Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): A snapshot 

Kenney, J.L. & Bower, M. (2012). Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): A snapshot. Presented at Expanding Horizons, L&T Week, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, 18 September.

JacquelineKenney&Ma/BowerDepartment of Education, Macquarie University

Tue 18 Sep, 2012

Sessionou

tline

Introducing MOOCs Characterising MOOCs 

Extreme Openness & Disruptive Pedagogy Criticism, Consequences & Questions 

Alternatives and Futures 

               

(Source: Lewin, 2012, in Siemens, 2012)

(Source:Berger (image); Young, 2012, in Siemens, 2012)

‘IthinkthiscouldbebigthewayGooglewas’(L. John Doerr, Venture Capitalist, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers  

& Coursera Board member) 

Coursera Founders: Daphne Koller & Andrew Ng, Stanford University

(Source: Weissmann, 2012, in Siemens, 2012)

Atec[h]tonicshiC?•  Analogies?

•  Publiclibraries•  iTunes•  Greenslips•  DemocracyinMiddleEast•  RockNrollinthe60s

•  Dividedopinions•  SkepPcs•  CriPcs•  Proponents

(Source: Gartner, 2008)

GartnerHypeCycle

IntroducingMOOCs•  Massiveopenonlinecourses:

–  providenoconstraintsonclasssize;–  runoveradefinedPmeperiod;and,

–  areopentoall.•  EarlyinstanPaPonpa/ern:‘let’sputona

coursehere,rightnow’;

•  Recentofferings:–  makeexisPnguniversityteaching

materialsfreelyavailableonline;–  usecomputermarkedassessment;and,

–  maygiveparPcipantscerPficatesofcomplePon.

(Source: Open University, 2012, p. 19)

•  NotallMOOCs(Cormier & Siemens, 2010):–  Mirrordiscussionataconference,

inaresearchlab,orinaworkshop;–  BringawidevarietyofperspecPves

onagiventopic;–  Membersresemble‘peopleina

cornerhavinganin‐depthdiscussionthattheycanchoosetoenter’;and,

–  Haveenoughcoursestructureforinterestedlearnersto‘buildsufficientlanguageandexperPsetoparPcipateperipherallyordirectly’

AMisnomer?•  MOOCasmisnomer(Wiley, 2012):

–  Manyaremassivebutnotopen;–  Manyareopenbutnotmassive;and,–  Manytrynottobecourses.

•  ‘Almosteveryso‐calledMOOCviolatesatleastonele/erintheacronym’.

MOOCTimeline

2008 2009 2011 20122010

• Change MOOC

Virtual Worlds, Games & Ed Tour P2PU

• Virtual Schooling, Michael Barbour, Wayne State Uni

• MobiMOOC Ignatia Webs

• Intro to Openness in Education, David Wiley, OE US

• Artificial Intelligence, Sebastian Thrun & Peter Norvig, Stanford University (>160,000 starters)

• Udacity formed (Thrun)

• Coursera launched Stanford University (Koller & Ng)

• edX (MIT (MITx) Harvard & Berkeley)

• Digital Storytelling, Jim Groom & Martha Burtis, University of Mary Washington

• Personal Learning Environments Networks & Knowledge, Dave Cormier, George Siemens & Stephen Downes

• CCK (Connectivism, & Connective Knowledge) George Siemens, Stephen Downes, Athabasca University & National Research Council (Canada) (25 fee-paying students + >2,300 MOOCers*

(Sources: Ruminate, 2010; OU, 2012; Webs, 2012; Open Education, 2012; Virtual Schooling, Nextweb, 2012; P2PU, 2012; Bavatuesdays, 2012; Marginson, 2012; Coecademy, 2012; Coursera, 2012; Academicearth, 2012)

*Dave Cormier and Bryan Alexander coined ‘MOOCs’ during CCK ac<vi<es

Open but not always Massive OOCs: • Social Media & Open Ed, Alec Courous, University of Regina (2008); Open

Education Intro , David Wiley, Utah State University (2007); Codecademy/P2PU (Sims & Bubinski) (2011); Khan Academy – over 189 million lessons; Academic Earth; Skillshare >5,000 teachers (2011); World Education University (2012); Saylor Foundation; Course Hero; Faculty project

• Georgia Tech, Duke Uni., Uni.of Washington, Rice Uni., Caltech, Uni.of Edinburgh, Uni.of Toronto, EPFL Lausanne (Switz.), Johns Hopkins Uni., UCSF, Uni.of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Uni.of Virginia

• Numerous smaller MOOCs

• Berklee College of Music, Brown Uni., Columbia Uni., Emory Uni., Hebrew Uni.of Jerusalem, Hong Kong Uni. of Science and Technology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Ohio State Uni., Uni.of British Columbia, Uni.of California at Irvine, University of Florida, Uni.of London, Uni.of Maryland at College Park, Uni.of Melbourne, Uni.of Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt Uni., Wesleyan Uni.

