ILP "Participation" - MOOC

For my independent learning project, I participated in a MOOC. I utilized the website EDX.org, which offers a wide variety of MOOC courses on a wide variety of subjects. Using the program was very simple. I created an account for free and enrolled in my first course. As a history major, I decided to enroll in the "History of Violence" course offered by Newcastle college. I found it incredible to be able to be enrolled in a course taught by Australian professors, despite being in the united states. To begin, you take a pre-course survey which establishes who you are, where you are, and why you are taking the course. After this, I watched many of the videos and began to develop a strong base knowledge in the subject matter. The course breaks into three weeks, and there is an exam at the end to assess knowledge. If one were to pay $49, they could be given an official certificate signifying completion of the course from EdX and the college through which the course is being offered. There is also a discussion participation component in which you can collaborate and participate in a discussion with fellow students.

I found this learning experience to be very rewarding. I think that being able to study at ones own pace offers many benefits to learners on unique time schedules. This program and similar programs of this nature would allow students of all ages to learn in ways that work with their schedules and work. This classroom offers the same benefits as homework, but is more enriching and can give a full education to those who seek to learn. The videos were very in-depth and even have systems built in to help disabled learners (such as transcripts for the deaf). I thoroughly enjoyed my experience participating in this MOOC. Below is a screenshot of the course as it appeared during one of the lectures I took.


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