Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for School Education in India: Advantages,
Challenges and Suggestions for Implementation
Yash Paul Sharma
Central Institute of Educational Technology, National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi-11016
Abstract
Education is the backbone of any country. In India Right to Education encompasses the compulsory and free education to children between 6 and 14 years. But because of diverse sociological, geographical and political situation to achieve the target is far from reality. With changing time, new and innovative technologies make it possible to spread the seed of education to unreach and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are among them. MOOCs have various advantages over traditional teaching but challenging too. Implementation of MOOCs for school education requires technical expertise along with army of trainers. MOOCs will provide additional support to the learner as well teacher and also in teacher training programmes. MOOCs will be more beneficial for out of school children and in technical education. The education should be in blended mode and if Government adopts any strategy for certification as par with regular education, the MOOCs will be boon for India.
Keywords: MOOCs, Massive Open Online Courses, SWAYAM, Open Educational Resources, OER, School Education, Educational Technology.
