I will participate in a roundtable discussion on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

My Dean, Andy Barnes, recently published an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about the role of smaller institutions like Pratt in the age of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). He is sponsoring a roundtable discussion on the topic, and I will be one of the participants…

A roundtable discussion on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and their potential impact on the liberal arts and sciences will be held on October 31. MOOCs are online courses with unlimited participation and open access via the web. While allowing a large number of students to participate in distance education, MOOCs can fail to provide serious instruction and simply provide information dispensing. The discussion will focus on the MOOC phenomenon, its rapid spread across higher education, and questions it raises about methods of instruction. The panel will include the following participants:

• Caitlin Cahill, assistant professor, Social Science and Cultural Studies Department
• Chris Jensen, assistant professor, Math and Science Department
• Andrew W. Barnes, dean, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences

The discussion will also examine Participatory Open Online Courses (POOCs) as well as Distributive Open Collaborative Courses (DOCC) as options for instruction. Barnes recently wrote an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education that states how the rise of MOOCs will be a boon to small colleges like Pratt.

Students and faculty interested in shifting teaching platforms, online technologies, and college instruction methods are encouraged to attend. A light lunch will be provided.

The roundtable discussion will be held Thursday, October 31, from 12:30–1:45 PM in the Alumni Reading Room, Pratt Library, Brooklyn Campus.