MOOCdomAMOOCDirectory

•  AllMOOCproviders(asregistered):h/p://www.mooc.ca/courses.htm

•  Classcentral:h/p://www.class‐central.com/

KeepingupwithMOOCs:

•  Registerwithmooc.canewsle/er:h/p://www.mooc.ca/cgi‐bin/login.cgi?refer=&acPon=Register

SomeresourcesonMOOCS:

•  MOOCsstarPngpoint(toAug2012):h/p://www.worldofwebcast.com/post/massive‐list‐of‐mooc‐resources‐lit‐and‐literaP

•  OOCsstarPngpoint:h/p://openeducaPon.us/

EarlyandoriginalMOOCs:

•  CCKChange:h/p://change.mooc.ca

•  DS106(DigitalStorytelling):h/p://ds106.us/about/

•  SocialMedia&OpenEducaPon:h/p://eci831.ca/about/

ParDcipateinaMOOConHigherEducaDonFutures(8Octto16Nov2012):

•  InvitaPon,overview&partners:h/p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEXnVTD0B10

•  Register:h/p://www.edfutures.net/index.php?Ptle=Special:UserLogin/signup

ChangeMOOC

Sep2011toMay2012

(Sou

rce: C

hang

e MOO

C, 20

12)

StephenDownes(Na<onal Research Council, Canada),DaveCormier(University of Prince Edward Island),andGeorgeSiemens(Athabasca University).We'vecollaboratedonnumerousonlinecoursesbeforeandhaveconPnuedtorefineourpedagogicalmethodsandourtechnicalinfrastructure.Theformatthisyearisdifferentfromwhatwe'vedoneinthepast:we'veinvitedagroupoffascinaPngthinkerstosharetheirexperPsewithus‐oneperweek.

DS106DigitalStorytellingMOOC

OngoingsinceDecember2010

(Sou

rce: D

S106

, 210

2)

VirtualWorlds,Games&EducaDonTourMOOC

MarchtoApril2012andspinoffstoARGAcademy(May),MachinimaOOC(June‐July)

(Sou

rce: P

2PU,

2012

)

MarylhurstUniversity&GeorgiaTech

(Images: Kevin Dooley; Richard Elzey gregw66; Nomadic Lass; JD Hancock; cjdc)

August2012foroneweek

(Source: Hybrid Pedagogy, 2012)

MOOCMOOC

Jesse Stommel et al

>500peoplecollaboratedona1,000wordessaytodefineMOOCsMOOCMOOCongoogledocs(availableat:h/p://www.hybridpedagogy.com)

(Sou

rce: H

ybrid

Ped

agog

y MOO

C MO

OC, 2

012)

AMOOCtasktodefineMOOCs…

Massive: A typical classroom can hold 30 students or even more. An auditorium around 300. A massive class can go exponentially beyond these numbers: thousands, hundred-thousands, or even millions, a group size beyond Dunbar‘s number for

a ‘tribe’ (500-2500 individuals). Open: Available for free and to anyone willing and able to participate. Not bound by geography or time zones. Uses open tools. Uses open educational resources and creative commons licensed assets. Generates open content that can, in turn, be reused freely. Online: Use of the Internet, where individual people from all over the world can participate in the event. Includes access via mobile devices. Course: A sequence of lessons imparting knowledge via an instructor, who guides the process and established guidelines for participation, earning credit, and passing. Conversely, Davidson uses the ‘C’ to stand for

“courseware,” and sees the MOOC as the platform to run the learning on, not the act of learning itself.

Q:

A:

6.002x:CircuitsandElectronicsMOOC(edX - MIT)SeptembertoDecember2012

ModelThinkingMOOC(Coursera–UniversityofMichigan)

SeptembertoNovember2012

There are many potential benefits of MOOCs, including flexible access, multiple learning pathways, social

inclusion, intercultural collaboration, digital literacy development, and

potentially immersion in a community of practice that may result in a

lifelong learning network.

MOOCs allow for collaboration that is not immediately available in a traditional style classroom.

