As I explored through Khan Academy's website, I immediately wanted to answer the pre-test that was offered in the home page. The website was user-friendly, and reaches out to every person at every age. I didn't feel like I was left out, or felt dumb not being able to know these answers. Khan makes every person feels welcome to learn. I think I would have never envisioned using this website myself. If I knew about this website when I had to take my Praxis test on Math, I probably would have passed the test on the first try, instead of three tries. I think that Khan is able to communicate really well to every user, with being able to explain these steps that every person can understand. I can definitely incorporate Khan's video lesson in a classroom to motivate learning. I think it would be very easy for students to use, especially now that kiddos are very much tech-savvy. The videos on his website are easy to locate as it is categorized accordingly, and also easy to understand. I think the visual aspect of his videos helps elaborate on the processes of solving math problems. Salman Khan claims that credentialing can happen through online courses, and that we will be able to rely on this in the future. I think that this is quite the possibility, because free education is able to reach every single person who is willing to learn. However, I think that the presence of credentialing in physical structures like universities, community colleges, and such should remain in this society. Not every student is able to access to technology like computers, laptops, headphones, and such. In addition, not all parts of the world has access to fast wireless technology. We cannot rely on the online world to learn 100% of what we need, in order to thrive in the job market. I believe that part of learning is interacting physically with other learners.
There were a few Coursera courses that sparked my interest. One course in particular was offered by the University System of Georgia and Kennesaw State University, called K-12 Blended and Online Learning. I have always been fascinated with blended grades in small schools, and would like to learn how to balance both grades as teacher. Another course that I would like to venture into is from Rice University. This course talks about "Using the Next Generation Science Standards for Student's Deeper Understanding." This course seems really interesting, and I would love to know more about different ways to incorporate Science standards in an elementary classroom, as well as making these activities fun and engaging. Unfortunately, Columbus State does not accept Coursera transfer credits. I also noticed that The Ohio State University doesn't as well. I hope that in the future, they will move towards this direction, as it will benefit thousands of online learners. I think Coursera was made to be user-friendly to every person who is interested. I believe that the courses would be more interesting and beneficial to every type of skill. Some courses may be more challenging, depending on what type of tests of homework the teacher offers. I think it is difficult to complete a certain type of homework, if we do not what these professors expect. However, it just depends on how much detail each student pays attention to. For example, EDUC 2220 class that I am currently taking at CSCC, is very interesting because I am learning new things every week. It also helps that the professor is able to provide all the expectations flat out. This mostly eliminates all the confusion in a online-based learning. I believe that Massive Open Online Courses can be a wave of the future. However, I also see it being abused by other people. Although in a perfect world, free is good, but not always good. I think if Coursera can find a way where they can perfect this system, in terms of partnering with most U.S. universities, that I believe that this will benefit students in the long run.
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