keys to success

(reading; pt 2)

Online courses have become the Next Big Thing for higher education, particularly in the United States, where millions of students have signed up for courses from some of the most upmarket universities.

1.. "We're looking at whether we can do online examinations, so the student doesn't have to come in to a hall, they just need to be sitting in front of their computer at a particular time when the exam is released to their computer," says Prof Taylor, chair of the Open University's academic conduct group. read on

Choose from A-H, there is one extra.
A Prof Taylor says he would expect such technology to be in place within the next five years
B However, taking exams at school is without doubt a traditonal part of school-life
C An important attraction of online courses is that students can study where and when they want
D Students really like the instant feedback of online testing
E The idea of people bringing notes up their sleeves remains a problem
F There is research suggesting it really works
G For instance, there are disputes among this global student body over British or American spelling
H And there isn't any technology that can judge whether an essay has really connected with a question

"There are various ways you can identify a person," says Prof Taylor. "One system we looked at meant that you had to type in a particular phrase - and the rate and the particular way you type is effectively a signature of the individual," says Martin Bean Open University vice chancellor. These are not distant-horizon ideas. 2. . He also says that there is no reason to think more people would necessarily cheat online. "Let's face it, in a large examination hall, each individual student isn't going to be closely watched. 3. ."

EdX, an online university project set up earlier this year by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, wants to make more use of the exam hall rather than less. 4. , says edX's first president, Anant Agarwal. And interactive, multimedia online lectures make the old-style lectures look less effective. But this volume of testing depends on automated marking - and will mean a limit on the range of subjects and type of questions that can be examined.

Coursera's co-founder Daphne Koller says trying to find a way to assess so many students is "part of the learning process". She says automatic marking can generate a score or a grade, but students want human feedback. 5. .

Coursera has been experimenting with peer assessment, where students grade each others' work, following guidelines set by the teacher. This allows for the marking capacity to grow with the class size - but it also depends on the reliability of fellow students. These online courses are also being discussed online - and blogs from students refer to disagreements over marking. 6. .

This brings the debate back to an old fashioned and low-tech form of preventing cheating. The "honour code" - or should that be "honor code" - is an ethical approach, based on a promise to maintain academic honesty. 7. . Institutions with such a code have a lower level of cheating.

Martin Bean, vice chancellor of the Open University, said: "There is no doubt that this is the 'web moment' for higher education and a battle is shaping up for growing student numbers on global courses online, with some able to grow large numbers of students very quickly. However this is a battle which will be about brands and the market ability of the providers but also, crucially, about quality of teaching and credibility."
bbc
article on what is a mooc?

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