MOOCs not only have the potential to alter the relationship between learner

and instructor, but also between academy and the wider community

(EDUCAUSE, 2011).

(Source: Cormier, 2012) (Source: King, 2012)

•  Opensystems– EducaPon2.0

•  Openclassrooms– Crowdsourcing

•  Openknowledge– Knowmads

•  Openlearning– Everyone

Sources: Virtual School MOOC, 2012; Open Education, 2012; Morovec, 2008; UNESCO, 2012)

OPENNESS

David Wiley

CharacterisingMOOCstodate…•  MOOCsintegrate:

–  ConnecPvityofsocialnetworking;–  FacilitaPonofanacknowledgedexpertinafieldofstudy;and,–  CollecPon(s)offreelyaccessibleonlineresources.

•  MOOCsbuildonparPcipantswho:–  AreacPvelyengagedinlearning;–  Registerinlargenumbers(severalhundredtoseveralthousandparPcipants);–  Self‐organiseparPcipaPonaccordingtolearninggoals,priorknowledgeand

skills,andcommoninterests;and,–  HaveInternetaccess.

•  MOOCofferings:–  Start,endandrunonpredefinedPmelinesandtopics;–  Areusuallywithoutfees;–  HavenoprerequisitesbeyondInternetaccessandinterestand,–  DonotpredefineexpectaPonsforparPcipaPon;and–  FrequentlygivenoformalaccreditaPonforsuccessfulcoursecomplePon.

(Source: McAuley, Steward, Siemens & Cormier, 2010, pp. 4-5)

PedagogictypologyofMOOCs•  cMOOCs(DS106,CCK08‐9‐10‐12)‐connecPvist:

–  ContentasastarPngpoint:learnersexpectedtocreate/extend–  ChangedrelaPonshipbetweenteacher/learners–  Distributed,chaoPcandemergent–  Learnersareexpectedtocreate,grow,expanddomainandshare

personalsense‐makingthrougharPfactcreaPon–  Distributed,oCenblog‐based,learnercreatedforumsandspaces–  Instructorgradedassessmentandpeer‐commentedtasks

•  xMOOCs(Coursera/Edx):–  Formal(tradiPonal)coursestructureandflow–  TradiPonalrelaPonshipbetweenteacher/learner–  Learnersareexpectedtoduplicate/masterwhattheyaretaught–  Centraliseddiscussionforumsupport–  Automatedassessmentandpeer‐reviewedassessment

(Sources: Siemens, 2012; Downes, 2012)

cMOOCs focus on knowledge creation

and generation whereas xMOOCs

focus on knowledge duplication

(Siemens, 2012)

Goal‐basedtypologyofMOOCs•  Network‐based MOOCs:Goal:conversaPon,sociallyconstructedknowledge;Pedagogy:connecPviststyle.

•  Task‐based MOOCs:Goal:skills,topicsandvariedformatswithdistributedlearningandcommunity.Pedagogy:instrucPvismandconstrucPvism.

•  Content‐based MOOCs:Goal:acquisiPonofcontentknowledge.Pedagogy:instrucPvist.

(Source: Lane, 2012)

1.  Categories are not mutually exclusive 2.  Pedagogy is the difference (Siemens, 2012) 3.  Depth of analysis required (ie, family resemblances) 

(Lukeš, 2012) ?

Type‐target‐intentofMOOCfutures

1.  AlternaPveadmissionssystemorhiringsystem

2.  Just‐in‐Timeskillsandcompetencies

3.  Theory‐orTrend‐Drive

4.  Professionaldevelopment

5.  LossLeader(diptoeinwater)

6.  Baitandswitch

7.  Experimental

8.  Degree/ProgramQualifierorSystemBo/leneck

9.  Personality

10.  NameBranding

(Source: Bonk, 2012)

The list may have nothing to do with the purpose and 

func<on of MOOCs as originally constructed (Bonk, 2012) 

?

