Reinventing Education...My MOOC Experience

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to become a better team leader at work.

OK, so I got a head start by beginning a few months ago, but what can I say? I'm aggressive that way ;-)

So, I signed up for a course via Coursera (for free) taught by 2 University of Michigan,  Ross School of Business professors called "Leading Teams."

The course itself is very interesting and informative. The lectures are delivered in bite-size chunks and they creatively integrate the coach of the Men's basketball team. There are quizzes, video, external articles, and the discussion forum.

Much like a traditional classroom setting, the discussions are what you make of them. Participate and you get something out of it.

I'm about 50% of the way through the class, but the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) experience so far has been very valuable for me, with a ton of useful information.

But what it really has done for me is further convince me of the possibilities of how education will be reinvented (here's my most recent rant).

1. I have access to some of the best business minds in the world...from my basement.
2. I'm connected with a self-selecting group of learners who enrich it...from my phone.
3. I'm learning.

Yes, you still need the face to face and opportunity to get exposed to other/new ideas...but I just have to believe there are going to be more cost-effective ways to do that than the traditional model.