Massive open online courses (MOOCs) provide free, accessible, expertise to anyone with an internet connection, but how can MOOCs really help you and your students? This webinar for secondary school counselors will detail practical ways in which you can use MOOCs to enhance your counseling program and how your students can use MOOCs to their benefit. You will hear from secondary school counselors about how they are currently using MOOCs at their schools, as well as a representative from Coursera, one of the major MOOC providers, who will share information about trends and platform updates relevant to secondary schools. The webinar will also briefly explore how MOOCs in the application are being viewed by admission offices. In the end, you will have practical examples of ways to use the free resources that MOOCs present.
2. Today’s Panelists
7 am Session
Craig Brown, brownc@isb.be
Counselor, International School of Brussels
Michael Clancy, uniplacement@sis.org.cn
High School Counselor, Shekou International School
Meghan Dangremond, Meghan.Dangremond@tufts.edu
Associate Director of Admissions, Tufts University
International ACAC Executive Board, Vice President for
Membership
Erick Hyde, herick@sas.upenn.edu
University Connection Counselor, University of Pennsylvania
English Language Programs
Instructor, Applying to U.S. Universities MOOC on Coursera
FACILATOR : Tim Munnerlyn, American School of Warsaw
7 pm Session
Michael Clancy, uniplacement@sis.org.cn
High School Counselor, Shekou International School
Erick Hyde, herick@sas.upenn.edu
University Connection Counselor, University of Pennsylvania
English Language Programs
Instructor, Applying to U.S. Universities MOOC on Coursera
Becky Konowicz, rkonowicz@scu.edu
Director of International Admission, Santa Clara University
International ACAC Executive Board, Vice President for
Professional Development
Alex Sarlin, alex@courser.org
Teaching and Learning Team, Coursera
FACILATOR : Aaron Andersen, University of British Columbia
4. Why Discuss MOOCs?
In May 2015 FutureLearn launched
the largest MOOC ever…
440,000 learners
153 countries
So, why discuss MOOCs…
E
5. How Can You and Your Students Use MOOCs?
The goal of today’s webinar is to answer this question by:
•Providing examples of ways counselors are using MOOCs with
students and parents
•Sharing information about how high school students are
benefitting from MOOC participation
•Exploring how admission offices are considering MOOCs in
applications
•Offering resources for understanding and using MOOCs
E
6. The MOOC Landscape
•Completion rates range from 4-15% of all
learners, and from 50-95% of committed,
paid learners
•Coursera has 850+ university courses
available on-demand in virtually any topic
• 36% of learners report that they are
there to aid in an existing educational
program
•14% of learners are there to decide a
field of study
• 3% of learners are high schoolers
E / A
7. Top Courses for American High School
Students (ages 13-18) Top Domains
for High Schoolers
Calculus One Ohio State
Competitive Strategy LMU (Munich)
Chinese for Beginners Peking University
Learning How to Learn UC San Diego
Introduction to Public Speaking University of Washington
Introduction to Philosophy University of Edinburgh
Machine Learning Stanford University
Child Nutrition and Cooking Stanford University
Calculus Two Ohio State University
Introductory Human Physiology Duke University
Programming for Everybody
(Getting Started with Python)
University of Michigan
Advanced Chemistry University of Kentucky
Arts and Humanities
Computer Science
Business
Physical Science and
Engineering
Math and Logic
Life Sciences
Personal Development
Social Sciences
Data Science
E / A
8. Coursera Financial Aid and Certificates
•Course completers can earn
shareable certificates
•Course content is free, but
certificates & some graded
assessments require payment
•Financial aid available in all
courses and requires just an essay
•Over 100,000 financial aid
recipients last year
•Financial aid is virtually
guaranteed for applicants
E / A
9. Coursera High School Initiatives
•Project-Based Learning to teach the nuts
and bolts of admissions
•Providing options for underserved learners
who are doing college-level work that may
not be offered at their schools (Pre-calc,
Machine Learning, Chinese)
• Teaching Study and college success skills
• Using courses to fill college prerequisites
(early)
• Talking to Raise.me for possible micro-
scholarships (early)
E / A
11. Using MOOCs in Counseling: Auditioning
Schools and Faculty
E
12. Using MOOCs in Counseling:
Shekou International School
SIS uses Applying to U.S.
