The buzz around open online courses, often free and occasionally for credit, is fading. But as tuition prices and student debt soar, online learning continues to grow. One of the largest providers of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, is Harvard and MIT’s edX. Some 2.5 million people have signed up for these classes, ranging from the “Introduction to Computer Science” to “The Ancient Greek Hero.”
So what do most students get for completing one of these courses? New knowledge and maybe a certificate of completion, but no credit. WGBH News’ On Campus caught up with a student-researcher who predicts colleges and universities will soon offer some form of credit for MOOCs.
Over the course of a year, Jonathan Haber took 34 free online courses. His goal was to earn the equivalent of a B.A. in Philosophy. For the father of two sons, it was an existential experience.
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“I didn’t shave,” Haber said. “I wore the same shirt I had been wearing for like three months!”
Haber structured his day much like a college student would on campus.
“I would take my Einstein’s Relativity course at 11 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday,” Haber recalled, sitting at his kitchen table. “I would take my Greek Hero class on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.”
