MOOC – Working with BigQuery

Working with BigQuery is a free course provided by Coursera Project Network. The course’s learning outcomes are to teach students how to run queries, perform visualizations, and create a report on big data from Google BigQuery. Additionally, students will be able to learn how to save queries, views, and reports from BigQuery. The course is organized and structured into four modules. The first is a reading module that goes over the project overview, introducing the learner BigQuery. The next module focuses on a hands-on application where the student and instructor will work on the project together. After, the students will complete a graded quiz which must be passed to complete the project successfully. Lastly, the student can participate in a learner survey, where they can give their feedback on the guided project.

Comparison with Traditional Courses

Compared with other traditional courses, the learning experience for this course was similar to any conventional course. The legitimacy of the course was accurate in terms of the material delivered and the overall experience. When I took the course, it felt like any other course or lesson I have participated in. I had autonomy over my work, and as it was a guided project where the instructor provided the instructions and from those instructions, I was able to apply them to the project. The individual nature of this course limited my ability to connect with others.
Moreover, the connection with the instructor was one-sided, with the instructor only providing one introductory video at the beginning of the course. When it came to the assessment and evaluation of the course, a quiz was given where learners were given multiple opportunities to pass. The quiz content was simple enough to complete as long as the guided project was being followed. After completing this course, I learned the basics of BigQuery and how to view, create, and run queries from big data. Overall, I was delighted with the course, and for the short duration of the course, I was able to learn many concepts about queries that I can compound with my current knowledge of queries.

xMOOC or cMOOC

I would label this course as xMOOC because the course is limited in terms of content. The content is exclusive to the platform (Coursera), and the exercises are limited. Although the activities were limited, the guided project was insightful and provided much meaningful information in a small project. What also makes this course an xMOOC is that it lacks connectivism among other students. The course structure is one on one, and there are no opportunities to collaborate with others taking the course.

Open MOOC?

For this MOOC, I would consider it to be open because it is easily accessible and can be provided for each student willing to participate in the course. What makes a MOOC open is that there are no limitations in enrollment, prerequisites, or cost. This course meets these standards, which makes it an “open” course.

Final Thoughts

I chose this activity because MOOCs are an excellent way to learn new skills at zero cost. Many universities offer MOOCs and are not only limited to MOOC providers. The variety in choosing what you want to know can further improve learning and reinforce current knowledge. This experience taught me how accessible some courses are and how simple it is to start. When I want to learn about a topic outside of class, it is sometimes difficult to be in charge of my learning and where exactly to begin. I can find what I’d like to learn with MOOCs and go from there. This additional guidance gave me an area to start when learning about a new concept.