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Testing the Potential Benefits of Continual Learning Opportunities Through MOOC

Testing the Potential Benefits of Continual Learning Opportunities Through MOOC

“Nanodegrees were not created to compete with universities, but rather to democratise access to higher learning through a model oriented towards results, realistic about employment market requirements, and in touch with the complex situation in which many students find themselves”

- Sebastian Thrun, Stanford University professor, former head of Google Glass and the Waymo self-driving car, founded the Udacity online courses platform

EXPERIMENT

  • The Code(Cayman).Commit program is a fully funded 1 year subscription to https://coursera.com combined with in person assistance from Code(Cayman) Volunteers and a support network with other commit participants.
  • The Commit program has started at a small scale with 6 participants currently enrolled
  • There has been no major marketing behind this idea.
  • We need to test the first part of our theory, namely that attaining one or more nanodegree(s) combined with some other open-source or published projects and a local support network will help people build their technology confidence and intrigue whilst making them an attractive employable candidate.

STEPS

  • Leverage the Code(Cayman) mentor and participant network to inspire, connect, support and incentivize the local labour market to pursue online learning and build skills that multinational organizations are looking for.
  • Work with our overseas network to identify any opportunities for learners to find remote work opportunities
  • Work with local businesses to understand the course content and how it will help them meet their requirements

MEASURE

  • Figure out the proper sample size of Cayman labour force
  • Measure number of nanocerts enrollment against sample size
  • Measure how many participants finish the programs, how long they spend per week, what is the drop off rate
  • Measure number of local companies considering nanodegrees as core competencies
  • Measure how nanodegrees combined with other knowledge / open source projects effects employability

COSTS

  • The commit program currently costs $40 per month payable to https://coursera.com. Code(Cayman) currently pays these fees and provides a dedicated volunteer to offer real time support / guidance when a learner is stuck on an assignment or expressing interest in next steps.
    • We can get these fees down if we offer it at scale across the island
    • We would need to strengthen our volunteer network to ensure continue support / guidance is always available
    • If this is going very well, we may need to consider funding for dedicated mentors.

CONCLUSION

  • If successful, we would have the most cost effective way to bootstrap our retraining initiatives
  • Help inspire parents to ensure their children are more focused on the digital and STEM training
  • Create an inclusive and tech focused labour force that looks beyond Cayman borders for economic opportunity while also helping local businesses be more technologically advanced.