A massive open online course is an ecosystem
from which knowledge can emerge
In a traditional course
you end up in a social contract
with an institution
or with an instructor.
They have the knowledge
and you want that knowledge
so you go to a classroom
you go to an online location
and you engage in this social contract
where you go
you've purchased the time,
and you'll take home the knowledge.
They will judge whether or not
you have the appropriate knowledge
at the end of that course.
In a lot of situations
that's really good.
A MOOC is something entirely different
The knowledge contract in a MOOC
does not presume
that there is one thing you need to know
in a given field
the materials that we study that are part of the syllabus
are really just a starting point
for the negotiation of knowledge.
The outcomes might be as varied as a discussion,
a blog post or a peer reviewed article.
Really a MOOC is just a catalyst for knowledge
Knowledge in a MOOC is emergent
During those discussions
between the participants
and between the facilitators
themes are going to begin to emerge
those themes are going to combine
with the course materials
to create a really unpredictable knowledge base
from which people are going to learn
and with which they are going to engage.
For the participants in a Mooc
they are gonna come out of the course
with a far better idea of how their own knowledge
matches up against others in the field.
The more importantly
they're going to come out with a knowledge network
a network of people and ideas
that's going to carry
long past the end of that course date.
For the field itself
it offers a focused discussion
That discussion may clarify point of debate
or it may push knowledge in that field
to new and interesting places.