????皮卡德在四個月內(nèi)完成了五門課程。最初，她計劃在兩到三年時間學(xué)完16門課，但她非常享受學(xué)習(xí)的過程。因此，她決定繼續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)，積攢的學(xué)分將超過大多數(shù)MBA課程的要求。她說：“課程的數(shù)量很多，選擇課程就像為自己選擇冒險故事一樣。我喜歡學(xué)校，所以面對這么多的課程，就像剛進校園時第一次拿到一個學(xué)期的課程目錄一樣，令人興奮不已。看著這些課程你會想：‘哇，我要學(xué)這個，我要學(xué)那個?！彪m然課程的質(zhì)量和難度千差萬別，但皮卡德指出，實體教學(xué)也存在同樣的問題。

????此外，皮卡德對于MOOC課程的虛擬性也不以為意。她的丈夫是一位外交官，未來四年將常駐盧旺達(dá)，因此在線課程反而更適合她。她說：“我的想法總是變來變?nèi)?，對于商?wù)的認(rèn)識也在擴展和成長。以前的學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)歷讓我有全身心沉浸在學(xué)習(xí)中的感受，而在線學(xué)習(xí)一樣能給我這種感受。從這個角度來說，這是MOOC的真正好處所在?！?/p>

????但MOOC的MBA并不適合所有人。要在兩到三年內(nèi)堅持參加在線課程并完成學(xué)業(yè)，如何保持學(xué)習(xí)動力是初學(xué)者面臨的一個棘手的問題。賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)（University of Pennsylvania）對100萬名MOOC用戶進行的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，實際學(xué)完課程的僅有4%。皮卡德形容自己是一個積極上進、嚴(yán)于律己的人。她會把周六的時間，有時也會拿出周日上午的時間，來進行課程學(xué)習(xí)，而且每個工作日會花30分鐘時間復(fù)習(xí)。盡管如此，在線學(xué)習(xí)依然很有挑戰(zhàn)性，這正是她創(chuàng)建那個博客的原因。她解釋說：“它相當(dāng)于我的公開承諾，不論我的博客有多少讀者，即使只有我和幾個朋友會關(guān)注我的博客。因為它會激勵我，讓我知道有其他人在見證我能否兌現(xiàn)自己的承諾?！?/p>

????MOOC批評者認(rèn)為，大規(guī)模在線模式不支持教師與學(xué)生之間進行有意義的互動。皮卡德參加的最大規(guī)模課程足有120,000名學(xué)生。有一次，課堂作業(yè)要求在討論區(qū)發(fā)表評論，結(jié)果造成混亂，討論區(qū)一下子涌出了成千上萬條信息。她這樣評價留言板：“其中的信息量過于龐雜，很難做到每一條都認(rèn)真去看?！庇行┱n程的學(xué)生會組織同一個城市的同學(xué)聚會，但像皮卡德這樣的國際學(xué)生，卻可能是某個國家唯一登記某一門課程的人。

????不過，皮卡德對于缺少課堂互動卻不以為然——在本科和研究生學(xué)習(xí)階段，她已經(jīng)經(jīng)歷過大量的課堂互動。她解釋說：“因為我曾經(jīng)有過課堂互動的經(jīng)歷，所以我可以在其它地方主動尋找類似的互動。因此我并不覺得在網(wǎng)上學(xué)習(xí)就有很大的缺失?！?/p>

????然而，在傳統(tǒng)MBA課程中培養(yǎng)的人際關(guān)系往往會延續(xù)到課堂之外，成為未來的助力；對于許多商學(xué)學(xué)生來說，這些人脈才是這個成本超過100,000美元學(xué)位的主要賣點。皮卡德也承認(rèn)，在線學(xué)習(xí)無法像哈佛或斯坦福的MBA那樣積累人脈，但她認(rèn)為，自己的情況很特殊：她學(xué)習(xí)MBA的主要目的是掌握技能，而不是積攢人脈。她解釋說：“相對于商學(xué)院積攢的人脈，開發(fā)領(lǐng)域的人脈對我來說更重要。所以我才認(rèn)為：‘我真正需要的，是那些能夠應(yīng)用到我當(dāng)前從事的商業(yè)開發(fā)當(dāng)中的技能?！??????

????Four months in, Pickard has completed five courses. Initially, she planned to complete 16 courses over two to three years, but she's enjoying the process so much, she'll likely keep going and exceed the credits required by most MBA programs. "There are so many course offerings out there, that it's like a choose-your-own-adventure story," she says. "I loved school, so it's kind of like that excitement you get when you first get the course catalog for the semester, and you're looking through it like, 'Oh, I want to take that, I want to take that," she says. Although the courses vary in terms of quality and difficulty, Pickard points out that the same problem affects bricks-and-mortar programs.

????Pickard also doesn't seem to mind the virtual component. Given that her husband, a foreign service officer, is stationed in Rwanda for the next four years, the online aspect is actually a boon. "My mind is changing, and my thinking about business is really expanding and growing," she says. "I feel the same way that I felt at other times in my life when I was really immersed in an education experience. So from that standpoint, there's a true benefit to MOOCs."

????But the MOOC MBA certainly isn't for everyone. For starters, maintaining the drive to actually attend and complete online classes for two or three years can be tricky. A University of Pennsylvania study of 1 million MOOC users found that only 4% actually completed the courses. Pickard describes herself as motivated and disciplined. She dedicates Saturday and sometimes Sunday mornings to coursework and spends 30 minutes each workday reviewing lessons. But it can still be challenging, which is why she created a blog, she says. "I've made a public commitment, so it doesn't matter how many readers I have, even if it's just me and a few of my friends. It motivates me to know that there's some kind of external evidence of whether I made good on my commitment," she explains.

????MOOC critics contend that the massive online format doesn't allow for meaningful interaction with students and faculty. Pickard's largest course had 120,000 students. An assignment to post a comment in a class-wide discussion forum resulted in a jumbled mess of thousands and thousands of messages. "There was too much going on to really engage substantively," she says of the message board. Some MOOC students arrange citywide meetups around particular courses, but an international student such as Pickard may be the only person in a given country enrolled in a class.

????Pickard's not particularly concerned about missing the classroom interaction -- something she had as an undergraduate and as a master's student. "Because I've done that before, and I've experienced that, and I can search out experiences that can replicate that in other places, I don't feel that I'm missing all that much from taking courses online," she explains.

????But often relationships forged in an traditional MBA program reach far beyond the classroom into the future; for many business students, these networks are the key selling point of a $100,000-plus degree. Pickard readily admits that she's not getting the same connections as a Harvard or Stanford MBA but also asserts that her situation is unique: She's pursuing an MBA primarily to acquire skills, not connections. "My development network is more important to me than a business school network, which is why I was thinking, 'What I really want here are the skills to move into the business end of the development work I'm doing,'" she explains.