Rounding off week 2, in week 3

So far learning by moocing has been an interesting experience. I chose to try out Coursera's MOOC offer after checking out other online offers, and even a Norwegian MOOC offer which I believe is organised through NTNU - the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. (Two of their employees recently won the Nobel Prize in Medicine - congratulations!)

MOOCing is something like taking an online corse. But without the credit (some courses do offer some sort of statement, but not this one), without the socialising in person (the all important milieu for learning and critically questioning things), and without the high stakes/low threshold problem (it doesn't cost anything to take the course, so t doesn't cost you anything to drop out either). Funnily enough, I am actually rounding off week 2 in week 3, so yes, I am lagging behind already and I am not even half way through the course. So it is really up to you, and what you want to get out of it that is the real test as to whether you will complete a MOOC or not. Nobody is looking over your shoulder.

Still, you do interact with a whole range of people from different background and from all over the world. So even though you don't get the social bonding, the social glue that a university setting offers, you still get to pick from other people's thoughts. More people don't necessarily think better, but they do think more, so if you are willing to sift through a good bit of superficial thinking, you can find some good stuff in there, too. I have - so far at least - gotten really lucky with my net meetings with the other students. Interesting reflections based on their experiences from all over the world.

I find the reading material a bit lacking - or perhaps it is just too little and not rigorous enough for my liking, even though I really appreciate the little films and the other net based offers that the University of London have made for this MOOC. But, truth be told, I don't think I would have found the time to read any longer material than what we already have, either.

One odd reflection is that I have come across an enormous amount of International Baccalaureate people on this MOOC. Either teachers, old pupils, new pupils, headmasters or students. I would like to know if there are more IB people on this course than what is normal on similar MOOCs and if so, why, or if more IB related people do MOOCs in general. I am putting that one out there for someone to look into.