How to Succeed in a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) by Apostolos Koutropoulos & Rebecca J. Hogue “MOOCs provide a new methodology and modality for teaching and learning. This newness does pose some problems for learners, but also provides for exciting new possibilities. MOOCs require learners to be more proactive in their education and in building their personal learning networks (PLNs). Everyone can be successful in a MOOC, provided that certain steps are taken and strategies devised before, during, and after a MOOC.” In the past couple of years, massive online open courses (MOOCs) have become a trend among many members of the educational online community. The course Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK), by Stephen Downes, has been offered at least three times since 2008, and additional MOOCs have been offered that cater to a variety of learning topics including digital storytelling, mobile learning (mLearning), learning analytics, the future of education, and instructional ideas for online success, just to name a few. The structure and design of each MOOC varies. Questions
Dave's Educational Blog Understanding MOOCs from the perspective of Actor Network Theory (ANT): Refraiming pedagogy and unmasking power | markusmind (Nach zwei erfolglosen Versuchen, das Paper bei einer Zeitschrift zu platzieren, stelle ich es nun hier zur Verfügung.) Understanding MOOCs from the perspective of Actor Network Theory (ANT) Refraiming pedagogy and unmasking power Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are without any doubt currently one of the hottest developments in open and flexible learning as indicated by a broad mass media coverage and several scholarly events (conferences, special issues in academic journals etc). Many of the aspects that are on top of controversial debates (drop-out rates, accreditation, quality) re-echo claims and arguments being made over forty years during the time when distance education hit the educational landscape (Peters, 2010). In this sense, MOOCs are portrayed as a “closed technological offering” to be utilized and acted upon according to personal learning goals. With regards to MOOCs, ANT offers a tool to understand how the social and technological are embedded in each other.
About MOOC Completion Rates: The Importance of Student Investment | the augmented trader I just finished teaching a Massive Online Open Class (MOOC) titled “Computational Investing, Part I” via coursera.org. 53,000 people “enrolled,” which is to say they clicked a “sign up” button. How many finished? related post regarding lessons learned Completion rates are low, but that statistic is misleading Much of the criticism of MOOCs centers on supposedly low completion rates. One of the 53,000 students in my class watches a lecture video. What does it cost a student to enroll in a course? The economics are significantly different for a student at a traditional university than for a student starting a MOOC. At a regular university all of the students starting a course have paid tuition, they have moved to an apartment or dorm near the university, and they’ve set aside time to complete the course. Also, at most universities, students may withdraw from a course early in the semester with no penalty. What’s the cost of failure or withdrawal? What are the implications for completion rates?
Ten Useful Reports on #MOOCs and Online Education Supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) is the leading global membership organization for open, distance, flexible and online education, including e-learning, and draws its membership from institutions, educational authorities, commercial actors, and individuals. ICDE was founded in 1938 in Canada as the International Council for Correspondence Education and today has members from over 60 countries worldwide. Recently, ICDE had provided a digest of reports and papers published over the past year on MOOCs and online education. To check out these useful reports on MOOCs and online education, here is the link. Tagged as: massive open online courses, Mooc, online education, online learning
Teaching a MOOC: Lessons Learned & Best Balch Practices | the augmented trader I just completed teaching a MOOC on Computational Investing via coursera.org. I did some things right and a lot of things wrong. Here are my lessons learned from the first round. I’m very excited now about the second go at this, and the ability to make the course even better. Some people will be upset: Be prepared I’m not talking about the students. Your course will be closely scrutinized. One critique MOOCs are susceptible to is an accusation of “dumbing down” or “oversimplification.” Many of these attacks arise from a belief that MOOCs are promoted as “identical” to college course content; Or that the course is “just as rigorous” as graduate course CS XXXX at Georgia Tech. That being said, I do believe that we can produce and deliver “rigorous” content via MOOCs, and many are working on that. Set expectations for the students In your course description and your video introduction be sure to make it very clear who your intended audience is. Why slide decks are important More to come
IS UNIT WEB SITE - IPTS - JRC - EC MOOCKnowledge MOOCKnowledge is a 3-year study that aims to develop a knowledge base with a European view on MOOCs through continuous and systematic collection and analysis of data on existing MOOC initiatives to advance scientific understanding of this new phenomenon. The study consists of a series of surveys (in different time periods) of the learners of MOOCs offered by the OpenUpEd partners and other European providers willing to collaborate with the study. Building a knowledge base for European MOOCs The study consortium wants to make agreements with as many MOOC providers as possible to produce large-scale data basis allowing analysing the MOOC-phenomenon from a European perspective based on scientific evidence. Partners The MOOCKnowledge study is funded by the European Commission's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS). Contact Project Leader (ICT for Learning & Skills): Yves Punie Project coordinator (MOOCKnowledge): Jonatan Castaño Muñoz
The Crisis in Higher Education A hundred years ago, higher education seemed on the verge of a technological revolution. The spread of a powerful new communication network—the modern postal system—had made it possible for universities to distribute their lessons beyond the bounds of their campuses. Anyone with a mailbox could enroll in a class. Frederick Jackson Turner, the famed University of Wisconsin historian, wrote that the “machinery” of distance learning would carry “irrigating streams of education into the arid regions” of the country. Sensing a historic opportunity to reach new students and garner new revenues, schools rushed to set up correspondence divisions. By the 1920s, postal courses had become a full-blown mania. The hopes for this early form of distance learning went well beyond broader access. We’ve been hearing strikingly similar claims today. The excitement over MOOCs comes at a time of growing dissatisfaction with the state of college education. But not everyone is enthusiastic. Rise of the MOOCs
The MOOC Problem The purpose of education is in large part linked to its standing as a social science. Philosophers dating back to Socrates have linked education to a purpose beyond the individual, one where accrual of facts and training in skills is not the outcome or objective for the individual nor society; rather, a deeper relationship with thought and reason is necessary for the development of each person and in turn their community. This is at the heart of much great philosophy: luminaries such as Locke, Milton, Rousseau, Hume and others saw education as a continuation of society through means greater than memory recall and skilled competencies. This is not the methodology from which most outside interests view education. The MOOC in popular discussion is a learning model drowned in tropes and hyperbole where words ignore their historical meanings and commentary is only designed for short-term efficacy. Hybrid Pedagogy uses an open collaborative peer review process.
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