My friend Chrystal made a comment on my facebook page yesterday talking about a Coursera class she was taking. And I had no idea what Coursera was, so I asked. She explained that it was a site where you could take free online classes. I visited the site in the morning, and immediately began to be reminded of iTunes University. Which I love to dabble in from time to time. I’ve listened to lectures on psychology, music, human development, and children’s literature on their. The thing with iTunes Univeristy, is that I am never held accountable for my learning, and therefore I add a bunch of classes but rarely have the time (nay, make the time. Let’s be honest, the hours spent playing candy crush saga could be spent enriching my brain) to follow through on more than one lecture.
Well, at Coursera, you actually have to DO things to complete the course. You have to actually interact with other humans as well. In their about us section they say ,
“Key ideas include mastery learning, to make sure that you have multiple attempts to demonstrate your new knowledge; using interactivity, to ensure student engagement and to assist long-term retention; and providing frequent feedback, so that you can monitor your own progress, and know when you’ve really mastered the material.”
So, you actually are held accountable for the learning in the online course by interacting, completing assignments, and getting feedback! And, the courses start on a specific date and last for a specified amount of time, so it feels more like a true online course. And did I mention it’s free?
And there are all sorts of courses from all sorts of universities and institutions. A sampling of ones I saw and would love to take are; The Modern and The Postmodern, Online Games: Literature, New Media, and Narratives, Videogames and Learning, and The History of the World since 1300.
Unfortunately, it’s August which is a very busy time for a first year teacher. I have a library to build, a classroom management style to develop, scopes and sequences to determine, and it all needs to start happening now. I have piles of books on teaching from graduate school that I am sifting through. When would I have time to dedicate 2-4 hours in a week to an online class (probably that time I play Candy Crush Saga, ha!)? Not in August.
But then I stumbled upon this course. A course on being a first year teacher, teaching you how to successfully start your year! They had one for elementary teachers and one for secondary teachers! And it starts on August 6th! I’ve decided to commit to the course for my professional development, and to help me as I embark on the beginning of the year. I will keep you up to date on how it goes!
Oh, and for those teachers that might not be first year. Well, Coursera also has an entire group of classes aimed at educators as professional development. Here is the blog post about it.
I think as a teacher, continuing my own education and indulging my curiosity about things that interest me is important. Finding the time to do so is the challenge, but this seems like a really interesting solution. Another thing I really love about this (and iTunes University) is the access issue. These websites give people who don’t or can’t normally have access to courses like this because of age, money, time, or previous education, a way to access information and courses. The better educated our public is, the better society we are. So, I’m a fan already.
Like I said, I’ll let you know how it goes. Feel free to let me know if you’ve done a Coursera course you like as well.
Related articles
- Online Education Startup Coursera Raises $43 Million (blogs.wsj.com)
- A Few TED Talks on Education (dorai.me)
my first year adventure 