“Alas, I busted my deadline,” writes Washington Post reporter Nick Anderson. “As I write this, my assignment was due 13 hours ago. In this case, I was not late in filing a story for [the] Post. Rather, I failed the other day to complete by 11:59 p.m. a weekly quiz for an online course I am taking called ‘The Modern World: Global History since 1760.’
“I signed up for this free class, from University of Virginia Professor Philip Zelikow, to help my reporting for a story on how Zelikow is using online lectures not only to teach masses of adult learners from around the world but also to improve how he teaches U-Va. students in person…”
So, what’s it like to take a MOOC, Anderson asks? He says the material is absorbing, and the work requires discipline—but it’s not too demanding. The students are inspiring, and the professor really matters…