Poten<al that the list may have 

significant overlap with non‐

educa<onal  large crowd online experiences 

The list responded to questions posed by the University [Indiana University] CIO and VP IT

11.  Goodwill12.  Interdisciplinary13.  RecruiPng(Cross,2012)14.  MarkePng(Cross,2012)

15.  Conference(Cross,2012)16.  LearningRoom(Cross,2012)

17.  ReligiousRevival18.  RotaPng19.  Repeatable20.  Re‐usableMOOC

VisualpracPce(Source: Forsythe, 2012)

ConnecPvistandrhizomaPcviews

(Source: Forsythe, 2012 (image))

ConnecPvistviewofknowing(Siemens, 2004; 2006):•  KnowingistheculminaPonoftheconnecPonsbetweenpeople•  LearningandconnecPon:professional,personalandacademic•  But…itisalsoconnecPonbetweenorganisedanddisorganisedworlds

……worldoftheWeb

RhizomaPcviewofknowledge(Cormier, 2008; 2010; Open University, 2012):•  ArhizomaPcplanthasnocenterandnodefinedboundary;rather,itismadeupof

anumberofsemi‐independentnodes,eachofwhichiscapableofgrowingandspreadingonitsown,boundedonlybythelimitsofitshabitat•  Nooneplacewhereknowledgeaboutama/erbeginsandends•  Storesknowledgeinpeopleandcommunity(ratherthanpublicaPon)which

accommodatesafasterrateofchange(flux)–knowledgeasamovingtarget•  RhizomaPcknowersuseavarietyofapproachesandtools,andcommunitytotest/

filterideas(networkingandthesocialweb)•  SociallearningpracPcesanddiscursiveknowledgediscovery•  Towardscommunityasavalidknowledgerepositoryandawayfrompackaged

viewsofknowledgeandexperPse–knowledgeasfluid,intransiPonanduseable

Impact:Coursera ‘Theirwebclassesconsistofaballet‐likeinterplaybetweenwhiteboard‐stylechalktalks,cutawaystoprofessors’ownnarraPon,andasteadyprocessionofone‐quesPonquizzestomakesurestudentsarekeepingpace.’(Anders, 2012)

• 17internaPonalinsPtuPons• USD$22millionfunding• >680,000studentsinunder12months(Ferenstein,2012)

(Source: Class Central, 2012)

Impact:edX‘tendencytoconservaPveapproaches’(Weller, JISC MOOC Webinar, 2012) …‘thepotenPalmissingelementof‘Seeme’–thepersonalelement,.’…arewemakingconnecPonsorjustthrowingoutcontent&MCQs?’(White, JISC MOOC Webinar, 2012)

• USD$60millionfunding(Hack,2012)

MOOCsasgame‐changers:students

•  Off‐campusaccesstouniversiPes(Evans in Roscoria, 2012)

•  PresPgehighereducaPon,forfree:‘ThereisonlyoneElvis,andonlyoneHarvard’(Marginson, 2012)

•  Directaccessforrecruitment&tojobsearch

•  Control&choice:(Skilledup, 2012)

•  SupplementaryeducaPon(Gates Foundation, 2012)

•  Produceknowledge‐producinglearners(Moravec, 2012)

GeorgeSiemens,Learning&KnowledgeAnalyDcsUnit–AthabascaUniversity

2013

Now C

ho

ice

MOOCsasgame‐changers:educators•  PressureonexisPngcoursestolooktowardsenhancing

openness(Kernohan, 2012)

•  GoingbacktoregularclassesisimpossibleaCer[MOOCs]Wonderland(Thrun, 2012)

•  UnbundledrolesandmulPpleplayersinPersonalLearningEnvironments(PLEs)(Downes, 2010; 2011) :‐whoisresponsible?:–  Learner;Collector;Curator;Alchemist;Programmer;Salesperson;

Convener;Coordinator;Designer;Coach;Agitator;Facilitator;TechSupport;Moderator;CriPc;Lecturer;Demonstrator;Mentor;Connector;Theorizer;Sharer;Evaluator;Bureaucrat.

•  Personallearningenvironments(Kop, 2010; 2011; Fournier & Kop, 2011)

•  Ratherthanreplacingtheteacher,technologyhasinmanywaysincreasedthefocusonpedagogicskills.TheartofthepracPPonerasinsPgator,designerandanimateurremainskeytotheprocessoflearning(JISC, 2009, in JISC MOOC Webinar, 2012)

(Source:Edtechdev,Wordpress,2012inSiemens,2012)

‘EspeciallydisturbingisthatnoneofthemajorMOOCprovidershavehiredanyonetrainedininstrucPonaldesign,thelearningsciences,

educaPonaltechnology,coursedesign,orothereducaPonalspecialPestohelpwiththedesignof

theircourses.Theyarehiringalotofprogrammers…’

‘When analyzing the disruption potential of MOOCs, it is easy to forget that the actual concept is just 4 or 5 years old. Furthermore, the actual definition of the concept has undergone a significant change in the past 12 months as an entirely new branch has emerged.’ (Hill, 2012)

