Introduction of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) into education is a revolutionary idea. MOOCs, the abbreviation clearly conveys its definition: MOOCs – Massive Open Online Courses.
Massive: It’s designed to enroll thousands of learners.
Open: Anyone
can access through Web at free of cost.
Online: Much of the interaction takes place online through web discussion groups with cohorts of learners, or on wikis or via video tutorials by professors.
Courses: They have concrete start and end dates, student assessments, online tests and quizzes, and proctored exams. Upon completion, some may offer a “Verified Certificate” of completion or college credit.
It has been notified that MOOCs are trending all over the academic field. And one more interesting thing is that MOOCs are attracting learners with different learning styles. Do you want to know how ? Scroll down!
Every student is unique and acquires knowledge in different ways. Different students have different learning styles. Some students learn by watching (Visual Learners), some by listening (Auditory learners) while many others by doing (Kinesthetic learners). MOOCs can help all learners.
Visual Learning:
Visual learning is a teaching and learning style in which ideas, concepts, data and other information are associated with images, video tutorials and multimedia. MOOCs are a combination of video and audio, so, it’s a beneficial way for teachers to engage visual learners with relevant images, videos and animations while explaining a concept. Students who learn through vision can easily acquire knowledge by watching MOOCs.
Auditory Learning:
Many Professors create MOOCs by combining a presentation of a concept with a background voice. It’s really an effective way to engage both visual as well as auditory learners. As we have already mentioned about visual learners above, now it’s time to explain about auditory learners. Auditory learners are those teachers or students who prefer listening to acquire knowledge. They listen to a podcast, lecture, tutorial or a recorded voice, etc. and take notes for further reference. MOOCs are really helpful for these learners because it has all the features that an auditory listener needs.
Kinesthetic Learning:
Kinesthetic learners learn by physical activity rather than by watching a tutorial or listening to a lecture. We can’t provide a physical learning environment through MOOCs but interesting MOOCs can help them pay attention to watch the real-time videos of concepts through which they can learn easily. Kinesthetic learning is a learning style in which learners acquire knowledge through experimenting, playing and inquiring, etc. It’s not exact but similar to Game–based learning, Project–based learning and Inquiry–based learning. Some popular initiatives like Coursera, Udacity, EdX etc., have advanced MOOCs to make them much more interactive. Besides video lectures, they allow educators to provide materials to background reading (sometimes at no cost except download and printing), quizzes to keep on track, exams, and discussion forums. Through quizzes, educators can engage kinesthetic learners, it helps them learn through Inquiry–based learning.
This is how MOOCs attract learners of different learning styles. Concept of MOOCs is really trending in the 21st century’s educational system. Many students find it interesting because of its greatest features. In our previous article cycle, we’ve covered many interesting things about MOOCs. You may also refer to the following links.
Moocs helping teachers in their Flipped Classroom
Transforming Indian Education with MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)
How to Make a MOOC Interesting?
How Can MOOCs Help Educational Institutions in Professional Development?
[Infographic] Major Concerns Related to MOOCs
We hope this information is useful for you to know about how MOOCs are attracting learners with different learning styles. If you have anything to share on this topic, please feel free to write your views in the comment box.