Universities (APUSU) for:
•Counseling
•Students
•Parents
MC
13. Using MOOCs in Counseling:
Shekou International School
Building lessons around APUSU videos
MC
14. Bridging Counseling and Students
MOOCs for h.s. to college transition are also
available:
Coursera:
University of Washington
U101: Understanding College and College Life
University of Kentucky
How to Succeed in College
FutureLearn:
University of East Anglia
Preparing for University
Study Skills for International Students
E
15. How Students Can Use MOOCs:
International School of Brussels
Students are using MOOCs to
prepare for the future
•Econ student
•Test current abilities
•Go beyond current level
•To understand their field
C / E
16. How Students Can Use MOOCs:
International School of Brussels
Students are using MOOCs to
use in their applications
•Engineering student and
Cambridge app
•Demonstrating an interest in a
subject beyond classroom
curriculum
C / E
17. How Students Can Use MOOCs
Other benefits:
•Understanding rigor
•Exploration without commitment
•Prepare for flipped or blended
classes
C / E
18. MOOCs in the Application
Perceptions of Students –vs- Reality of Admissions
•“Admissions officers will be impressed that I’ve done a
MOOC.”
•No admission staff said participation in a MOOC would
be “very” or “extremely significant”
•80% of admission staff polled have average to no
familiarity with MOOCs
•“Admission officer will be even MORE impressed if I do ONE
HUNDRED MOOCs!”
•AO said, “…the student’s h.s. GPA and especially
school/community involvement should not be sacrificed
in order to make time to participate in a MOOC.
MD / B
19. MOOCs in the Application
Perceptions of Students –vs- Reality of Admissions
•“I must full devote myself to this endeavor for it to matter.”
•Only 10% of survey respondents indicated that completion of the MOOC was necessary
•“I am earning credit toward my degree.”
•Only 4.1% of university staff polled said their institutions would consider granting
credit for completion of a MOOC
•“If I take a MOOC through Harvard, it will demonstrate my interest in attending.”
•Survey results showed less value in who offers the MOOC; the value lies in the topic
Survey Question #3
12 schools indicated that they offer
MOOCs
Survey Question #7
Only 4 schools indicated that they would
consider a MOOC as demonstrated
interest
(if the MOOC was offered by their
institution)
MD / B
20. How to Add Value with MOOCs
Purpose
•Intellectual curiosity
•Genuine engagement in a new
topic
•Exploring subjects during holidays
or a gap year
•Filling knowledge gaps
•Exploring topics not offered in
school
•Great opportunity for expanding
horizons depending on curriculum
Practice
•Reporting thoughtfully
•Activities section under “Academic”
or “Other Activity”
•More than 50% of respondents
consider MOOCs to be an
extracurricular activity or sign of
intellectual engagement
•Developing talking points
•Supplement responses
•Interview conversations
•Representation in recommendations
MD / B
21. Additional Resources
Links to articles and
more information
about using MOOCs
will be posted on the
International ACAC
site along with the
presentation slides
and recording.
To start searching for
MOOCs
E
22. Questions and Thank You!
7 am Session
Craig Brown, brownc@isb.be
Counselor, International School of Brussels
Michael Clancy, uniplacement@sis.org.cn
High School Counselor, Shekou International School
Meghan Dangremond, Meghan.Dangremond@tufts.edu
Associate Director of Admissions, Tufts University
International ACAC Executive Board, Vice President for
Membership
Erick Hyde, herick@sas.upenn.edu
University Connection Counselor, University of Pennsylvania
English Language Programs
Instructor, Applying to U.S. Universities MOOC on Coursera
7 pm Session
Michael Clancy, uniplacement@sis.org.cn
High School Counselor, Shekou International School
Erick Hyde, herick@sas.upenn.edu
University Connection Counselor, University of Pennsylvania
English Language Programs
Instructor, Applying to U.S. Universities MOOC on Coursera
Becky Konowicz, rkonowicz@scu.edu
Director of International Admission, Santa Clara University
International ACAC Executive Board, Vice President for
Professional Development
Alex Sarlin, alex@courser.org
Teaching and Learning Team, Coursera
