Anant Agarwal is an Indian computer architecture researcher. He is a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he led the development of Alewife, an early cache coherent multiprocessor, and also has served as director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
• Gordon Lightfoot (Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. CC OOnt is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international...)
• Eric Le Lann (Éric Le Lann is a French jazz trumpeter. He moved to Paris in 1977 where he had his professional ...)
• Anthony Rapp (Anthony Deane Rapp is an American stage and film actor and singer best known for originating the ...)
Hi /IAmA,
I’m the CEO of [edX] (http://bit.ly/2drO6zC), the leading nonprofit online learning destination founded by Harvard and MIT. Originally conceived and developed by MIT, the accelerated and flexible [MicroMasters program] (http://bit.ly/2dK4EOy) is a first-of-its-kind, credential with a pathway to credit with value to learners, employers, and academic institutions. [MicroMasters programs] (http://bit.ly/2dK4EOy) provide learners with a new path to a Master’s degree–one which can be completed with less time away from work and is a respected credential for success in desirable careers such as [Supply Chain Management] (http://bit.ly/2dK1Lh0), [Android App Development] (http://bit.ly/2drNTfV), [UX Design] (http://bit.ly/2drOTk8), [Artificial Intelligence] (http://bit.ly/2drNOch), [Entrepreneurship] (http://bit.ly/2drN6vz) and more.
The MicroMasters credential bridges the knowledge gap between higher education and the workplace, while providing learners with in-demand knowledge to advance their career or follow a pathway to an on-campus degree program.
Joining me in this AMA today from 1-2:30pm ET is [Dr. Chris Caplice] (http://bit.ly/2dK1sCV), Executive Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, and Director for [MITx MicroMasters credential in Supply Chain Management] (http://bit.ly/2dK1Lh0). His courses make up the first MicroMasters credential to be offered at MIT and will be the first to accept blended Master's students beginning in late 2017. Ask us anything!
Check out my [AMA from one year ago] (http://bit.ly/2dK2jTQ) and watch my [TED talk] (http://www.ted.com/talks/anant_agarwal_why_massively_open_online_courses_still_matter?language=en) to find out more about edX and our work.
Proof: https://flic.kr/p/MJG61G
My boys are 4 years old right now, what do you expect their college years to look like considering the advances in educational technology and acceptance of programs like micromasters?
I think the education landscape will be completely transformed over the next 20 to 30 years. Universities and schools will certainly be running strong, but how we teach and learn will be different. The main theme is likely to be unbundling, where we modularize all sorts of things that are lumped together today. In particular, we will see an unbundling of the clock, the credential and the content. Unbundling of the clock means that you will be able to complete big degree programs that take 2 years or 4 years, from more modular components. For example, several micromasters from various universities might be stacked by a learner to get a full master's degree. I wrote a blog post on this on Huffington Post. Here is the link if you want to read more. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anant-agarwal/unbundled-reimagining-higher-education_b_4414048.html
Does Micromasters program helps to switch disciplines for those who had done the prerequisite for a particular Micromasters by doing other MOOCs?
MicroMasters are perfect for those who want to switch disciplines. You do not need a previous degree, or GRE scores, or recommendation letters to get admission. There is no admission. Everyone is welcome. You can get prerequisites from other MOOCs.
Does this program work for students with little work place experience?
Yes. MicroMasters caters largely to two audiences. One is people who are already in jobs and want to advance in their careers, or switch careers. Second is for people that are in undergraduate programs and want to get a career-focused credential that will help them land their first job.
Have more universities implemented your program and other online programs over the last year? Do you notice an accelerated growth in universities using online courses? In your opinion, how far off are we from having all universities 100% online?
Yes. We started with the pathbreaking experiment with the Supply Chain MicroMasters from MIT on edX. 2 weeks ago we launched 18 additional MicroMasters from 13 additional universities in 3 languages. These include AI MicroMasters from Columbia, UX design from Michigan, Project Management MicroMasters from RIT, etc.
However, we are still a ways off from all universities going online. Many already are on edX and other platforms, and my hope is that this trend will continue and more and more will go online in the future.
How are the Micro-Masters different to the nanodegrees Udacity and the specialization courses Coursera offers?
I do understand that you gain credit points for a later university degree...but isn't the whole idea of MOOCs to showcase hands-on skills? How are they integrated into the Micro-Masters?
