On-line education unlimited

Цей урок є авторською розробкою засновника проекту «English4every1», посилання на цей ресурс є обов’язковою умовою його використання з навчальною метою.

Multimedia-based discussion «On-line Education Unlimited»

I. General questions about education

1. How do you think education could be improved in your country?

2. Do you think education should be free? Why or why not?

3. In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of education?

4. Why do some children have trouble doing schoolwork? How can we help them?

5. Do you think teachers get paid enough? How much should they be paid?

6. Do you think language education could be improved? If not, why not? If yes, how could it be improved?

7. Which do you think is more valuable, the experience we get on the job or in society or the theoretical knowledge we learn in schools?

II. Questions about on-line education

Q.1: Why should one do on-line courses?

Q.2: How to tell a good on-line course from a bad one?

Q.3: What are advantages and disadvantages of having free on-line education? Does it advance the pace of technological development, or, on the contrary, slow it down? Which part of your family budget are you ready to invest in the education (in percent)?

Q.4: Full-tuition scholarship is a unique opportunity for adults to continue higher education. If you had a possibility to enroll in a course, and pursuit a Master degree in a field you are interested in, would you take it? Which course would you choose?

Q.5: “Since it launched in January 2008, Project Working Mom has sent more than 150 working parents back to school through more than $6 million in full-tuition scholarships.” Do you know any similar project in Ukraine where you can apply and obtain scholarships for your educational goals?

Q.6: Is it possible to be credited in areas students have already mastered? Which tool (or procedure) can be used for that purpose?

Q.7: What indispensable tools, electronic equipment do you have to get for on-line courses?

Q.8: Which traits should any successful student possess?

Q.9: Have you ever enrolled in any on-line courses like Coursera, Udacity, and edX etc? What was your experience?

III. Video fragment # 1 “Is the future of education on-line?”

— What is the craziest thing about on-line education?

— How many universities are involved in Coursera project?

— Are students not able to get a college credit or a degree from on-line courses?

— Who is the father of on-line courses?

— What is the purpose of Khan Academy?

 IV. Look at the factors to consider before starting an on-line course. Prioritize them in the order starting from the most important ones. Explain your order to the partner.

	Define Your On-line Education Goals	Before starting the on-line program search, students should define why they want to earn a degree on-line.
	Explore Accredited Programs	There are many on-line providers offering courses to willing participants, but not all programs come with a stamp of approval like accreditation. Degrees without reputable accreditation may not be as appealing to grad schools or employers.
	Find Out How Tuition is Handled	Before starting a program, students should find out how tuition is handled—whether it is charged by the credit hour or year, or in one lump sum.
	Free Online Courses	With programs such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX students can earn certificates of completion from top schools such as Stanford University or Harvard University.
	Make Sure Your Technology is Current	No matter how good an on-line program may be, the experience can be hindered if a student is not using technology to support the courses.
	Must-Have Tools You’ll Need to Purchase	On-line students should prepare themselves with additional resources, such as a printer, tools for easy bibliographies, note-taking software, and a Web cam.
	Research the Instructors	The investment may go to waste if they have poor instructors. Students considering online education should try to reach out to educators in the programs and ask questions about how the programs are administered.
	Search for Scholarships to Fund Your Education	There are financial resources available to help fund an online degree. Students should contact on-line providers directly or look for organizations that specifically offer scholarships for on-line education programs.
	Stay Organized	a set schedule for completing assignments should be prepared to stay on top of studies if you don’t want to face a lot of pressure
	Test Out of Certain On-line Courses	Students can potentially test out of certain courses through Prior Learning Assessments—and earn credit in areas that they’ve already mastered without going through the classes.

 V. Video fragment # 2 “A 12-year-old app developer”

Warming-up

Have you got what it takes to be successful in whatever you do? What are these key components of your success? Is it possible without traditional education to become a self-educated specialist?

Pre-teach:

SDK (от англ. software development kit) — комплект средств разработки

app short for application (приложение, прикладная программа)

persuade -убеждать (в чём-л.), склонить (к чему-л.), уговорить (на что-л.)

developer — разработчик

fascination -очарование, обаяние

After watching activities:

Tom was able to teach himself to be build iphone apps. What was a driving force of his being apps developer? Is he a talented boy or rather a geek? In your opinion, what is the difference between a geek and a talented person?

VI. Complete the gaps with the words from  Pre-teach section.

The _______________ is a suite of tools for creating and programming an iPhone app.

I’ve always had a _________  for computers and technology

My first _____ was a unique fortune teller

So I __________ my parents to pay the 99 dollar fee to be able to put my apps on the App Store.

VII. Questionnaire “TO BE or NOT to BE a TECH Geek?” 

VIII. Useful links

www.coursera.org

www.khanacademy.org

www.udacity.com

www.edx.org