There are lots of interesting things floating around in my RSS feeds, Yammer and Twitter about the role of librarians and MOOCs.

Howard, Jennifer; For Libraries, MOOCs Bring Uncertainty and Opportunity, The Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle of Higher Education (March 25, 2013). Here’s a quote….

“Ms. O’Brien had one piece of basic advice for librarians wondering what to make of MOOC mania: Take a MOOC or two to see what they’re really like. “You can’t be a valued adviser if you don’t understand what it takes to do one of these courses,” she told the audience.”

Image by BrianCSmith CC Some rights reserved

Some that might be of particular interest to librarians…

• Metadata: organizing and discovering information – starts September 2013 (8 weeks)
• Hyperlinked Library MOOC – starts September 2013
• Surviving disruptive technologies – started 3 days ago, but looks like you an still sign up. 2-4 hours per week for 7 weeks
• Introduction to data science – May 2013 (8 weeks)
• Globalizing Higher Education and Research for the ‘Knowledge Economy” – Jan 2014 (8 weeks)
• Apps for Librarians & Educators ($125)
• Accessibility features of iOS for the iPad and iPhone
• How to write a thesis ($12)
• Responsible Computing – sounds interesting to see how they ‘develop foundational computing and information literacy’ for college freshmen
• The Economics of Information: Strategy, Structure and Pricing
• Digital Learning Transition

But you could choose one on any topic you like:

• How to listen to orchestras
• Introduction to guitar
• Message of the image
• Polite Puppy Dog Training Classes

Have you enrolled in a MOOC? What was it like? Have you asked your employer to fund a MOOC for professional development? How did that go?