MOOCs, SPOCs and next generation Open Access Learning

Staff of the university’s Wicking Centre wanted to know what impact their MOOC had, so they surveyed a sample of the 42,000 people who have completed it. Claire Eccleston and colleagues report the results in the journal Science of Learning.

Using Wicking’s Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale, they discovered that people, with all sorts of experience in dealing with dementia and different levels of education increased their knowledge.

This is very good indeed. “The current data indicate that the UDMOOC is effective in improving awareness and understanding of dementia, across groups including informal carers, care workers, health professionals and the general public,” the team suggest.

So, listen-up ministers and mandarins, what works for dementia may also be delivered by MOOCs a bunch of other community needs where the state relies on citizen carers to carry the burden.

Dhawal Shah, founder of Class Central, has been tracking the machinations of the MOOC business since before it was a business. Here, he provides perspective on the revenue side of open and online courses.

The University System of Maryland is experimenting with the use of massive open online courses to accelerate the path to an advanced degree — and the work has shed light on surprising new benefits of the MOOC format.

Dhawal Shah, founder of Class Central, has been tracking the machinations of the MOOC business since before it was a business. Here, he provides perspective on the revenue side of open and online courses.