A survey of professors who have taught massive open
online courses (MOOCs) by The Chronicle of Higher Education found that 79%
believed MOOCs are worth the publicity that has been generated, while 64% said
they believed MOOCs could help reduce the cost of attaining a college degree to
some degree at their particular institutions.
The results show professors are beginning to accept and
embrace MOOCs, according to The Chronicle. It’s surprising because surveys of chief academic administrators have found
that just 30% thought that their faculty members accept the value of online education.
Online questionnaires were sent in February to 184
professors who have taught MOOCs, with 103 responding. The Chronicle was quick
to admit the results were unscientific, but two-thirds of the professors who
did respond had taught for more than a decade and would not be considered a
group of MOOC “true believers.”
The survey found that 97% of the instructors used
original videos in their courses and 75% used open educational resources. However,
professors also reported spending more than 100 hours on MOOCs before the first
class and up to eight to 10 hours each week keeping the MOOC materials up to
date and answering students.
“I had almost no time for anything else,” said Geoffrey
Hinton, professor of computer science at the University of Toronto. “My
graduate students suffered as a consequence. It’s equivalent to volunteering to
supply a textbook for free and to provide one chapter of camera-ready copy
every week without fail.”
While The Chronicle research shows professors may be
starting to embrace the idea of MOOCs, there’s still some convincing left to do. Although the professors felt MOOCs could cut college costs, 72% felt that
students didn’t deserve formal credit.
