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I’ve recently returned from taking a course on negotiation at Harvard Law School.  This was an in-person course where I was a student, which gives me something to compare my MOOC experiences to as I address the topic of online v. in-person classes.  I provide a few of my thoughts on the topic after the break.

ALSB

For those interested in the Academy of Legal Studies in Business (“ALSB”) conference in Seattle (August 4-7), the deadline to upload papers is June 29, and early-bird conference registration ends on July 1. 

More information is available at the ALSB website.  The ALSB conference is the national conference for legal studies professors in business schools, though I believe that interested practitioners and law professors would also be welcome. 

Hope to see some of our readers in Seattle. 

If you were designing a massive open online course (a “MOOC”), how would you make it as effective as possible? 

This week I am not looking at how MOOCs compare to in-person courses, but rather I am looking at how various MOOCs compare to one another. 

A few of my thoughts are below. 

Studio Filming.  Some of the earlier MOOCs, like Ben Polak’s Game Theory class at Yale, simply set a camera in the room and recorded the class.  Even with a dynamic professor like Polak, this strategy did not seem to fit the medium well.  Later MOOCs, like Northwestern University’s Law & Entrepreneurship course, were filmed specially for the MOOC, in what appears to be a studio of sorts.  The studio, edited versions of a course seem to produce a much more efficient and engaging experience.  To increase engagement even further, some have asked whether celebrities like Matt Damon should teach MOOCs (presumably from a script prepared by professors in the field)…or maybe professors should take acting classes.

Deadlines and Certificates.  It is well-known that the completion rate for MOOCs is miserable.  The completion rate has been reported as less than 7%.  I imagine…

Last year, Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen said “15 years from now half of US universities may be in bankruptcy.”  

So, I guess half of our schools have about 14 more years to go, according to Christensen.

At least part of the reason for Clayton Christensen’s prediction is the rise of online education, including so-called “massive open online courses” or “MOOCs.”

Recently, I completed a few MOOCs, mostly because I wanted to learn about MOOCs first-hand.  I also picked subjects that interested me.

The courses I took were:

Yale – Game Theory (Ben Polak)

MIT – The Challenges of Global Poverty (Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo)

Northwestern – Law and the Entrepreneur (Esther Barron and Steve Reed)

I will share some of my thoughts on MOOCs during my normal Friday posting slot, in three installments: (1) Effective MOOCs? (2) MOOCs v. In-Person Courses, and (3) MOOCs and the Future of Higher Education. 

The-giver-banner

Much has been written about the protests at various schools over proposed commencement speakers.  I am not sure I have much original to add to the many thoughts that have been shared on the issue (See, e.g., Jonathan Adler (Case Western), The Volokh Conspiracy; Stephen Carter (Yale), Bloomberg; Glenn Harlan Reynolds (Tennessee), USA Today; Editorial Board, Washington Post), but the controversy did make me think of the dystopian society in The Giver where “Sameness” rules.

One of my younger sisters recently accepted a job with Walden Media, which is producing the upcoming film version of The Giver with The Weinstein Company (shameless plug – in theatres August 15, 2014).  My sister was amazed that I hadn’t read The Giver, as it is supposedly regular middle school reading, but it looks like the book (published in 1993) was not in the curriculum in time for me.  Yes, I feel older every day. 

Anyway, in a single day a few weeks ago, I read a borrowed copy of The Giver, which was a nice break from legal treatises and law review articles.  While I understand the “Elders” in The Giver were trying to protect…

Before I went to law school, I worked in the video game industry, first for the industry trade association, the Interactive Digital Software Association (now known as the Entertainment Software Association). From there I moved to public relations for the public relations firm Golin/Harris in Los Angeles where my work was focused on product launches for Nintendo. (This was from 1998-2000.) In those jobs, I had the chance to work with some amazing people (and clients), and the experience has served me well, even as I went on to become a lawyer and professor. 

 One of those people was the managing director of the Los Angeles Golin/Harris office when I was hired, Fred Cook, who is now the CEO of Golin/Harris.  Fred recently wrote a book that has caught the attention of the business world and is a top-25 book for corporate customers according to 800-CEO-READ.   His book is Improvise: Unconventional Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO, and it’s worth a look.

Here’s an excerpt:

People entering the business world today are a commodity. They’ve gone to the same schools, taken the same courses, read the same books, and watched the same movies. Every summer they’ve

…

You must all realize that we are in a service business. In this day and age of faxes, emails, internet, etc. clients expect you to be accessible 247. Of course, that is something of an exaggeration — but not much. . . . Unless you have very good reason not to (for example when you are asleep, in court or in a tunnel), you should be checking your emails every hour.  One of the last things you should do before you retire for the night is to check your email. That is why we give you blackberries.

– Bill Urquhart (Quinn Emanuel)

A recent Mother Jones article reminded me of the infamous e-mail from law firm partner Bill Urquhart, a portion of which is quoted above.  While Mr. Urquhart’s e-mail may have been a bit blunt, I think it captures the e-mail checking expectations at many of the top law firms.

My e-mail checking habits were formed at two large law firms and those habits have carried over into my current position as a professor.  E-mail checking is reflexive for me.  I don’t really want to know how many times a day I check my e-mail, but I would…

Earlier this semester, Belmont undergraduate students competed for a total of $8,000 in a business plan competition.  The first place team, What’s Hubbin’, won $5,000.  Law firm Baker Donelson was one of the sponsors. 

WH

Each competition team was required to provide: (1) an executive summary, (2) a description of the business (including mission and vision), (3) plans for marketing, operating, finances, and growth, and (4) financial statements (historical, if applicable, and projected).  The finalists presented in front of a team of judges, which included local attorneys, investors, and entrepreneurs.  The event also attracted a strong audience of faculty members (myself included), staff, and students. 

Given the evolving legal industry, and the increasing focus on Law & Technology and Law & Entrepreneurship, I could see business plan competitions like this one being a success at law schools (perhaps in coordination with their sister business schools).

One of the three What’s Hubbin’ team members is Makenzie Stokel.  She is also one of my undergraduate business law students.  I asked her if she would mind answering a few, short questions about the competition and about her team’s business, which is one of the competition’s businesses that is already up and running.  My…