Here a MOOC, There a MOOC: But Will It Work for Freshman Composition?

By Karen Head. In November 2012, I was part of a team that was awarded a grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a MOOC for one of the most ubiquitous of university courses: freshman composition. Over the next five months, I will blog about our process. And I will try to address a central question surrounding the proliferation of massive open online courses. Many people argue that rising technologies could allow us to educate the world more efficiently. My question is, can we educate people more effectively?
I teach writing and direct a communication-tutoring center at the Georgia Institute of Technology. I’m also a writer. When I began teaching 15 years ago, I was one of the first instructors to volunteer to teach in a technology-augmented classroom. When online videoconferencing technology was introduced, I began holding office hours through that platform, and later did the same in Second Life. In short, I am no Luddite. However, I will admit to some reservations about whether a MOOC is the ideal platform for teaching writing. I have argued passionately for keeping composition classes small. Ultimately, I decided to pilot this MOOC because I am open to the possibilities, but I prefer to discover firsthand whether it works. Read more...