mOOCrunning a mini open, online course in professional ethics

michael Rowedepartment of physiotherapy

university of the western cape

rationale

clinical practice is complex, teaching simplistic

knowledge is increasingly distributed, connected

digital information and interaction with technology changes how we negotiate understanding

wanted to explore networked, collaborative learning in an open, online course

authentic learning

provide authentic contexts that reflect the way the knowledge will be used in real life

provide authentic tasks and activities

provide access to expert performances and the modelling of processes

provide multiple roles and perspectives

support collaborative construction of knowledge

authentic learning (2)

promote reflection to enable abstractions to be formed

promote articulation to enable tacit knowledge to be made explicit

provide coaching and scaffolding by the teacher at critical times

provide for authentic assessment of learning within the tasks

Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (2000). An instructional design framework for authentic learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 23-48.

learning portfolios

A portfolio is a selection of work that you collect over a period of time, built around a particular topic or idea. It allows you to showcase a talent or skill in a way that is outside the boundaries of traditional assessment.

The purpose of the portfolio is to make a personal statement about what you are learning during this module and how it has impacted on your development as a thoughtful practitioner. You should use it to present evidence of your progress towards achieving the learning objectives of the module.

developing the course

inviting external participants

participants

52 third year UWC students

28 “externals” (UK, Canada, USA, India, NZ, Estonia, Saudi Arabia, SA)

providing support

providing support (2)

following each other

process

read the weekly activity

reflect, question, research

write a draft blog post

review the posts of others, comment

reflect, question, research

refine own blog post, connect

publish

connecting

assessment

formative assessment

comments from peers and facilitators

peer feedback

summative assessment

final blog post overview

Each student needed to assess 3 other students

Looked at: content format structure

Used Likert scales and open-ended questions to give feedback to peers

student feedback

research opportunities

interviews with facilitators

group interviews with students

content analysis of student final blog posts

survey of students experiences, perceptions

“connections” e.g. liked, follows, favourites (social network analysis)

review / position paper on open, networked learning

6 publications

conclusion

setting up and running an online course is hard

base your work on learning theory

providing support and guidance is essential

decide on your objectives, then choose your tools

peer feedback can take pressure off

write it up as a research project, plan your data collection before you even begin

thank you@michael_rowe

mrowe.co.za/blog