Flipping and Moocing Your Class Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the MOOC

• Author: Matt Hlinak
• Date: 01 January 2016
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jlse.12033
• Published date: 01 January 2016

Journal of Legal Studies Education

Volume 33, Issue 1, 23–35, Winter 2016

Flipping and Moocing Your Class Or:

How I Learned to Stop Worrying

and Love the MOOC

Matt Hlinak∗

I. INTRODUCTION

Popular and scholarly discussions of higher education pedagogy focus in-

creasingly on two ideas: the “flipped” classroom and massive open online

courses (MOOCs). Both of these ideas involve harnessing technology to rad-

ically rethink the way we teach our courses. A number of commentators have

argued that higher education is undergoing a massive “disruption,”1one

that heralds the end of the traditional university as we know it, although they

disagree about whether this is a good2or a bad thing.3

Both flipped classrooms and MOOCs represent substantial departures

from the traditional instructional model in higher education. But these

technology-driven innovations need not signal the end of traditional col-

leges and universities. In fact, by incorporating these modes of teaching

into our courses, we can more efficiently and effectively achieve learning

outcomes.

∗Assistant Provost for Continuing Studies and Special Initiative, Dominican University

1See,e.g., Clayton M. Christensen & Michelle R. Weise, MOOCs’ Disruption Is Only Begin-

ning,B

OSTON GLOBE (May 9, 2014), available at http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/

2014/05/09/moocs-disruption-only-beginning/S2VlsXpK6rzRx4DMrS4ADM/story.html.

2See, e.g., Thomas L. Friedman, Revolution Hits the University,N.Y.TIMES, Jan. 27, 2013, at SR1.

3See, e.g., Jason Lane & Kevin Kinser, MOOC’s and the McDonaldization of Global Higher Educa-

tion, CHRON.HIGHER ED. (Sept. 28, 2012), available at http://chronicle.com/blogs/worldwise/

moocs-mass-education-and-the-mcdonaldization-of-higher-education/30536.

C2016 The Author

Journal of Legal Studies Education C2016 Academy of Legal Studies in Business

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