MOOCs - anyone done?

[moobaloo]

Just found out by reading this home Ed blog

gritsday.blogspot.co.uk

About MOOCs, massive open online courses

www.futurelearn.com/about

University written FREE flexible learning, it seems to good to be true!

Has anyone done them or had any experience of them? They seem ideal for home edding as well as general learning for anyone. I can't decide which one to do first!

Thought I'd share

Thanks for sharing op - this looks a bit like coursera. We did a philosophy one from Edinburgh uni as a family and really enjoyed it. I fancy having a crack at a few too!

Also I've noticed there are some online gcse and a level courses on groupon. I think it's on Oxford or Liverpool (not that I live in those places!) I have no idea about quality but they're not expensive.

I started on the futurelearn one about the Higgs Boson, but I got bogged down and decided it was too much, as I'm doing some French with the OU as well at the moment.

It seemed well-structured, broken into little chunks so you didn't have to commit to doing lots at once if you couldn't fit that into your schedule.

That one was pretty heavy going on the maths, but I guess they will all vary depending on the topic!

oh Mr Higgs was on life scientific (is that it?) on R4 yesterday. It wasn't my fave episode of this but it was good!

DS loves science, so we'll follow this one.

www.futurelearn.com/courses/kitchen-chemistry

At 2 hours a week it's not gonna throw our lives off schedule, but will add a bit of enrichment to our weekly activities.

I very much like the study skills for Uni type courses for older teenagers - looking back it would have been incredibly helpful to me to have had the opportunity to do something like that.

I did a few with coursera before deciding to take the plunge and jump into an ma with the OU. They are ideal if like me you've not done any formal study for a while, and as a home edder if you want to brush your maths skills so you can help your kid!

Starting towards the end of April is a three week mini-MOOC on mathematics. Aimed at learners who are interested in science and engineering but who have not studied maths formally or perhaps lack confidence (“I can’t do maths”), the course has an easy pace introducing concepts that are needed for further study. Have a look at www.futurelearn.com/courses/mathematical-symbolism

coursera.org has some verified ones (you show ID to prove it was you wot done the work!) in some interesting subjects. Some are even set on pathways of 4-5 courses + a capstone project. Ideal for a teen with a vocational interest in a subject to demonstrate a body of work on their CV perhaps?

www.coursera.org/specializations?utm_medium=topnav

Lots of really interesting general interest courses from the "science of cooking" to renaissance art.

edx.org is the other site but is a bit science heavy. Verified courses and the group paths also cost a bit more.
www.edx.org/

Thanks for this info. I have done a Cousera course. It was good but was essentially a video of a lecturer lecturing. The FutureLearn courses are far more visual and the platform works on all mobile devices even phones. Designed into the courses is also a social media platform which is really helpful for learners. Especially those struggling with one element preventing them from moving on. Another major advantage for me is that all MOOCs are free so you can dip in and out without any financial commitment. Sign up to a course and leave it if you are not enjoying it anymore. Makes learning fun!

I agree about the free being a factor! I only signed up for a full OU course, AFTER doing a few MOOCs to be sure I was interested enough in the subject to justify the extortionate cost!

Personally I think Home edders with teens who aren't utilising MOOCs by now are really missing a trick as they step out side the narrow confines of GCSE course and allow you the freedom to discover what REALLY excites you iyswim.

DS is only 9 so futurelearn works better for him at this stage, just cos of the way the course material is presented. For me I've excited by the greater peer communication opportunities it offers but none of the courses are verified as yet which could be meaningful for teens trying to get onto college courses, provide proof for first employers etc.