MOOCs

About • MOOC is a Massive Open Online Class

• Started by Academia’s best and the brightest and now filtering down to the trenches of Academia

• People must sign up, so they know how many are in.• Courses are, in general, free• Courses award no credit………yet.• Teachers do not interact with students

Continue ……………..

About ……..

• Massive = the number of participants that can easily be simultaneously engaged in the course.• Open = related to several concepts: the software is open-

source, registration is open to anyone, the curriculum is open, the sources of information are open, the assessment processes are open, and the learners are open to a range of different learning environments.

MOOCs……………………

• are open to anyone – no mandatory qualifications• have no fees for study• have enrolments at start >>> learners at end• have learners who are not students of universities• are fully online• are very lightly tutored & supported• do offer assessment (in various forms) • have low study hours per week, on modules not degree

programs

Why MOOCs

• Reputation – early adopter of educational technology• Exploration of a new pedagogical ‘space’ to inform practice• Wish to reach as widely as we can with our courses• Sharing experiences with peer universities• Fun!

Modes in MOOCs

An Online spaces for learners to self-support + light touch oversight

Benefits of MOOCs

Automated assessment – computer-marks tests

Two types of MOOCs:• cMOOC• xMOOC

My field choice

My field of interest isPhilosophy and the SciencesLearn about the historical and philosophical foundations of contemporary science. Explore cutting-edge debates in the philosophy of the physical sciences and philosophy of the cognitive sciences.The course is structured around two broad areas:

1. Philosophy and the Physical Sciences2. Philosophy and the Cognitive Sciences • https://www.coursera.org/course/philsci

ReferencesBell, F. (2011) Connectivism: Its Place in Theory-Informed Research and Innovation in Technology-Enabled Learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. Volume 12, Number 3. Retrievable from web http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/902/1664 (accessed 20 May 2011).

Cormier D, Siemens G (2010) Through the open door: open courses as research, learning, and engagement. EDUCAUSE Review; 2010; 45(4): 30-9.

de Waard, I., Kouropoulos, A., Gallagher, M. S., Keskin, N., Hogue, R., Rodriguez, O. C., Abajian, S. (2011) mLearning and MOOCs in understanding Chaos, Emergence and Complexity in Education: The search for equilibrium and a new educational order. (paper to be published at IRRODL November 2011)

de Waard, I., Gallagher, M. S., Hogue, R., Kouropoulos, A., Rodriguez, O.C., Keskin, N., Abajian, S. (2011). Exploring the MOOC format as a pedagogical approach for mLearning. Proceedings of mLearn2011 (to be published October 2011).

Downs, S. (2006). Learning networks and connective knowledge. Instructional Technology Forum: paper 92. Retrieved from web http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/paper92/paper92.html (accessed 12 April 2011)