I'm quite prone to oversubscribing to MOOCs and then dropping out quickly. Sometimes it's because I realize that though I'm interested in the topic I'm "long magazine article" interested not 12-week class interested. And sometimes I drop out due to lack of time to make the commitment to do well in the course; I find that "coursera guilt" is recognizable to most of my social group, and my threshold is that if I'm more than two weeks behind I'll drop out.
There are some things that I think these outfits could do to improve the retention rates for students; most of these features should be optional but providing support for students to complete courses should be a priority for online learning companies; regardless of their business model.
Herewith, a list of features that would help me stay on top of courses I am taking for reasons somewhere on the spectrum from recreational intellectual interest to professional development:
1. export syllabus/course schedule to calendar; I do this manually for some courses where I really do want to reach the finish line.
2. Optional daily reminders on weekdays; this would encompass the videos you should watch and the readings you should complete that day to stay even with the course schedule, the upcoming class assignments and the results of the last assignment, as well as a digest of forum threads.
3. In tandem with the above, improved course dashboards; there should be one place to go to find out what you should look at, read, or do; next.
4. Video editing and presentation coaching for instructors. Some people are really good at presenting course material, others need some editorial coaching to focus their videos. I can think of a couple of courses where the lecturers lack of stage presence and inability to be concise made watching the videos such a chore that I would rather do anything else than watch them; and that's often the point where I decide my life won't be worse if I drop that course and see if I can find a different one covering the same material.
On another note: Does anyone offer a course on how to read mathematical notation? I often find myself trying to read equations in notations that are not that familiar to me, and it feels like a fundamental lack of literacy to me.
I too am prone to enrolling in too many courses. I am always behind on courses. My strategy has been to learn and apply the skills, more than to get a certificate of completion. Some courses take far more time than others, specifically once that need Math refreshers. I am pleasantly surprised by the high quality of these courses and intend to complete most of the ones I enrolled in, in my own time, since it is really hard for me, with full time work, to follow the course schedule.
There are some things that I think these outfits could do to improve the retention rates for students; most of these features should be optional but providing support for students to complete courses should be a priority for online learning companies; regardless of their business model.
Herewith, a list of features that would help me stay on top of courses I am taking for reasons somewhere on the spectrum from recreational intellectual interest to professional development:
1. export syllabus/course schedule to calendar; I do this manually for some courses where I really do want to reach the finish line.
2. Optional daily reminders on weekdays; this would encompass the videos you should watch and the readings you should complete that day to stay even with the course schedule, the upcoming class assignments and the results of the last assignment, as well as a digest of forum threads.
3. In tandem with the above, improved course dashboards; there should be one place to go to find out what you should look at, read, or do; next.
4. Video editing and presentation coaching for instructors. Some people are really good at presenting course material, others need some editorial coaching to focus their videos. I can think of a couple of courses where the lecturers lack of stage presence and inability to be concise made watching the videos such a chore that I would rather do anything else than watch them; and that's often the point where I decide my life won't be worse if I drop that course and see if I can find a different one covering the same material.
On another note: Does anyone offer a course on how to read mathematical notation? I often find myself trying to read equations in notations that are not that familiar to me, and it feels like a fundamental lack of literacy to me.