MOOCs and career qualifications
| Published | October 2016 |
| Book title | The Evolution and Evaluation of Massive Open Online Courses: MOOCs in Motion Chapter 5, Pages 83-101 |
| Series | The Cultural and Social Foundations of Education |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan US |
| Country | United States, North America |
ABSTRACT
Higher education offers 'secondary educational benefits' – credits and diplomas – which serve as job and career qualifications providing access to advantageous careers and social positions. Critics argue that MOOCs cannot provide such benefits. Developments since 2012 blunt these critiques. The first section of this chapter considers the contribution of MOOC certificates to diploma-based credentials when accepted for transfer credit. The second section then considers stand-alone MOOC-based qualifications such as Udacity 'nano-degrees', ALISON 'diplomas', Coursera 'specializations' and edX 'mini-masters'. The chapter ends with an examination of MOOC certificates and badges as components of digital capability portfolios. The conclusion is that bundling of learning experiences including MOOC certificates in personalized portfolios may fit the occupational credential needs of many learners better than college diplomas in the emerging 'gig economy'.| Keywords | competency-based learning · digital portfolios · MOOC certificates · nano-degrees · occupational qualifications · transfer credit |
| Published at | New York |
| ISBN | 978-1-349-85204-8 |
| Refereed | Does not apply |
| Rights | © The Author(s) 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1057/978-1-349-85204-8_5 |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-85204-8_5 |
| Export options | BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar |
Viewed by 41 distinct readers
CLOUD COMMUNITY REVIEWS
The evaluations below represent the judgements of our readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cloud editors.
Click a star to be the first to rate this document
▶ POST A COMMENT
SIMILAR RECORDS
Three contributions of MOOCs
Waks, Leonard J.
MOOCs can add value to higher education in three ways. First, MOOCs can benefit students and their families by improving the 'value proposition' of the investment in higher education. Second, MOOCs can help colleges and ...
Match: Waks, Leonard J.; United States; North America
What are MOOCs?
Waks, Leonard J.
The large MOOC platforms were introduced against the background of the occupational and educational crises after 2008. The first Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, were introduced in 2007 and entered the higher ...
Match: Waks, Leonard J.; United States; North America
MOOCs and educational value
Waks, Leonard J.
The term 'educational value' may be used to refer to several distinct kinds of value, which fit together in a complex pattern. This chapter reviews the most important kinds of value and then constructs a conception of ...
Match: Waks, Leonard J.; United States; North America
The economic crisis and the rise of MOOCs
Waks, Leonard J.
When the major MOOC platforms were established in 2012, the economy and higher education were in crisis as a result of the 2008 financial collapse. Also, due to the long-term shift from industrial to information ...
Match: Waks, Leonard J.; United States; North America
The primary educational value of MOOCs
Waks, Leonard J.
The New York Times declared 2012 'The Year of the MOOC'; 2013 was the year of the rebound – when criticisms mounted and the MOOC hype balloon burst. Critics claimed that MOOCs were worthless both in narrowly ...
Match: Waks, Leonard J.; United States; North America
Free textbooks gain support among campus tech leaders
Wexler, Ellen
COLLEGE TECHNOLOGY officials appear more optimistic these days about open-source textbooks and open educational resources –teaching and learning materials that can be used at no cost. According to the latest ...
Match: United States; North America
United States: State department expands access to open educational resources in the Middle East and North Africa
Mena Report
The U.S. Department of State is sponsoring a special exchange program on Open Educational Resources (OER) for education leaders in the Middle East and North Africa. Open Educational Resources are ...
Match: United States; North America
Credentials for open learning: Scalability and validity
Hoffman, Mika; Olmsted, Ruth
The authors of this study advocate separating credentialing from the learning process as a path to greater scalability and better measurement of what independent learners learn from OER. They address the challenge of ...
Match: transfer credit; United States; North America
3 legitimate reasons why faculty aren’t using OER
Stansbury, Meris
Issues of definition, copyright, and ease of use are stalling widespread adoption.
Match: United States; North America
Use of open educational resources in an era of common standards: A case study on the use of EngageNY
Kaufman, Julia; Davis, John; Wang, Elaine; Thompson, Lindsey; et al.
The purpose of this report is to better understand the uses of EngageNY in order to shed light on the channels through which open educational resources (OER) could better support teachers and the implementation of state ...
Match: United States; North America
