Planet eCampus

For those of us working in higher education, the term "MOOC" has become very common. However, if you do not fall into that category, you may have seen this buzz word floating around in cyberspace and wondered - what the heck is a MOOC, anyway!! Well, wonder no more... MOOC is an acronym for M assively O pen O nline C ourse:  Massive - meaning they are typically large classes with high (if any) enrollment caps  Open - meaning they are free and open to the public, and  Online - meaning (you guessed it) the course is delivered online The basic concept of a MOOC is that it is open online learning that is available to anyone, and it is offered at no cost to the learner. A MOOC is one of many pathways to further one's education, and is viewed by the academic world as an offering to help make higher education more accessible to the public.  A MOOC typically takes the form of free online learning with audiovisual content (videos), automated qui...

Professor Melissa Weaver is Adjunct Faculty in Communication at Southern Polytechnic State University Why did you choose your field? My undergraduate degree is in Speech Pathology. When I went to graduate school I majored in Communication Studies, which was the perfect parallel for what I teach now. It’s great to merge my passion for teaching, science and communication together! What did you want to be when you were growing up? A pilot :)  Why did you choose teaching? I love working with students and sharing my story! I was the first person in my entire family to go to college, much less earn a graduate degree. It’s great to be in a position to help others and guide them throughout their academic careers. How do you think education changes lives? Education can make all the difference in the life of a student. A quality education provides you with choices and options throughout life. It opens new doors and allows you to pave the way throughout your professional care...