Assingment #1

Assignment #1

ENC-102-GS

When I first came to the United States from the Dominican Republic, my goal was to graduate from college, have a successful career, get married and start a family. Well, things didn’t really happen in that order. Life happened and two out of four isn't bad but it’s not enough for me. Today I find myself working towards my undergraduate degree in the most unexpected way—attending my classes from home through online courses. Massive open online courses (MOOC) have come a long way since they first began in Canada in 2008 (“The Digital Degree,” 2014) and many people are finding that this is the way to pursue their dream of continuing their education while balancing their jobs and life at home.

Half a century ago, a college graduate could land a good paying job that could afford him a decent home for his growing family in a nice neighborhood and provide a comfortable life for them on just his salary. Most likely the first job out of college he landed would be the company he stayed with for 30-40 years and retire with a comfortable pension and decent retirement savings. Today, many companies are merging and technology is constantly changing. You have to continue taking courses to keep up with the technology. Online courses offer the flexibility the many professionals in the workforce are looking for. These courses are also at a lower cost than a traditional college course would be and yet you get the same college credit as if you were sitting in a class. Flexibility, low cost and same credit as a traditional college course---sounds like a win/win for me, but is it a win/win for colleges and universities?

An article in The Economist (2014) believes that colleges and universities are starting to sit up and pay attention to the needs of students in order to survive with the trends and technology of tomorrow. The author states, three disrupted waves are threatening to upend established ways of teaching and learning (“The...