Encore Episode: A Look Back at the First MOOCs

Massive open online courses have evolved quickly, and it’s instructive to look back at the earliest experiments in this new form of open learning. George Siemens, a researcher and strategist at Athabasca University’s Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute, makes the case for why colleges should experiment with inviting tens of thousands of students to participate in their courses free online. Since the Tech Therapy team conducted the interview two years ago, talk of MOOCs is now everywhere.

Program Note: Tech Therapy is going on hiatus while a co-host, Jeff Young, participates in the Nieman Fellowship program, at Harvard University, where he will study MOOCs and their impact on higher education and pedagogy.

Each month The Chronicle’s Tech Therapy podcast offers analysis of and advice on what the latest gadgets and buzzwords mean for professors, administrators, and students. Join your hosts, Jeff Young, The Chronicle’s technology editor, and Warren Arbogast, a technology consultant who works with colleges, for a lively discussion—as well as interviews with leading thinkers in technology.