让MOOCs更有意义:在谎言、悖论和可能性的迷宫中沉思

Making Sense of MOOCs:Musings in a Maze of Myth,Paradox and Possibility

大规模开放网络课程(MOOCs)是一种以开放访问和大规模参与为目的的在线课程。MOOCs作为一种新的教育技术,包括cMOOCs和xMOOCs两种,前者以联通主义理论为基础,强调知识创新与生成;后者以行为主义理论为基础,关注知识重复。两者在教学理念上差异很大,用同一术语表述很容易使人混淆。同以往各种形式的信息技术一样,MOOCs在本质上是一系列操作符号的工具,同时也是基于互联网的低成本教育材料分发和共享的工具,因此在对待MOOCs变革传统高等教育这一问题上应该理性。目前媒体、商业集团和高校机构对xMOOCs的关注处于一种狂热状态,缺乏系统而理性的学术研究,主要体现出四个谎言和悖论:一是学校品牌是教学质量的象征,而实际上它们的声誉是由其研究赢得的,并非教学质量,xMOOCs的低完成率为传统高校所不齿;二是多数xMOOCs机构对成功通过课程考试的学生只提供证书,不生成学分,对比传统学校教育,意味着对学生学业的认证取决于招生而不是课程学习;三是xMOOCs是一种新的教学法并支持个性化学习,而实际上他们采用的是一种过时的行为主义教学法;四是xMOOCs一方面期望和推崇"让知识成为人类共同财产"的理想,却又一方面在积极探索能够盈利的商业模式。MOOCs在炒作背后应该回归理性的发展轨迹,其对传统教育的真正变革应该是将xMOOCs置于全世界公众的视野中,迫使这些机构重视教学和教学法,并将教学作为其核心使命。

Massive Open Online Courses（MOOCs） is a type of online course aimed at large-scale participation and open access.As a new educational technology,MOOCs have already bifurcated into two types of courses：cMOOCs and xMOOCs.cMOOCs are based on a philosophy of connectivism and networking and highlight knowledge innovation and creation while xMOOCs follow a more behaviourist approach and focus on knowledge repetition.They are so distinct in pedagogy that it is confusing to designate them by the same term.As modern ICT,xMOOCs naturally is a vehicle for manipulation of symbols and distribution and sharing of educational material at low cost.Therefore,it should be rational for the revolution of MOOCs in traditional high education.Media,commercial interests and institution are so frenzying towards xMOOCs that a deep and systematical analysis is lacked.There are four main myths and paradoxs.Firstly,university brand is a surrogate for teaching quality.Actually the so-called elite universities gained their reputations in research.They despise the low completion rate of xMOOCs.Secondly,for most xMOOC institutions,success in the course exam does not lead to credit,but to a certificate.So,the consequence is that whether or not a student can obtain a degree is determined not by their mastery of the courses,but by the admissions process to the university.Thirdly,xMOOC is a new pedagogy and support personalized learning.Actually what they adopted is an old and out-dated behaviourist pedagogy.Finally,the basic paradox is between the laudable desire to make knowledge the common property of humankind and to find a business model that generates money for doing it.The real revolution that MOOCs ought to bring to education is to place xMOOCs in the public domain for a worldwide audience and force MOOC institutions to value teaching and pedagogy,and take instruction as their core mission.