One of the wonderful things about MOOCs is that they don’t force students to be in a particular location in order to ‘attend’ class. Especially if you’re looking for a course that will help you gain a specific skill, MOOCs allow students access to teachers and other experts they might not have otherwise.
The handy infographic below takes a look at how MOOCS are starting to bridge what is usually a gap between higher education and more practical education. Realistically, whether you’re teaching language, science, or math, your students are still going to need at least some of these ‘practical’ technical skills during their working lifetime – along with some others that probably don’t even exist yet.
So while MOOCs have often been touted as the new direction for higher education, they can also be an excellent supplement to a more ‘traditional’ education – getting the students the skills they need without getting an additional degree or taking extraneous courses.
Take a look and see how MOOCs are offering some of this training for students and how large the job market’s demand for these skills actually is! Do you think your students need some or all of these skills? Weigh in by leaving a comment below, leaving your thoughts on our Facebook page.
The handy infographic below takes a look at how MOOCS are starting to bridge what is usually a gap between higher education and more practical education. Realistically, whether you’re teaching language, science, or math, your students are still going to need at least some of these ‘practical’ technical skills during their working lifetime – along with some others that probably don’t even exist yet.
So while MOOCs have often been touted as the new direction for higher education, they can also be an excellent supplement to a more ‘traditional’ education – getting the students the skills they need without getting an additional degree or taking extraneous courses.
Take a look and see how MOOCs are offering some of this training for students and how large the job market’s demand for these skills actually is! Do you think your students need some or all of these skills? Weigh in by leaving a comment below, leaving your thoughts on our Facebook page.
MOOCs, Skills, and Jobs
- By 2020, there will be around 900,000 tech jobs in the EU
- Employers are looking for workers with web and app design skills, domain-specific skills, programming languages, and Android and iOS
- Student demand is highest for courses in web design, HTML5, Android, Java Script, and CSS
- Current professionals consider MOOCs to be the best places to learn these skills
- Students want certification for the skills they acquire – this is often a challenge for MOOCs (with assessment logistics, etc)
- Some of the specific skills that employers are looking for might not quite have a ‘massive’ audience (though I’d add in ‘yet’)
- Many institutions cite the high cost as a barrier to offering MOOCs
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