My latest MOOC started today, ‘Discovering Your PhD Potential: Writing a Research Proposal’ offered by the University of Leicester via FutureLearn.
I had enrolled several weeks ago and was hurrying through another couple so that I could focus my full attention on this one.
Well, so far so good. I’ve enjoyed the discussions with other students and clearly am learning the importance of peer engagement when I’m particularly interested in the course content. In previous MOOCs I’ve often skipped over the discussions for the simple reason that it’s a daunting exercise to read, respond and then repeat as necessary, especially where the number of learners have been massive (no pun intended really!).
I’ve decided that I’m not going to post further on the benefits / disadvantages of MOOCs (may save that for a future research article!). For now, I’m taking ones that I consider will help my academic development, withdrawing from some if I feel they don’t meet the description and for the most part, and engaging more in those that I enjoy.
One of the opening activities in this week’s work is to write an entry in our reflective journal to begin to form a clear career path. Guess what? I have this done already, well, pretty much so in my first blog post, but in the interests of the MOOC I will take the activity seriously. Here’s what’s being asked:
- Where do you see yourself in five years’ time? In ten years? Consider carefully whether doing a PhD will help you to fully achieve this, and if so how?
Hopefully in 5 years time I’ll be quite a bit along my doctorate journey. I still don’t know whether it will be a PhD, EdD, DPhil, or DSocSci but I’m pretty sure they all fall under the ‘doctorate’ umbrella! In 10 years time I’d like to be able to fill in forms with the prefix Dr. rather than Ms. – shallow I know, but this is my retirement so I’m indulging myself.
2. Do you need to consider other types of study before embarking on a PhD?
Yes. Since I’m most interested in Digital Education and Sustainable Development these days my upcoming postgrad at University of Edinburgh will be a good stepping stone.
So, that’s this week’s blog post done, short and sweet, and the first activity for the MOOC – happy days!
Sandra Flynn 