You Haven't MOOC'd Yet? Really? 

Curated by Kris Campbell, Managing Partner at BoldWork

In the fall of 2012, I had a wonderful, exhilarating experience - I was MOOC'd.  

Since then, all other traditional learning has just been an also ran. How, where and when I learn will never be the same.

MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course and to experience a MOOC you need only a computer, keyboard and online access. Last year I wanted to find out for myself whether all the hoopla about MOOCs was warranted, so I signed up for an online class at Coursera (www.coursera.org), the largest, most well-known online MOOC. The course, A Beginner's Guide to Irrational Behavior, was delivered by Duke University professor Daniel Ariely. I was blown away that not only could I take a class from top notch Duke, but one taught by Ariely, the founder of The Center for Advanced Hindsight, the co-founder of BEworks and the author of Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality, both NY Times best sellers. I could sit on my porch and learn from Ariely - for free.

If you're a lifelong learner like me, this new journey into learning is going to carry us forward on astonishing trips. And the broader concept of blending online and offline learning, often called Flipped Learning, is an innovation disruptor now making its way into corporate learning. In Flipped Learning, workshop material is made available to participants prior to in-person sessions, which lets in-person sessions focus on practical application that increase retention and mastery.  

A passing phase? Doubt it. As of this writing, Coursera offers 536 courses and 680,000 students from 190 countries have crossed through its online doors. These students have viewed 14 million videos and completed 6 million quizzes. The U.S. State Department just invested as a learning partner, and Caltech and the University of Pennsylvania have contributed $3.7 million. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation offered Coursera support from its inception, with a grant of over $800,000.

A new paradigm of learning is afoot and, as with all great social transitions, it's a wild ride. There are optimistic early adopters as well as critics. Some call this time a natural "honeymoon hype phase" with wild swings in expectations. Drop out rates tend to be high. Completion rates hover around 7-9%. But there are many smart, creative people around the world working hard to overcome obstacles and smooth out the bumps.

This last summer while working on an Excel scoring protocol for our new Questionnaire, I realized I'd forgotten a lot about statistics since completing my post-graduate work. So I jumped online, typed in www.khanacademy.org and within minutes was learning in a quiet, easy to follow classroom, at my own pace. Within hours I was once again up to speed on t-scores and standard deviations. Created in 2006 by Salman Khan, the Khan Academy offers over 700 microlectures via video and has delivered over 300 million lessons directly on YouTube. The Khan Academy is free and its doors to learning are open 24/7.

Want to learn what's fabulously new about online learning? 

• Daphne Killer and Andre Ng are cofounders of Coursera. In this TED video, Daphne paints a vibrant picture of what the future holds for how we will learn and relearn across a lifetime. While preparing this month's see-musings, principal Janice Criddle and I were both drawn to this same TED talk. Janice admitted to reluctance in letting go of traditional learning because of the advantages of bringing together a group of people to explore, question and interact. "I've always felt that a well-facilitated program with engaged individuals interacting face to face could not be replaced." While Janice and I both believe these face-to-face meetings remain valuable, she has changed her "see" when it comes to online learning. This TED talk is a SEE changer.
• Hop over to Coursera and browse through 536 courses from over 107 partners.
• Stop in at the friendly, easy Khan Academy and get started on learning something new at the click of your mouse. American Civics anyone?
• Let the charismatic Salman Khan, founder of the Khan Academy, explain his affirming vision in this recent TED talk; he's out to change the world of learning in every corner of the world...for free!  
• And, finally, let me leave you with what provocateur blogger Ryna Point sees in store for us and how we learn from MOOCs. With the bark off, it's the good, the bad and the ugly of where we're going. 

Happy MOOCing!