{"id":3739,"date":"2013-12-10T09:26:21","date_gmt":"2013-12-10T16:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/?p=3739"},"modified":"2014-09-12T10:56:19","modified_gmt":"2014-09-12T16:56:19","slug":"bbc-news-harvard-plans-to-boldly-go-with-spocs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2013\/12\/10\/bbc-news-harvard-plans-to-boldly-go-with-spocs\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC News &#8211; Harvard plans to boldly go with &#8216;Spocs&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> &lt; 1<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minute<\/span><\/span><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-24166247\">BBC News &#8211; Harvard plans to boldly go with &#8216;Spocs&#8217;<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>How are &#8220;Spocs&#8221; different from other small private online courses (i.e. the ones we&#8217;ve been doing for well over a decade)? &#8230; Aside from have a sexy new acronym, I mean.<\/p>\n<p>Is it because <em><strong>Harvard<\/strong> <\/em>says it is? Because, honestly, some of us are becoming less and less impressed by Ivy League institutions assuming that if\u00a0<strong>they<\/strong> thought it up, it must be great.<br \/>\nI realize that many have been doing online courses very badly. Many still do. What passes for &#8220;eLearning&#8221; is, in many cases little more than decades old correspondence classes on the web.<\/p>\n<p>Not that that is necessarily bad &#8230;. my mom did an interior design course by correspondence in the 60&#8217;s. It came with all kinds of colour images; house plans; fabric &amp; paint swatches. I remember thinking it was pretty cool.<\/p>\n<p>However, far (FAR) too many online courses fail to make use of the technology that is freely available.<\/p>\n<div class='wp_likes' id='wp_likes_post-3739'><a class='like' href=\"javascript:wp_likes.like(3739);\" title='' ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-likes\/images\/like.png\" alt='' border='0'\/><\/a><span class='text'>Be the first to like.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class='like' ><a href=\"javascript:wp_likes.like(3739);\">Like<\/a><\/div>\n<div class='unlike' ><a href=\"javascript:wp_likes.unlike(3739);\">Unlike<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> &lt; 1<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minute<\/span><\/span>BBC News &#8211; Harvard plans to boldly go with &#8216;Spocs&#8217;. How are &#8220;Spocs&#8221; different from other small private online courses (i.e. the ones we&#8217;ve been doing for well over a decade)? &#8230; Aside from have a sexy new acronym, I &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2013\/12\/10\/bbc-news-harvard-plans-to-boldly-go-with-spocs\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,14],"tags":[388,389,57,15,186],"class_list":["post-3739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-educational-technology","category-general","tag-academia","tag-educational-technology","tag-elearning","tag-higher-education","tag-mooc"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Hsb6-Yj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5926,"url":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2015\/11\/04\/worth-sharing-this-change-will-be-the-end-of-the-open-university-as-we-know-it-education-the-guardian\/","url_meta":{"origin":3739,"position":0},"title":"Worth Sharing: \u2018This change will be the end of the Open University as we know it\u2019 | Education | The Guardian","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"November 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Just because we can doesn't always mean we should. Yes, it is true that more and more people are taking courses online via MOOCs, but do we really know how successful that is? There are a whole host of problems with getting rid of face to face opportunities for online\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academia&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academia","link":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/academia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3483,"url":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2013\/06\/02\/30-or-so-useful-elearning-tools-and-a-few-lists\/","url_meta":{"origin":3739,"position":1},"title":"30 or so eLearning Tools, and a few lists.","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"June 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"From time to time I come across a number of useful resources, and rather than bookmark them (never to be found again), I am putting them in my blog so I can search for them. This is one of those sets. Disclaimer: I have not checked all of these tools\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Computers&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Computers","link":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/computers-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Courselab","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/snap00799.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3126,"url":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2012\/11\/03\/where-ive-been-to-nov-3-2012\/","url_meta":{"origin":3739,"position":2},"title":"Where I&#8217;ve Been (to Nov. 3 2012)","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"November 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"WebQuest Design Patterns This is a list of patterns derived from existing WebQuests that are instructionally solid. To qualify as a design pattern, the lesson should be easily modified to cover different content while using the same basic structure. Each pattern is distinct from the others in terms of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Educational Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Educational Technology","link":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/educational-technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2644,"url":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2012\/08\/22\/what-works-in-classroom-forums-wired-campus-the-chronicle-of-higher-education\/","url_meta":{"origin":3739,"position":3},"title":"What Works in Classroom Forums &#8211; Wired Campus &#8211; The Chronicle of Higher Education","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"August 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"What a Tech Start-Up's Data Say About What Works in Classroom Forums - Wired Campus - The Chronicle of Higher Education. Interesting. This confirms some of my own feelings and experiences. Suggestions: Do not specify a required number of posts. If you are going to grade, then grade for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Educational Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Educational Technology","link":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/educational-technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2551,"url":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2012\/08\/03\/is-online-learning-better-than-f2f\/","url_meta":{"origin":3739,"position":4},"title":"Is Online Learning Better than F2F?","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"August 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been pondering this question for a good number of years. Most online courses still consist largely of readings followed by quizzes. The better ones include video lectures, and the really good ones include include interactive elements. The very best ones include simulations and games and other activities. Whatever the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Educational Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Educational Technology","link":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/educational-technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3882,"url":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2014\/06\/07\/where-ive-been-online-jun-7-2014\/","url_meta":{"origin":3739,"position":5},"title":"Where I&#8217;ve Been Online (Jun 7, 2014)","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"June 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Opinion: Equity and Excellence in Skills and Higher Education in Canada | Canada 2020 \"Canada has been a strong performer in post-secondary education and skills development for many years. On key measures we are at or near the top of international rankings and highly skilled Canadians contribute to economic prosperity,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Educational Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Educational Technology","link":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/educational-technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3739"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3740,"href":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739\/revisions\/3740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}