life long learning for teachers

1. “The opportunity to learn
about a subject from an
expert, in the company of
other interested learners.”

2. There are MOOCs available within all of the
following categories:
Pre-university
Undergraduate level
Masters level
Continuing professional
development
Vocational
Technical

3. Advantages
• Courses open to anyone with
an
internet connection.
• Non-certified courses
completely
free.
• Option to gain certification
and accreditation for course
completion.
• Single-unit study allows
personalisation of learning to
suit individual requirements.
• Option to work completely at
own pace.
• Peer-collaboration promotes
new
ideas and ways of thinking.
• Discussion forums allow
learners
to organise and put-forward own
thoughts.
• Individual study develops
selfdiscipline
and motivation.
Disadvantages
• Courses are currently not as
reputable as University-accredited
courses.
• Self-motivation required often
leads
to non-completion of courses.
• Lack of real-world access to
specialised equipment – e.g.
laboratory equipment.
• Lack of real-world interaction
with
other people.
• Without qualified instruction
over a whole course, students may
not realise they need to study
additional modules for a complete
understanding of a subject area.
• Peer-review not as accurate as
teacher-review – especially for
assignments involving critical
thinking skills.

4. MOOC providers:
Alison
(www.alison.com)
Coursera
(www.coursera.org)
EdX
(www.edx.org)
FutureLearn
(www.futurelearn.com)
Udacity
(www.udacity.com)