Noob Question: MOOCS, etc

[AmeliaC]

Hello guys. I mentioned before I have a B&M AA (journalism). Now I'm studying for the Civil War DSST.

My question: I'm curious about the usefulness of MOOCs et al for a degree. Is there any way to get credit? Through PLAs? I'm taking a MOOC in Human and Sex Trafficking from Moody and curious about the constitution class from Hillsdale... Can these help me in any way other than personal?
Thanks!

A

[ladylearner]

Hello guys. I mentioned before I have a B&M AA (journalism). Now I'm studying for the Civil War DSST.

My question: I'm curious about the usefulness of MOOCs et al for a degree. Is there any way to get credit? Through PLAs? I'm taking a MOOC in Human and Sex Trafficking from Moody and curious about the constitution class from Hillsdale... Can these help me in any way other than personal?
Thanks!

A

MOOCS can help you develop a PLA portfolio. This article touches on that and you will note the remarks from Learning Counts. They are equipped to handle it and I'm actually planning to complete a few PLAs that way. It's really not much different than completing a portfolio based on training acquired in the format of another class. I have taken free online classes and workshops elsewhere and used that training and the assignments to develop portfolios. However, you will need to match your learning with the course outcomes of a class at a regionally accredited college (if Moody and Hillsdale aren't).

[SweetSecret]

Moody is regionally accredited, so she should get credit for the current class she's in unless she opted not to take it for credit.

I am planning to take Coursera's MOOC in human trafficking. I believe I probably already know the bulk of the course content, but as the last user suggested - I am planning to aim for a number of upper-level PLA credits in sexual economics, human sex trafficking, exploitation, etc. I worked "in the industry" for 14 years traveling nationally, & have written/documented a lot about it, so getting credit for it shouldn't be too hard. More people really should take human trafficking courses though, especially people going into criminal justice, homeland security, & psychology. There is an extreme lack of understanding & resources to help victims.

[EI2HCB]

The only issue is that the MOOC isn't part of a credit bearing program. Moody is now accredited which is good news (no pun intended) if you were actually enrolled there, but taking the MOOC will expand your knowledge and allow you to put together a folio to see if you can gain credit through a prior learning assessment which some people deem too time consuming since there is no options for gaining credit for such an interesting course currently other than PLA that should be the way to go.

[cathgrl]

BTW Hillsdale is also RA.

[ladylearner]

I just wanted to clarify something about MOOCs and regional accreditation. If the OP is taking a MOOC for his/her own personal knowledge, regional accreditation doesn't matter. To get credit for having obtained such knowledge, a portfolio consisting of takeaways from the MOOC is a great idea. In order to get credit for the portfolio, you have to show that the learning matches that of a class from a regionally accredited college.

This is a perfect example of the usefulness of portfolios. The OP presumably has an interest in writing (journalism major) and is obviously interested in the topics and will be taking the classes anyway. Why not get credit for the time and the knowledge? Also nice additions to a professional portfolio.