Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs have for long filled the gaps between the skills that a student wants to learn and is being taught in their educational institutions. With the digitisation of education, MOOCs are here to stay and support the students who have internet access with meaningful content in a subject of their interest. MOOCs have proved to be a viable tool to ensure that education reaches both the urban and rural students alike while diminishing the boundaries created by geography. Here is how MOOCs are opening new opportunities for students.
1. Personalized learning
MOOCs have created flexibility that enables the students to engage in personalized learning. In-depth learning at their own pace is possible through MOOCs. Many platforms that host MOOCs allow the student to personalize their learning on the basis of the skills that they want to learn and the subject that they are interested in. For instance, students who are preparing for Government Jobs can join courses related to politics and civics to deepen their knowledge on the subject.
2. Helps the student to get a head-start
A student who has enrolled themselves in a college or university is often keen to lay their hands on the course materials and the syllabus of the course. By checking the free MOOCs, the students can start learning everything well in advance which will put them ahead of other fellow students and further, will help them to understand the concept in a much better way when they are actually taught about it in the offline classroom. Both introductory and specialized courses are available on MOOCs which not only help in academic life but also pass Sarkari Result with good ranks. MOOCs allow the students to learn on the topics that they are passionate about well in advance.
3. It is possible to study almost anything
Think of any particular thing that you want to learn about and you will find a relevant MOOC. If you are a computer graduate who wants to learn about poetry, you can enroll yourself in poetry courses through MOOCs. If you are a literature graduate who wants to learn to code, you will find introductory classes of the same in MOOCs. In short, the only thing a student needs to possess for gaining knowledge through MOOCs is their interest.
4. A platform to engage with like-minded people
With the rise of MOOCs all across the globe, the importance of having a dedicated platform for the community was realized and subsequently introduced. Many MOOC platforms have platforms for real-time discussion and forums for additional discussion. Just because MOOCs are held online, it does not mean that one cannot engage with other students. It is now possible to engage in productive discussions through such platforms.
What Are Popular Online MOOCs?
The popularity of MOOCs across the globe can be understood by the following figures. The top 250 most popular MOOC courses have an enrollment that ranges from 160K to 4.5 million. In addition to that, there are 15 online MOOC courses that have more than one million enrollments. 40% of the online MOOCs are related to Business and Humanities. Most of the MOOCs are free and a student is only required to pay a fee if they want a certificate stating that they have successfully completed the courses.
The top five MOOCs courses are Machine Learning from Stanford University, The Science of Well-Being from Yale University, CS50’s Introduction to Computer Science from Harvard University, Learning How To Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects from the University of California and Programming for Everybody from the University of California.
Top MOOCs Platforms
As discussed above, MOOCs are mostly free and a student is only required to pay if they need a verified certificate of compilation. There are plenty of platforms available online that host MOOCs and allow the students to learn at their own pace with the help of pre-recorded lectures. In addition to that, a student can also dive deep by completing weekly assignments to check the knowledge gained through their courses. The top ten MOOC platforms in 2022 are Canvas Network, Cognitive Class, Coursera, edX, FutureLearn, Iversity, Kadenze, Khan Academy, Udacity and Udemy.
MOOCs can be used by the students for supplementing their offline education, gaining new knowledge and skill and earning specialization in a particular subject which can prove to be helpful for advancing the career. With so many options available out there, the students of the current generation are in for a huge threat to advance their skills.