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Scoop.it!
The massive open online course (MOOC) is a relatively recent educational innovation. Topically, MOOCs have covered emerging educational theories and formats, and emerging educational technologies. These topics are of interest to academic librarians, and the open/online aspect makes the MOOC a convenient avenue for professional development. 
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Scoop.it!
The ACRL Virtual World Interest Group is presenting a panel on MOOCs (massively open online courses) and the impact of the MOOC on higher education and libraries. Feel free to share this invitation with interested individuals and groups.
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Scoop.it!
The New York Times dubbed 2012 “The Year of the MOOC,” and it has since become one of the hottest topics in education. Time magazine said that free MOOCs open the door to the “Ivy League for the Masses.” Two of the world’s leading MOOCs, Coursera and Udacity, earned venture capital in the amounts of $22 million and $15 million, respectively. Educators, politicians, and yes, librarians, are taking note of this disruptive educational technology trend, and the future it holds for the training for our future scientists, doctors, nurses, engineers, and others entering STEM fields. I remember back my library school days, how librarians were fearing and struggling to redefine their role in “search” in the Age of Google, and now, they face another challenge, finding their role aiding professors and students in the Era of the MOOC.
Scoop.it!
On August 3rd, I participated in a Twitter discussion with Hybrid Pedagogy and David Stavens of Udacity. I posed a question that seemed to create a bit of a stir. “Has anyone thought of embedding librarians into MOOCs?” Mr. Stavens replied that all of Udacity’s classes had a professional teaching team supporting them. I asked if a librarian was working with the instructor as a collaborator in teaching the class. I asked if classes had access to scholarly databases for research. The lack of a direct affirmation leads me to assume the answer is no. I find it hard to believe that in all of the MOOC furor no one is considering a crucial part of education: the research component, the librarian component.
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