AMC’s huge hit, The Walking Dead, has been integrated into a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) offered by UCIrvine. The course, Society, Science, Survival: Lessons from AMC’s The Walking Dead starts tomorrow and runs through December 21.
From the course description: Each week we’ll watch engaging lectures, listen to expert interviews, watch exclusive interviews with cast members talking about their characters, use key scenes from the show to illustrate course learning, read interesting articles, review academic resources, participate in large and small group discussions, and—of course—test our learning with quizzes. We recommend that you plan on spending about two (2) to four (4) hours per week on this course, though we believe the course is compelling enough you’ll want to spend more time.
Yes. I am signed up. You should too, if you’re a fan of the show. This looks incredibly interesting and engaging. I’m up for it and willing to set up Google discussions to chat if you want. Who’s in? Let me know in the comments. With enough interest, I will set something up!
Oh, and don’t forget: The premiere is tonight!!!
If there are millions people doing courses that use to be offered to only a few hundred how is that going to help overall demand for these skills? I work within a profession which had 100% employment rate when I finished university. Since completing my degree I have seen all universities within my country increase class numbers. Now every year I see people who have spent three years of their lives studying a specific course unable to get their first professional job. Whilst I am lucky to be employable in the area I have studied I have experienced first hand how non transferable my skills are to other sectors of the labour market. I’m deeply skeptical of the wider social good purported by Coursera’s providers. Why would you want the poor and isolated people within our communities being taught law, computer science, economics only for them to be unable to get a job due to excess supply of graduates. To have few opportunities in life is one thing but to be offered an opportunity only for it to amount to nothing is truely heart breaking. With the introduction of MOOC it is worth pondering whether a high school graduate may be better off to become a butcher, baker or candle stick maker. I think MOOC is going to further increase the educational attainment necessary for the most basic of jobs.