Nanodegrees and specializations are similar to edX XSeries. MicroMasters is different. Unlike an XSeries on edx or nanodegree, the MicroMasters is (a) credit backed, in that you can get credit for the MicroMasters if you get admitted to the university. For example, for the supply chain micromasters, you can get half the credit of the masters at MIT if you get admitted into the program if you successfully get the micromasters. (b) Each micromasters is endorsed by a corporation. For example, the Columbia Micromasters in AI has a testimonial from GE. (c) Each Micromasters is more substantive and rigorous. It is anywhere from a quarter to a half of a Masters degree. (d) And perhaps importantly for many learners, micromasters are true MOOC based in that each course is available for you to learn fully free -- you are not blocked from the graded homework or exams if you do not pay. Finally, note that many micromasters have capstone or integrated projects.
What is the selection criteria and selection ratio for Masters degree after completing a Micromasters degree like AI?
There are no set criteria. It really depend on the university that offers the degree. Columbia offers the MicroMasters in AI on edx and they make the admissions decisions into their campus master's program. Most of our university partners have indicated that they will consider performance in the MicroMasters as one of the factor in the admissions process.
How do you respond to the many employers and former students who say that the course certificates from completing your courses do nothing to help them find a job?
Employers are telling us that MicroMasters certificates will be valued in the marketplace. For example, Michael Idelchik , Vice President of Advanced Technology Programs, GE, says this about our Columbia University MicroMasters in Artificial Intelligence: "GE highly values professionals with proficiency in artificial intelligence and machine learning. For me, a candidate credentialed through edX MicroMasters course in Artificial Intelligence would have a marked advantage."
Similarly in a survey of our learners who earned certificates in career oriented courses that edx conducted recently, 43% said they had a positive career outcome as a result of their MOOC certificates including a new job, a career change, a promotion. 47% are posting these credentials on their LinkedIn profile, and 45% of learners are including them in their resume.
Do you expect to add a full master degree online as a third option to the existing full time on campus and micromaster a + time on campus options from MIT?
Many of the edX partner universities are talking to us about creating stackable MicroMasters programs that can result in a full online masters degree. So I expect this is likely to happen in the future. Can't say exactly when tho.
Is it good for a student to leave his/her job and committed to Micromasters and other MOOCCs to become expert in a particular field like Android development fulltime to switch careers?
I would recommend against leaving your current job. One of the benefits of micromasters is that unlike going to a campus program for a year, they can be done completely online, flexibly, from your own home. You can learn for free, and earn a credential if you pass for about $1000. So you can keep your job, and be learning at the same time at your own pace. This model is particularly useful for people looking to switch into in-demand careers such as Android development, project management, UX design, Supply Chain Management, AI, etc.
First of all, thanks a lot - for everything that edX is to everyone - anytime, anywhere.
Is MicroMasters credential dependant on honour code? Can MOOCs become mainstream without automated digital proctoring? How can learners gain employer & academic recognition of skills acquired? What are current alternatives to honour code that are being explored?
You can take MicroMasters courses and learn for free. These are truly MOOCs. However, if you want the MicroMasters credential you have to sign up for the verified certificate track where you will have to take some exams that are virtually proctored or use other means of ensuring integrity. edX has worked to integrate virtual digital proctoring on our platform at scale.
I heard about Akshay Kulkarni who got a job in Microsoft after doing courses in edX.
But I am also from the same college he studied and I too got the same job. Not just me rather 7 more from the Same college and Microsoft regularly recruits 30 people from reputed local colleges in Hyderabad ever year and so he got it because of the college and the opportunities that college give.
Isn't it a hyperbole to showcase it as if it is because of edX and instead it is because of college's reputation and the quality of teaching at college ?
Looks like a publicity stunt for both Akshay & edX !
I am delighted to hear of your success. Learning from colleges and universities is always going to help you in your career and life. However, becoming a lifelong learner and taking advanced material online also adds value. edX is a non-profit and our goal is to increase access to education to everyone in the world, so that anyone, anywhere can learn for free, without regard to income, religion, caste, or color. This will level the playing field for everyone.
You can read about Akshay's story here.
http://blog.edx.org/akshay-kulkarni-from-edx-courses-to-a-job-at-microsoft?track=blog
I heard about Akshay Kulkarni who got a job in Microsoft after doing courses in edX.
But I am also from the same college he studied and I too got the same job. Not just me rather 7 more from the Same college and Microsoft regularly recruits 30 people from reputed local colleges in Hyderabad ever year and so he got it because of the college and the opportunities that college give.
Isn't it a hyperbole to showcase it as if it is because of edX and instead it is because of college's reputation and the quality of teaching at college ?
Looks like a publicity stunt for both Akshay & edX !
It is well worth showcasing your MicroMasters credential or other edX certificates for jobs. On edX you can share your certificate on linkedin with one click. You can also list them on your resume. In fact, nearly half of our surveyed learners are posting their edx credentials on linkedin. Also 43% of our surveyed learners said they had a positive career outcome -- such as a new job, raise, career change -- as a result of their credential.