Massive open online course (MOOC) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access through the web. MOOCs provide interactive user forums that help build a community for students, professors and teaching assistants. MOOCs are the biggest upcoming trend in the current education scenario. It has offered opportunity to all individuals irrespective of
Dare you make it?
“Study just to find a job and get a livelihood, raise a family and die” Is that the real life we wanted? Does it make it worth to breath every second? Mark Twain says “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
Spoken Words
Man naturally was born with the inherent ability to commune; transfer information and share ideas with his fellow man through the employment of speech as propagation medium right from primeval times. In the complexity of his evolutionary chemistry, the arch necessity of conversing with species of his like was of utmost importance even in the
The True Value of Marble
Born in 1475, in the small Italian town of Caprese, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (artist, sculptor, architect and poet) sparked a great revolution in art in the high renaissance era. Michelangelo was the artist who recreated what wasn’t there. He sculpted and painted the world that existed solely in his mind. He treated the
Reflections on the Salvaging Hands of Education
Introduction Living on planet earth is no fun! Many obstacles confront mankind in our quest to actualize our life ambitions. There is prevalence of unemployment, poverty, epidemics, and civil unrest in many nations of the world and the existence of these heartrending conditions instil fear into the psyche of many. The fundamental question which occupies
What has education meant to me?
Learning is the eye of mind. But how can we study or work during a conflict … during a war? I could not imagine that I would study in the war-time in Ukraine. I read books about World War II, watched documentary movies. I attended Basics of Life Safety classes at school as well as
MOOCs, A Piece Of The Higher Education Jigsaw
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been touted as the next big thing in higher education by everyone from newspapers to universities and politicians. Free access to the world’s collected knowledge, genuine equality of education, no borders to learning. But are they a vision of the future or is all this too good to be
Creativity & Happiness
Introduction In our education we are supposed to be challenged. I agree with Logan because we are taught in our schools being happy and healthy is important, but only within their guidelines. We have had these guidelines set out for us, although what applies to one person may not apply to another The Pursuit of
The Sounds Of Silence
As a writer, I would like to, let my work, do the talking, and therefore, I do not fully, agree with the statement of Mary Angelou that- “Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.” I agree more with what
I learned that…
Nelson Mandela couldn’t have said it any better: I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. But to associate courage to the role of education was one thing; defining education was
Stop MOOCing around – Get back in the classroom
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are nearly as common as a mid-week sale on the high-street. Online shopping for learning is certainly redefining the education landscape. But, as in this case, if I’m asked whether MOOCs are the future of higher education, well now, that’s less clear cut. Digital detox please We live in a
The Juggle Struggle of Life
“What is your ambition” they would ask. “Well, I would want to be a true human being”, she would reply. More often than not, the conversation would proceed with the other party expressing an ‘Are-you-for-real expression’ along with questions meant to ask if she is for real because it seems that having the aspiration to
Compassion, Creativity and Motivation
Nelson Mandela said that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The most important pillars of education are, in my opinion, the ones that are overlooked the most: compassion, creativity and motivation. Why are they overlooked? Fear to change and improve our educational systems is the main reason. Courage is
Disruption (or the lack thereof)
MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses. Coursera, Udacity, itunes U. They’re backed by some of the world’s most prestigious and respected universities, they’re available 24/7 and most importantly, they’re (generally) free. With worldwide increasing levels of online usage growth and ease of accessibility, the influence of the internet has undeniably disrupted many markets and overhauled
Power of speech
When I came across Maya Angelou’s quote – ‘WORDS MEAN MORE THAN WHAT IS SET DOWN ON PAPER. IT TAKES A HUMAN VOICE TO INFUSE THEM WITH SHADES OF DEEPER MEANING’ it inspired me and generated quite a number of ideas which I have elaborated below under subtitles. Actions speak louder than words Words written
The True Goal of Education
It was like a thick blanket covering us all; the mentality stretched towards the end of the earth. In every continent and country, on both print and electronic media, everyone was talking about the same thing. A victim I was to this era, where all our schools and learning institutes centered our learning on opinions
Conventional or Flipped Classroom?
I guess even the embryos in the pregnant women know the quote: “Education is the best legacy.” Western education, as known by our fore-fathers, is the best legacy every parent strive to give their children especially in Nigeria where education is the only catapult away from poverty. Even the orphans do struggle for it. And,
“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk” Thomas A. Edison
INTRODUCTION I don’t quite agree with T. A. Edison because there is another saying: “Necessity is the mother of invention”. This saying clearly shows that when one invents there is a need so a necessity. I will argue this article by illustrating it with two stories. One will be an anecdote in my life and
Classroom or Homeroom?
There is a quote by a great man Epictetus that goes ‘He who opens a school door, closes a prison’. Have you sat down and asked yourself this question: What would a person opening a prison be doing? It is one thing for someone to open a school; it is another thing to perform the
Redefining courage; Lessons for education
Growing up as a child, one of the people I have come to identify with and in fact whose memory I will forever cherish is that of the first black president of South Africa Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. We loved Madiba as he is referred to in his native Xhosa clan so much that we knew