THE 13TH ZODIAC: The NYTimes boldly proclaims 2012 "The Year of the MOOC." For the uninitiated, author Laura Pappano's wordy piece provides a cursory overview of the forces leading the "revolution," while highlighting the generally positive experiences of its users along with some "kinks" like grading and cheating. (Here's a side-by-side comparison between what Udacity, Coursera, and edX offer in terms of courses, assessments, academic integrity, social integration, pacing and certification.) However, statements like "MOOCs have been around for a few years," drive sharp-eyed observers like Audrey Watters worrying about the "lack of historical knowledge about education technology." (And no, she doesn't think Sal Khan's 11-minute blitzkrieg through edtech history with Forbes counts.) Nick Anderson has a similarly lengthy overview of them over at Washington Post, in case you're not MOOC'ed out yet this week. (We're getting there.)
