TO MOOC OR NOT TO MOOC - THAT IS THE QUESTION MARCH 2014
Cheryl Brown, Andrew Deacon, Janet Small & Sukaina Walji
UNDERSTANDING MOOCS
Section 1
What is a ‘MOOC’?
High profile MOOCs
https://wikipedia.org
Sebastian Thrun
Media hype
He’s thinking big now. He imagines that in 10 years, job applicants will tout their Udacity degrees. In 50 years, he says, there will be only 10 institutions in the world delivering higher education and Udacity has a shot at being one of them.
Thrun quoted in 2012 online report: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/ff_aiclass/all/
MOOCs didn’t just appear
April 2012http://edutechnica.com/moocmap
October 2012http://edutechnica.com/moocmap
April 2013http://edutechnica.com/moocmap
October 2013http://edutechnica.com/moocmap
Completion Rates
http://www.katyjordan.com/MOOCproject.html
6 million students / 54 staff
● content is NOT free
● students can NOT support each other
● MOOCs can NOT solve the problem of educational scarcity in emerging economies
● Education is NOT a mass customer industry
MOOC myths
● It's NOT all about money
● will NOT create a two-tier educational system
● MOOCs are NOT inherently inferior
● We've have NOT seen how this plays out
Against (from Laurillard)
For (from Educause)
COURSE LANDSCAPE
Section 2
Landscape of Higher Education
Curriculum integration
Conventional Flexible
Formal (credit)
Lectures Blockrelease
Online courses
Semi-formal(certificate)
Short courses
Professional development courses
Non-formal(no credit)
Summer school
MOOCs
Landscape at UCT
Curriculum integration
Conventional Flexible
Formal (credit)
LecturesBlock
releasee.g., HS
Online courses
e.g., BUS1
Semi-formal(certificate)
Short courses
Professional development
e.g., Write Science
e.g., Getsmarter courses
MOOCs
Non-formal(no credit)
Summer school
e.g., Astronomy online
WHAT COULD MOOCS LOOK LIKE AT UCT?
Section 3
MOOC categories
C1 Teaching Showcase
C2 Gateway
Skills
C3 Graduate literacies
C4 Profession
al Showcase
C5 Research showcase
High-profile ‘rockstar’ MOOCs on general interest topics. Typically showcasing undergraduate teaching
Help prepare students for undergraduate study and introduce skills required.
Help prepare students for postgraduate study and develop general skills and expectations.
Support continuing education and showcasing professional careers and qualifications.
Showcase research and special interest topics that may attract postgraduate students
A general interest high profile course that showcases the institution by means of an engaging subject or personality led. Likely to be of global interest and matches a popular understanding of high profile MOOCs
Category 1 Teaching Showcase
Provide foundational or enhancement skills, which students could take these prior to applying or attending an institution but could also replace some campus-based teaching for 'bottleneck courses' or non-core. Likely to be of local interest, either within the institution or at a country-wide setting.
Category 2 Gateway Skills
Post-graduate level courses to support application or programmes of study focussed on building postgraduate literacies. Likely to be of local or national interest.
Category 3 Graduate Literacies
Geared towards vocational skills development, re-tooling and professional development; they could be offered in conjunction with other organisations or professional bodies. Likely to be of local interest, although some specialised topics may be globally relevant. .
Category 4 Professional showcase/development
Specialised and targeted than category one courses as they assumes some existing background in the topic, but are still geared towards general or leisure learning. Likely to have global appeal.
Category 5 Showcase research/specialisms
MOOC categories summary
MOOC Category
Institutional purpose and examples
1 – Teaching showcase
Showcase teaching and showcase faculty; general interest topics at an undergraduate level.
2 – Gateway skills
Prepare students; assist with bottleneck courses or provide supplementary assistance
3 – Graduate literacies
Help prepare students for postgraduate study and develop general skills and expectations.
4 – Professional showcase
Support continuing education and showcasing professional careers and qualifications.
5 – Research showcase
Showcase research and special interest topics that may attract postgraduate level of interest.
Landscape with MOOCs
Curriculum integration
Conventional Flexible
Formal (credit)
Lectures Blockrelease
Online courses
Semi-formal(certificate)
C4
Short courses
Professional development
C3C2
Non-formal(no credit)
Summer school
C5C1
Emerging models from MOOCs Open Boundary
Courses – e.g DS106 SPOCs (small private
online courses) - Harvard MOCs (Massive Online
Courses) – Unisa Wrapping – e.g.,
postgrad literacies
A ‘freemium’ model is where additional support is charged.
Movement between formal, semi-formal and non-formal domains allows for experimentation of course offering.
Where to from here?
CILT position paper - under review for journal Enroll for a MOOC - check www.class-central.com/ Draw MOOCs into classroom - ask your students
about their experiences? Set up a study group - or join the CILT unstudy
group Scoop-it curated links
http://www.scoop.it/t/moocswatch
TO MOOC OR NOT TO MOOC – NOW WHAT IS THE QUESTION?