Aaron Rogier

With the circumstances laid out in the last post, I’ve decided to play with the edX courseware platform. Skeptical thoughts about Massive Open Online Courses (or MOOCs) like edX and Coursera have been written by those versed in higher education trends and those further removed from higher education, much less distance education. I think the idea behind edX is interesting and has a lot of potential. While online education from flagship universities is no longer much of a novelty, the scale of the endeavor keeps MOOCs in an area of experimentation that may fairly be described as bold.

For all that’s been written a substantial fraction of which I’ve read together with my experience enrolled in an edX course, I still don’t feel I can make a judgement about the mission behind MOOCs. At least I can’t guarantee I won’t have regrets even six month into the future about the warrant behind a statement about MOOCs that inserts either the sort of grand sweeping vision of the model’s advocates or the misdirected disbelief of David Brooks.  The ground underneath any possible statement is just moving too fast with new MOOC collaborations announced monthly it seems while the convential wisdom about MOOCs changes at least every two weeks. Continue reading »

Having finished my Master’s degree and being actively on the job market, I’ve decided it is time to begin exploring options for continuing education as I begin to build a career. There are advantages and disadvantages that come with looking for continuing education opportunities in my current situation. On the downside by not being employed in my career field I lack the opportunity to bring any skills I pick up into my professional workflow with any degree of immediacy.

This means that picking up some tips at a webinar and being able to apply them the next time I’m at work to gain practice with them or evaluate them. It also means that investing time and tuition on an in depth program of study with a narrow focus of specialization could become a net loss when I find an entry level position that falls outside of that area or that demands a wider scope of practice. This latter concern means that credentials such as the various tuition based certificates of specialization and certificates of advanced study have to be put on hold for now. It is hard to justify taking on more tuition and student loan debt a a credential developing a focused specialty when I’m working to market myself towards several potential career paths largely defined more by things I’m avoiding like Traditional Cataloging, Children’s and Young Adult Literacy,  and Food Service than by one niche I just feel I have to fill. Continue reading »