#thefunacademy

As the end of our blog draws near, we thought it would be helpful to summarize some of the key takeaways we hoped to accomplish over the past few months.

The first, and perhaps, most important aspect of our blog was explaining what exactly MOOCs and online education are all about. Online education allows people, regardless of their location, to take classes of any level or discipline, with nothing more than an Internet connection.

This new form of education, which can be used to gain formal degrees and diplomas, or just casually learn, is growing rapidly every day. Institutions like Harvard and Princeton have begun offering classes for credit online, making elite education accessible than ever before.

We then hoped to develop some of the innovative uses and methods of e-learning. One of the most groundbreaking uses of online learning has been developed by the Khan Academy. They have created online software that work in conjunction with traditional classrooms and have allowed teachers to track their students’ progress digitally. This allows educators to pinpoint where students are having difficulty and gives them the ability to focus on the individual needs of their students more effectively.

Other websites like Busuu, created by students of IE Business School, have allowed people to learn languages online through social communities. Utilizing technology has given people the ability to connect, not only to endless amount of information, but to people from across the globe. This allows people to interact and learn from each other on a level previously thought unimaginable.

The benefits of online education and MOOCs are also plenty. Innovative technologies have made education more accessible, substantially cheaper (if not complete free), and flexible than traditional practices.

Of course, there are also a number of limitations to online education innovations as they stand today. From the perceived legitimacy of MOOCs and online degrees to barriers related to computer literacy and access to internet. The inability to create, often necessary, hands-on experiences online, is another significant barrier to e-learning replacing traditional classrooms completely.

Finally, relating back to the overarching topic of our class and blog, we have to ask how this all relates to management. Managers have already begun using these innovative educational tools to train employees, while spending less money, requiring less time, and allowing more flexibility.

Online education has come a long way in recent years, and from what we have found, it is just the beginning!

Thanks for your reading our blog, we hoped you enjoyed it!