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MOOCs – the way forward or passing fad?

MOOCs – the way forward or passing fad?. Celia Popovic York University, Toronto, Canada April 4 th 2013. What are they?. Massive open online course Massive – from a few dozen to 50,000 plus Open – free of charge, usually asynchronous Online – delivered over the internet

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MOOCs – the way forward or passing fad?

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  1. MOOCs – the way forward or passing fad? Celia Popovic York University, Toronto, Canada April 4th 2013

  2. What are they? • Massive open online course • Massive – from a few dozen to 50,000 plus • Open – free of charge, usually asynchronous • Online – delivered over the internet • May be combined with traditional online delivery for fee-paying students • Claim to disaggregate learning – separates out content, support, routes through, accreditation

  3. Product of Canada • University of Manitoba – Connectivism and Connective Knowledge was first MOOC in 2008 – 25 fee paying students and 2,300 others • University of Athabasca – George Siemens coined the phrase MOOC 2009

  4. What do they look like? • May mirror an existing course, or be specially developed • Likely to include activities that lend themselves to asynchronous engagement • Typically hosted on an open site such as a wiki or blog rather than an institution’s (closed) LMS

  5. Monetarizing MOOCs • Free content • Charge for accreditation • Some universities starting to recognize course completion – or saying they will

  6. Commercial partners • Coursera - Stanford • edX – Harvard, MIT and Berkley • Udacity – exStanford Prof • Udemy • Knewton and Khan Academy – not MOOCs but provide online materials on wide range of topics • But also growth in OER movement

  7. How it works • Platform providers work with a University to host a popular course, or one they hope will be popular • Instructor provides the content and students work alone or in self-arranged study groups • Free access to the materials

  8. Type of course • Initially led by computer related and science heavy courses, perceived to have ‘right’ answers • More recently have seen emergence of MOOCs on many topics, any that have potential to attract a large audience

  9. Which Universities? • Initially the big names, especially in US, jumped in with big name professors • Would-be big institutions now wondering if they should join in

  10. Who are the students • Some traditional college enrolled students • Many professionals • Many international students • 5% completion/pass rates typically reported

  11. BehaviouristvsConnectivist • Something of a paradigm war going on – with some arguing for the style of MOOC typified in the earliest offering – where students work together and the value is in the community • Vs individualized behaviourist approach of mass marketing

  12. Potential – short to medium term • Provide cheap easy access to education for the developing world • Provide back up assistance for in person enrolled students • Raise the profile of an individual institution • Coursera for instance will only accept top institutions

  13. Potential – longer term • Replace common large survey style courses with MOOCs • Charge for an accreditation (test), successful completion of the MOOC prepares students for the test but is no guarantee • Data mining – sell the data generated by thousands of online students • Advertising by co-sponsors

  14. Possible effects on pedagogy • MOOC is the ultimate in opening the classroom door • Sharing of resources, may lead to greater choice but could also lead to homogenisation • Potential to challenge classroom power, increase chance to distribute responsibility for learning, peer to peer, student led

  15. Challenges/dangers • Huge potential to damage reputation if have a high profile failure (egCoursera and Georgia Institute of Technology – Fundamentals of Online Education: Planning and Application) • Learning reduced to memorisation, isolation and confusion • Issue of proving identity if move to give credit for MOOCs

  16. Personal story • Enrolled on a course to find out what it was like to take a MOOC • Low motivation • Insufficient time allocation • Isolation

  17. Resources • www.mooc-list.com – claims to list all MOOCs • Educause briefing ‘What campus leaders need to know about MOOCs’ http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/PUB4005.pdf • ‘7 things you should know about MOOCs’ – ELI briefing http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7078.pdf • Light relief - http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/welcome-to-my-massive-open-online-cult#.UVIMCIWnNZo.twitter

  18. Discussion topics • What is gained and lost in a MOOC compared with the traditional format or a small online course? • Who seeks to take part in a MOOC – is it direct competition? • Are MOOCs a threat to contemporary University life?

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