（笔者按：退休后发现了慕课（英文Massive Open Online Courses的首字母缩略词的音译，也就是“大规模在线开放课程”），一时激动，学了好几门课程，并且有些想法，记录下来，还有幸发表在《慕课视角下高职英语教育教学探究设计》一书中。下面的
英文为我学的第一门课程的作文，与中文有联系，但不是中文的翻译。封面是我的第一个慕课证书。今天发到公众号，是为了鼓励自己，继续学习。）
慕课学习后的断想
一、慕课不同于一般的公开课。一般的公开课大多是将实体课堂上课拍成视频，观看者当然也能学到一些知识，也会受到启发，也会有所收获，但是参与感很差。而慕课不同，第一，慕课拍视频时就是针对千千万万在线学习者的，视频里已经结合了其他表现手段，如：专门为帮助理解讲课内容拍摄的小品、动画，相关的图片、表格等。第二，慕课有阅读、有练习、有测验、有论坛，这些对学习和掌握一门课程是不可或缺的。阅读和练习以及练习的解答帮助理解讲课内容；测验可以考核学习的情况；论坛则可以用来相互交流和答疑。第三，慕课有证书。虽然现在慕课的证书既不能帮你找工作，也不能为你加薪，但是证书本身就是奖励。就好像玩游戏，分数不是钱，但分数就已经是奖励，有的为了夺高分，会废寝忘食。央视的《新闻调查》栏目曾经报道有的学霸已经拿了60多个慕课证书。第四，大部分慕课都有截止时间要求，必须在某月某日之前完成所有练习和测验，才可能拿到证书，这对于那些有拖延症的，是个很好的鞭策。因此，参加慕课是一种在新的技术条件下结合传统方法的学习方式。
二、慕课，尤其是国外的慕课，是对没有出国留过学的人的一种补偿。有了慕课，我们不出国门，甚至是足不出户，就可以学习世界名校的教授所讲的课程。我们可以听老师用英语讲数学、物理、化学，也可以听老师用英语讲计算机、讲金融、讲商业管理，我们还可以听老师用英语讲中国历史，用英语讲英语课。在课堂上，你如果走神了，或者是没听懂，很少有学生下课后有胆量请老师再讲讲。而在慕课，你可以反复看视频，实在是听不懂，还可以打开英文字幕，还是不明白，还可以打开中文字幕。人家留学三年，你听慕课三年，不敢说你的英语一定比人家好，但绝不会差到哪去。更不要说国外的教学方法、思维方式和看问题的角度也会使你眼界大开、受益匪浅。
三、慕课很有可能引发教育大变革。技术进步会给社会发展带来翻天覆地的变化，应该是无可争辩的事实，蒸汽机、电力和互联网就是典型的例子。摄像机的普及、宽带的发展以及各种终端的普及（电脑、手机、平板、网络电视等）是许多视频网站兴起的基础，应该也是慕课能够发展的基础。我们国家有两千多所高等院校，不可能也没必要所有院校都去编写教材。有了慕课，完全有可能连讲课的老师都省了。试想想，假如有全国最牛的10个数学系制作高等数学的慕课放在平台上，干嘛每个学校还要请老师来讲高等数学？学生们上数学课在宿舍都行，考试的时候来教室就行了，节省多少资源？放在平台上的课程会被大家点赞、评分，最终流行的每门课程可能只有3到5家。曾经有人担心由于获得教育资源的不平等，会导致穷人与富人之间的鸿沟越来越深。富人的孩子从小就进最好的幼儿园，然后是最好的小学、中学，再出国深造，出来后当然能找到高薪工作，一代又一代，良性循环，而穷人则正好反过来。有了慕课，将来发展到有从小学到高中各年级的各门课程，即使是偏僻的山村的学生，借助宽带和网络电视，就可以听到中国最好的老师给他们讲课。那种极度缺乏老师的学校——只有一个老师，又要教数学，又要教英语，而且各个年级都得教，会因为有了慕课，得到根本性的改善。正如慕课的平台之一coursera所言：
Coursera is an education platformthat partners with top universities and organizations worldwide, to offercourses online for anyone to take, for free. We envision a future whereeveryone has access to a world-class education. We aim to empower people witheducation that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and thecommunities they live in.
Coursera 是一个教育平台，它与全世界最顶尖的大学和机构合作，免费提供任何人可学习的在线课程。我们设想将来人人都能获取世界级的教育。我们致力于通过教育使人们能够改善他们和家人的生活以及他们居住的社区。
Thanks, MOOC.
I found MOOC by a chance, and as a man enjoys learning, I could not help registering on the website, Coursera. I took two courses,Think Again: How to Reason and Argue, and Crafting an Effective Writer, both interesting me and being good timing. Since then, learning through MOOC has become my favorite activity. Why? First, there are a lot of courses on MOOC, so you can choose courses that you are interested in. Moreover, they are all free. Second, I think MOOC is a compensation for my regret that I have never studied abroad, for now I can listen to the foreign professors talking in English through MOOC. I have gotten at least two benefits from learning through MOOC. One is that I have improved my English listening comprehension by listening carefully to the lecture repeatedly with the subtitle off, and the other is that I understood some ideas because the instructor explained them from different perspectives. For example, I learnt that there are only seven coordinating conjunctions; furthermore, I memorized them through the interesting acronym FANBOYS. Likewise, I know what an Absolute phrase is and how to use it now. Third, MOOC is different from the other open courses, for it has schedules, discussion forums, exercises and quizzes, whereas you are just like a bystander when you are watching the other open courses. The course schedules are big help for those who lack self-discipline or who are procrastinating. You can post your questions to the discussion forums, and you may well be surprised by the answers coming so soon. Needless to say, you can make acquaintance with those who have a common interest. Doing exercises and quizzes help you to understand the lessons. You could not help slapping your knee and shouting I am great when you gain a full mark. Last but not least, on internet there is an article titled Learning: A Lifelong Career. The article begins with ‘As food is to the body, so is learning to the mind’. It makes the importance of learning clear, but I would like to further emphasize that the food needed by body is limited, whereas the learning needed by mind could be unlimited.I am not sure if learning would help me either make more money or get a better post, but I am sure I will keep on learning, because learning itself is enjoyable and rewarding to me. It is MOOC that makes my learning more enjoyable, more varied and more effective. Thanks a million, MOOC.