MOOCsasgame‐changers:universiDesMOOCsareoneoffoureconomicpressuresonUShighered(King & Sen, 2012):

1.  TheInternet:fromcommunity,toexamsandbooks;2.  DistanceEd:USuniversitystudentstakingonline=20%onecourse;

9%wholedegree(US DoE, 2011);3.  For‐ProfitUniversiPes:low‐touchandnoresearchbuthighspendonteaching

(Uni.ofPhoenixspendsUSD$200millionperyearteaching‐relatedR&D);4.  Onlinestart‐ups:MOOCsasno‐touch,profitableatscale,overcomephysical

limitstostudentnumbersanduPliseexisPngtechnology,people&processes

No.USColleges/UniversiDes No.%StudentsEnrolledatpublic,private&for‐profituniversiDes

(Source: NCES in King & Sen, 2012, p. 6)

(Source: Hill, 2012)

Barrierstosustainability

1.  Developing revenue models to make the concept self-sustaining; 2.  Delivering valuable signifiers of completion such as credentials, badges or acceptance into

accredited programs; 3.  Providing an experience and perceived value that enables higher course completion rates (most

today have less than 10% of registered students actually completing the course); and 4.  Authenticating students in a manner to satisfy accrediting institutions or hiring companies that

the student identify is actually known.

CriDcismsofMOOCs

•  Aredherringthatwon’tsolvehigheredbeingbust.Theissuesareabouthighered,digitalpedagogyandonlinelearning(Stommel, 2012)

•  SuccessismeasuredbysubscripPon(Cohen, 2012)

•  TheyremoveteachingstudentsfromeducaPon•  SuitabilitytoquanPtaPvesubjects,parPcularlyforobjecPvequesPons

andassessment(Skilledup, 2012)

•  ThedifferencebetweenarealcollegecourseandaMOOCislikethedifferencebetweenplayinggolfandwatchinggolf.(Vaidhyanathan, 2012)

•  …MOOC'svideosoftalkingheads,famousprofsgivingthesameoldlecturestheygiveintheiroutdatedface‐to‐faceclassrooms.Really?WethinkTHISispreparingstudentsforthe21stcentury?ParadigmshiC?No.That'ssquanderingatechnology,nottakingadvantageofitsparPcularaffordancesthatcannotbeduplicatedelsewhereintheanalog,pre‐digitalworld…(Davidson, 2012)

..weneedtothinkaboutwhichtechnologiesrelatemostdeeplytowhatmakesusprofoundlyhuman..(Source:Puentedura,2012)

Contextualizingsocio‐culturalfitoftechnologyuses…

PathsandpossibiliDesoftheprofoundlyhumaninedtech(Source:Puentedura,2012)

AligningusesoftechnologiesinMOOCs…

AnAlternaDve:

Li/leOpenOnlineCourses

(LOOCs)OpenU,

TheUniversityofMaine (Kolowich, 2012)

MOOCDimensions‐Pedagogical•  InstrucPon‐qualityandmodalityofresources•  InteracPon‐forumsandhowtheyareused

•  Co‐construcPon‐studentsworktogethertocreateknowledgeproducts(e.g.wiki)

•  Teachers'input‐administraPveversuslearningfocus

•  Assessment‐Peermarkingvsautomated•  AccreditaPon‐noneversuscerPficateversusfull

qualificaPon•  Newmodels‐qualityofinformaPonrepresentaPonand

facilitaPngsharing

MOOCDimensions–InsPtuPonal•  PurelyformarkePng•  ArPculaPon/syphontocourses•  AdverPsing•  InformaPonharvesPng

•  Smallcost(Freemiummodel)

•  PayforaccreditaPon•  PremiumforeducaPonalservice

PotenPalMOOCfutures•  PresenPngdeliveryopPons:

– OnaspectrumwithothermodaliPes– AsacombinaPvemodalitywithotherdeliverymodes

•  PresenPngpedagogicalternaPves:– Outcomespecificlearningdesigntools(eg,research,in‐situlearning,communitybuildingtools,advancedlearningdevelopment,etc)

–  Tosuitdiversestudentgroupsandtosupportdiverselearningneeds

•  ContribuPngtotheoverallstudentexperience•  Contextualizinguseswithothertechnologies

(Sources: Skillshare, 2012 (image))

[ ] assive

pen

nline

ourses

m

o

o

c Thankyou.

Contacts:

jacqueline.kenney@mq.edu.auma/.bower@mq.edu.au