ETSU I noticed has finally gotten into the market of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and I ran across that I thought some of you guys with Doctor in your title might be interested in checking out.
Dr. Cizadlo is a pretty highly respected professor, and the guy actually is more than just a researcher, he does actual teaching.
http://www.css.edu/Online-Studies/About/...urses.html
Hate to use the board to post this, well no I don't because this is good stuff for anyone looking to learn something new that's non sports related.
Personally, I've got mixed feelings about all this, but it's going to happen, one way or another, so ETSU is probably doing the right thing in being part of it.
I encourage anyone to pursue knowledge for it's own sake, or for targeted endpoints, throughout their entire lifetimes. In the way that this is opening knowledge to a wider audience, it's hard to say it's a bad thing. However, don't be shocked, if at some point in the future, there's a natural partial rebound from this direction. Might take a long while, however.
The old saying that you get out of something what you put into it will certainly be true in this realm, but there's just no substitute for in-person class discussions in some fields, and to stimulate thought beyond just what the course material exposes one to. And I also think the 'social interaction' stuff is hard to replace, even if one uses match.com....
I'm probably with you on that, one of the really good things that Dr. C's class offers are CEU's for professionals in the HIIM field (The medical record keeping folks that nobody really knows what they do but it's apparently really important).
As long as they limit the selection of classes and use it as a marketing tool or in ways for people in the professional field to accumulate necessary CEU's, it can be a good thing. Plus it markets the university.
My only problem with it is the idea that you can "buy" credits for $300 after completing the course if you want. I dont care if anyone takes an online class for free for no credit. But I dont like the trend toward just buying a degree, which is what is increasing nationwide
It's interesting that they are starting this. KSU has a school of continuing education where I'm actually taking a course now to try to advance my career. It'd be nice if it transitioned into something more like a MBA but I just don't have time for that in my life right now.