norvig (co-author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach who teaches Artificial Intelligence course at Udacity).

3. Free (*conditions apply)

Don't get freaked out by the "*conditions apply". Joining a course, learning from them and earning a certificate of completion is free in almost all (except this one I hope). You need to pay if you want college credit or if you want to write proctored exams.

4. Freedom - You choose what to do !!

This is not conventional school. You can browse around, watch videos, answer questions and solve problems. In whatever order you wish. And if you don't wan't to continue, you can just leave it.

5. Always available

The course, between the deadlines, is always available. You don't need to follow timetables as you do in regular school. If you can't go to sleep you can try playing with the course material.

6. Connect

The forums are one of the most amazing things about MOOCs. You ask questions, answer them and participate in discussions. You also meet amazing people from all over the world whom you can connect with.

7. Engaging

Videos are unusually short. Most are shorter than 20 minutes. On Udacity they are less than 5 minutes. Between videos you'll find quizzes and small problems that'll keep you engaged. So, no boredom.

8. Get Noticed by prospective recruiters

Recruiters buy information about students who can be prospective employees from MOOC providers, which shows the seriousness of head-hunters towards Online Courses. Also, a MOOC certificate on your resume shows your skills. But more than that, it tells that you are a goal oriented person.

Criticism:

Different people different views. As always there are people who criticize. And criticism is necessary for development.

1. MOOCs won't last

Critics say that MOOC providers have no sustainable source of revenue and thus will not last long. But who knows ? Some genius might be out there who is figuring out how to make money out of it. In fact Bob Natiello writes in the Wharton Magazine, University of Pennsylvania that "right business model can make MOOCs sustainable".

2. Forums are counter-productive

Some MOOC forums are indeed confusing. You might easily get lost between threads. But it is just a matter of time before it is improved. After all the human civilization has come so far starting from log wheels and stone tools.

3. Credits are mostly for American universities

Paid credits earned through MOOCs are mostly valid only in American universities. We are still some time away from when MOOCs become a worldwide norm and universities start accepting them.

So,  what next?

I say point your mouse to one of the following and get MOOCed.

edx : If you want a rigorous, time bound course with roughly 9-10 hours of weekly load, this is where you should go. Founded by MIT and Harvard, many other universities have joined edx.

coursera : Don't find a course on edx ? Try coursera. It has more than 50 universities providing courses and hundreds of courses to choose from.

Udacity : If you are a lazy person and love freedom from schedules, then this is the best place to go. All courses on Udacity are self paced. Another awesome fact about Udacity is that most courses are centered around a project. Thus you build while you learn.

NoveED : Born out of Stanford University's Venture Labs, it focuses on teaching through collaboration and real world projects.

Here's a complete list of MOOC providers.

Happy MOOCing !!