Massive Open Online Courses Low-cost ways to re-train

Massive Open Online Courses: Low-cost ways to re-train This presentation is for those having stated “I need more training”. Agenda • For the first ½ of meeting, there will be a presentation on low-cost ways to train • After the 30 minute presentation, we will break out into groups to network with others and discuss “what training you need to be relevant in this job market” Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

Low-cost ways to re-train • You cannot count on a prospective employer to have a training program • Studies show that 40% of employers in the US report difficulty filling jobs, because of “skills” • Tremendous demand for job-relevant skills Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

MOOC • Universities and major financial and technology companies worked together to offer on-line classes called Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) o Enables companies to expand the global pool of available talent o Courses were dubbed the Global Skills initiative Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

Three providers teamed up with hundreds of universities to create courses • Coursera (pronounced "Cor-sair-ruh" - Coursera "cor" like "door", "sair" like "air", "ruh): the largest producer of courses • ed. X: created a course sequence call ed. X XSeries Pograms with MIT and 50+ other major companies such as UPS, P&G, and Wal. Mart stores. • Udacity: offers certificates called nano Udacity degrees based on a series of online courses Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

Today’s topic will focus on the course provider Coursera • Founded in spring 2012 by professors of Stanford University • Coursera has gradually accumulated a catalog of hundreds of courses from elite institutions, ranging from Yale University, Arizona State University, University of Illinois, MIT to Mo. MA (Museum of Modern Art) Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

• Coursera has attracted 12 million students worldwide and provides its courses at modest fees (ie $49 each) I did not find “free” Coursera classes To find “free” classes, I searched for • “free classes” by university (ie “free classes Penn State”) or • “free courses ed. X” or edx. org Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

Some of the companies participating with Coursera and other providers of courses include: • Bank of New York Mellon: created Bank of New York Mellon: Essentials of Corporate Financial Analysis and Decision Making • Qualcomm: Internet of Things Qualcomm: • ATT&T: Master’s degree in computer ATT&T: science Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

Coursera Positives • Verified certificates and specializations provide proof of participation, which can be shared via Linked. In The Coursera Catalog • Coursera currently offers the largest most diverse collection of online courses Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

• At last check, there were 1000+ courses from 100+ partners worldwide o Courses are available in multiple languages, ranging from English to Chinese to Dutch (a lonely one) • From the Courses page you can easily narrow your options via category, for example: o 136+ classes in the Humanities o 40+ in the Arts Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

o 112+ courses in Information, Tech, and Design o 58+ in Software Engineering A Coursera course includes: • An introduction/syllabus and a basic outline of materials the course will discuss • A set of lectures, ranging anywhere from 3 -6 videos, that are each 20 -30 minutes which introduce concepts and basic problems Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

• A problem set/assignment/quiz that you are required to submit that reinforces the material introduced in the videos • Some courses allow discussion in the Forum regarding these topics, others do not. • Your assignment grade will be given to you the following week, and a new set of lectures are released • The same process is repeated again. Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

• At the end of the course (usually 8 -10 weeks), a Final exam is given • These exams are flexible (you can take the exam in a certain range of days), and count towards the final grade alongside quizzes, tests, and problem sets. Enrolling in a verified class(Signature Track) is a three-step process • First, Coursera evaluates your keystrokes by asking you to type the same text twice Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

• Next, the site uses your computer's webcam to take photos of you and your identification (e. g a driver's license) • Finally, you confirm your personal information o After your identify is processed, you can enroll in a certified track for a small fee set by the university Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

o While certificates and specializations are valuable in the sense that you can post them to your Linked. In profile they do not possess the same weight as a traditional university degree Questions about Coursera and answers If you are interested in taking a Coursera course, advice from an online review is as follows. Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

• Pick the right course o This is crucially important q. In order for you to maximize learning and enjoyment q. Pick a course you both enjoy and know you will get a lot out of • Spend time on the course o Think of the course not as a recreational activity, but like a class in school Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

• Review old material o Without reviewing old material, taking the Final Exam will be much harder, and you will not be able to retain the basic concepts • Ask Questions – Coursera’s Forum is a place for students to ask questions and discuss the videos before taking exams o If you have questions, be sure to ask qteachers also look over the posts and answer …. appropriately Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

What’s a Coursera Certificate Worth? This is a bit more complicated… Its proven that a bachelors degree has a net present value of about $450, 000 • The value of a Coursera Certificate can be measured in a few ways o either its value towards an accredited degree (NA currently) o or its stand-alone value to employers The value of this $30 -$100 product is to your ability to make more money. Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

How many credits (from an accredited institution), can I exchange the Coursera Certificate towards a degree? • Coursera is working with the American Council on Education (ACE) to ensure that credits that come from the Signature Track program will be honored by many of ACE’s 1, 800 member schools, such as Amherst University, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon and many others Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

• Currently: Your Coursera Certificate cannot be exchanged for any credits from any accredited institution o After ACE’s announcement, you can expect this answer will change within weeks or months. How will employers value my Coursera Certificate? Will it enable me to apply for better jobs, or get interviews I wouldn’t be able to get otherwise? Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

• MOOC-style courses can deliver similar, or the same, knowledge and expertise as the normal college experience Where this falls apart is in three areas: • First, employers value predictability o Many companies have continued to recruit at the same colleges for years q. As a result, Coursera has a lot riding on their first few “classes” of graduates will be the first ones to solidify what it means to be a “Coursera Graduate”. Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

• Second, o a major problem facing MOOC students is that the prevalence (and ease) of online cheating makes it very hard to trust the grades that students receive in their courses q. Although this can be a problem for brick and mortar universities, it is far greater of an issue for online only schools Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

q. Signature Track is perhaps the most Signature Track significant step enables some level of proctoring to reduce (or eliminate) cheating • And finally, o there is hesitancy to recognize the value of courses that stress interpersonal skills that are hard to replicate online: Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

qteam-based project work, communications, presentation skills and creativity • Certain majors like Sales/Marketing, Political Science, Advanced Engineering require teamwork and projects) and more will have a hard time filling ranks with students that spent their time in virtual classrooms Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

What does this mean for you? • Right now, employers are utterly confused and unclear about the value of a Coursera Certificate o That will likely change within 3 -5 years q At the moment though, don’t expect your Coursera Certificate to get you an interview at Google! Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

Reviews

Lessons Learned from Reviews Jan 13, 2016 • “Their refund policy is that you can't get a refund after 2 weeks from when you paid. So if you paid on the first day of a course, and get through the first 2 weeks, no refund is possible. The problem is that in the Specialization I took for learning code. The first class, Programming the Web for Beginners, became ridiculously hard after the second week. Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

So people who are truly beginners, who have never read or written code in their lives, are supposed to just magically know what to do because a video told them what a function is. I quit after week 3, for there was no passing that class. When I complained and asked for a refund for the remaining classes that I have not, and will not be taking, they told me that "Absolutely not“. 2015 • “If you want to take their programs only do the free ones Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

• Costs: Search performed at Coursera. org

Examples of Coursera courses • Search performed on Coursera. org “Introduction to Project Management Principles and Practices Specialization” Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

END OF PRESENTATION Now its time for today’s group networking activity • We will now break out into groups Within your group, o please introduce yourself o state what type of job you would like to find and o discuss “what training you need to be relevant to this job market” Hired Texas Networking 12 April 2016

END OF ACTIVITY