Abstract
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) developed from the traditions of distance and self-access learning, and are growing in popularity. As a new and exciting area of education, the potential of MOOCs to transform education by allowing free access to courses for anyone with the access to technology and the internet has potential for teachers and learners to benefit from the courses offered. In this short article, three different perspectives on using MOOCs in educational contexts within Japan are discussed. The first describes a collaborative project in which one of the authors participated in a MOOC alongside a group of language learners. In the next, individual students pursuing self-directed language learning chose MOOCs to meet their various goals of knowledge and skill development as they prepared to study abroad. Finally, this article considers the role of MOOCs in professional teacher development through the reflections from a teacher participant. All three discussions relate their ideas to the themes of possibility and potential, while considering practical issues for language learners and educators.
Highlights
The development of online distance learning via Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is an area of increasing interest for educators and learners
The most popular course, in Social Psychology from Wesleyan University in the US had over 250,000 participants in one cycle of teaching (Walters, 2014)
MOOCs can potentially have a greater impact on more students in one cycle of classes than the same professor teaching an entire career could hope to achieve
Summary
Overview In February 2013, a student at the University of Shimane earned the required TOEFL score necessary to study abroad at a state university in the United States. As the MOOC progressed over several weeks, it would allow chances for the student to adjust his plan and develop new learning strategies This experience would serve as a diagnostic test and a practical training exercise. Follow-up interviews In March 2014, about seven months into the students’ year abroad, this author toured the various American campuses accepting University of Simane students During the tour, he asked students who had participated in the Lecture Ready circle prior to studying abroad if the MOOC experience was worth repeating. Of the five students interviewed, two recommended that the MOOC activity continue in the future They said becoming familiar with the website format was very useful because it was almost identical to their courses in the US. These three students were enrolled in a preparatory ESL program, attempting to improve their TOEFL score and gain admittance to regular university courses
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