skills badges becoming increasingly common Alternative Credentials, Skills Badges Increasingly Common
I'm a big fan of MOOC's, I'm taking one now on International Criminal Law from Case Western Reserve University, and I love it. Not as intense as a college credit course, but I'm learning a lot about a subject that interests me, of which I had very little prior knowledge. Most of them are free, with a small fee if you want a verified certificate, it seems that $45 is standard for Coursera and $99 for EdX. I sprung for the certificate, I figured what the hell, and having Case Western Reserve in your resume/CV certainly isn't a bad thing.
Dear ol' dad tells me that it wasn't terribly uncommon, back in the day, for the department to advertise certain courses that were considered useful for those wanting specific assignments. John Jay did it, and possibly still does, with some frequency. You didn't need to stay on and get a degree. It was considered a "good" thing for you to just have completed some of these courses throughout your career as they tended to relate more to applied skills rather than theory. To me, MOOCs are a modern spin on the same. I don't need to spend money and time auditing a course that I might find interesting. I can just take it online. You don't need credit for every single learning experience especially if you already have academic degrees. I'm glad people are beginning to recognize this though it is somewhat frustrating that everyone is acting like it is a brand new concept.
https://www.edx.org/ Founded by Harvard University and MIT in 2012, edX is an online learning destination and MOOC provider, offering high-quality courses from the world’s best universities and institutions to learners everywhere. With more than 90 global partners, we are proud to count the world’s leading universities, nonprofits, and institutions as our members. EdX university members top the QS World University Rankings® with our founders receiving the top honors, and edX partner institutions ranking highly on the full list. Courses in: Architecture Art & Culture Biology & Life Sciences Business & Management Chemistry Communication Computer Science Data Analysis & Statistics Design Economics & Finance Education & Teacher Training Electronics Energy & Earth Sciences Engineering Environmental Studies Ethics Food & Nutrition Health & Safety History Humanities Language Law Literature Math Medicine Music Philosophy & Ethics Physics Science Social Sciences
