MOOC what is it?

A massive open online course (MOOC) is a category of online course where the participants are distributed and course materials also are dispersed across the web. MOOCs are a very recent variant of online education, which itself is a form of distance education. I recently read Will Richardson’s comments about the implications of all of it (if any) for the K-12 set. And George Siemens “What is the theory that underpins our moocs?” That is where I found the video below by the way!

And I agree with Will Richardson who states; is it fair to say that if we’re not shifting our emphasis to helping kids develop as learners who can take advantage of these informal (perhaps soon to be accredited) learning experiences, we’re shortchanging them?  Yes I think we are!

Teacher’s role in the classroom today

With all the possibilities available why do we even need a teacher some might ask? The answer is simple;  The teacher is the connector, she helps the students connect and shows them how to build networks and take advantage of learning opportunities. She offers guidance when they get stuck, she shows how to communicate properly, and how to ask respectfully when seeking advice from experts. She shows how to differentiate between good information and propaganda, how to filter the information, how to easily collect information and how to share. She helps organize those mountains of information. She hopes they will all remember this when they leaves school and use the networks for further learning.

These are the skills that are needed in the 21st century! What are you doing as a teacher to help your students?