Timothy Pratt warned in 'We Are Creating Walmarts of Higher Education' (The Atlantic Monthly, ) of lower education standards from pressure to reduce costs. As a non-American, I had to look up the Wikipedia entry for "Walmart" to work out what the headline meant. The criticism seems to be of Walmart's treatment of employees, rather than its products. But I suggest that the idea of low cost, no frills education indented to equip graduates for the workforce, rather than academic research career, is not a bad one.
Pratt quotes criticism of Massive Open On-line Courses (MOOCs) for the lack of research on their effectiveness and that they have a low completion rate. But MOOCs are just a new take on older e-learning and distance education courses, for which there are decades of research on their effectiveness. As an on-line higher education student of e-learning, I found that the research shows that e-learning is effective, if done well.
That MOOCs have a low completion rate comes as no surprise. If you have a course with no entry requirements, which costs little or nothing to enrol in and there is no tutor to help the student, then a low completion rate would be expected. The question which needs deeper analysis is what is being aimed to be achieved with the education. MOOCs, in part, appear to be designed as a form of on-line entry test for elite research universities: the small percentage of students who can do well without help are suitable candidates for advanced work. However, a different approach is needed for the bulk of students, who want to be reasonably confident of being able to complete a qualification which will then help them get a job.
Perhaps a better metaphor for new education techniques than Walmart would be Amazon, a company which sells books at low cost on-line, but is also not without criticism of working conditions.
Pratt quotes criticism of Massive Open On-line Courses (MOOCs) for the lack of research on their effectiveness and that they have a low completion rate. But MOOCs are just a new take on older e-learning and distance education courses, for which there are decades of research on their effectiveness. As an on-line higher education student of e-learning, I found that the research shows that e-learning is effective, if done well.
That MOOCs have a low completion rate comes as no surprise. If you have a course with no entry requirements, which costs little or nothing to enrol in and there is no tutor to help the student, then a low completion rate would be expected. The question which needs deeper analysis is what is being aimed to be achieved with the education. MOOCs, in part, appear to be designed as a form of on-line entry test for elite research universities: the small percentage of students who can do well without help are suitable candidates for advanced work. However, a different approach is needed for the bulk of students, who want to be reasonably confident of being able to complete a qualification which will then help them get a job.
Perhaps a better metaphor for new education techniques than Walmart would be Amazon, a company which sells books at low cost on-line, but is also not without criticism of working conditions.
