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Presentation to HEA/SEDA conference on First Steps into Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (FSLT12) massive open online course
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What is Necessary and what is Contingent in Design for Massive
Open Online Courses?
George RobertsMarion Waite
Jenny MacknessElizabeth Lovegrove
20/07/2012
HEA/JISC OER Phase 3 – OERs for PGCERTs strand project: “OpenLine”
OutlineThe higher ed buzzword of the year… (Bon Stewart)
• Questions• MOOC background– Old MOOCs, New MOOCs– Our MOOC
• First Steps into Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (FSLT12)
• Design considerations
• Evaluation• Discussion
Questions
• What do you need (platform – and other -components) to conduct a MOOC?– And, what is nice-to-have but not necessary?
• How are those aspects related to the subject of the course?
• What guidance can be offered about appropriate design for conducting MOOCs?
Can we arrange the room for discussion
MOOC BACKGROUND
Old MOOCs, New MOOCsOur MOOC
First Steps into Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (FSLT12)Design considerations
… the key difference between the two kinds of MOOCs is one of underlying of ideology (Peter Sloep http://bit.ly/LBwImp )
Old MOOCs from 2008MOOCs were … were intended to be a challenge to
the traditional notion of a course (Jenny Mackness)
• Explicit pedagogical perspective– Social constructivist, dialogic, actor networks
• Distributed, open source platform components– Wikis, WordPress, Moodle
• Intentional social media conversations– Twitter, Facebook, Blogs
• Open challenge to institutions– Access, environment, IPR, assessment
New MOOCs from 2011When the cavalry charge is being led by the most
prestigious higher ed institutions … it is hard to imagine it will all blow over… (Bon Stewart)
• Tacit pedagogical perspective– Instructivist, cognitivist, pragmatic, realist, – Authentic: employment oriented
• Consolidated platforms– Incidental social media
• Institutional counter-position– Elite, neo-colonial (?)
The other kind of MOOC embraces a simple business ideology, and as such is almost the antithesis to the first kind.Peter Sloep http://bit.ly/LBwImp
Recipient-design Learner centred focus
• Social-constructivist “old” MOOCs–Focus on the process of learning itself–Take a radical, recipient-design
approach based on • Autonomy, diversity,
openness, networks, interactivity, connectivity
Learning processes
• Aggregate– Filter, select and gather information meaningful to the
individual,• Remix– Interpret this information bringing one’s own perspective
and insights,• Repurpose– Refashion it to suit individual purposes, and then
• Feed forward– Share it with other participants, to learn from each other
Referee design Topic focus
• Instructivist “new” MOOCs–Certain approach to subject-area knowledge–Characterised by
referee design focus on • Learning outcomes,
Subject knowledge, Codified by authorities, Interpreted by the instructor
Learning processes
• Didactic – Exposition through video, audio and text
• Structured– Guided discussion with facilitation
• Practical – Exercises simulations, laboratories– Work-based
• Assessed– Multiple choice, short answer
Two kinds of platform
But what about the technology? (Audry Watters)
• Instructivist MOOCs– Consolidated or unified approach presents all the
course elements in a single “wrapper”
• Constructivist MOOCs– Distributed approach uses a selection of available
tools in their “native” guise.
Our MOOC• First Steps into Learning and Teaching in Higher
Education (FSLT12)
Some Data
• 160 Registered• 60 active participants– 20 assessed places– 12/14 completed assessment
• 19 participants consented for ‘research & evaluation
Three topic areas
We learn from each other, in conversation
• First steps curriculum
• UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF)
• Open Academic Practice
First Steps Curriculum
• Open content (http://bit.ly/NC7pPu )• Asynchronous discussion forums
• Derived from New Lecturers Programme– 6 topics
• Supporting Learning• Reflective Practice• Teaching Groups• Feedback• Lecturing• Evaluation
http://bit.ly/NC7pPu
UKPSF
• Descriptor Level 1 (Associate Fellow)– Threaded throughout
• Areas of Activity– Design and plan learning activities– Teach and support learning– Engage in continuing professional
development• Core Knowledge
– Subject knowledge– Teaching methods– Use and value of appropriate learning technology
Open Academic Practice
• Programme of guest speakers• Live synchronous (and recorded) audiographic
sessions– Introduction to open
academic practice– Role of openness in
transforming practice– Theory pedagogy
and community– Open educational resources
(OER) and their impact on teachers
Assessment Activities
• Diagnostic/formative• Summative
1. Initial reflective statement aligned with UKPSF
2. Collaborative annotated bibliography3. Microteaching
Learning outcomes
• Were not specified at the course level!– “The course aims to develop and extend your
knowledge, understanding and skills of teaching and learning in higher education.”
– “A key principle of the course is learner autonomy”
– “… encourage participant interaction and open sharing of resources, learning, thoughts and ideas.”
Platform elements
• WordPress• Moodle– With a tabbed interface thanks to Joe Rosa
• Collaborate– Thanks to Sylvia Currie and the SCOPE community
• Blog aggregator– With bespoke CSS - Also thanks to Joe
Questions
• What do you need (platform – and other -components) to conduct a MOOC?– And, what is nice-to-have but not necessary?
• How are those aspects related to the subject of the course?
• What guidance can be offered about appropriate design for conducting MOOCs?
Can we arrange the room for discussion
EVALUATION
Evaluation purpose
• Feedback to funders– Development of OERs– Adoption of open academic practice by
participants– Professional development for new lecturers
• Course Evaluation– What worked well?– What could be improved?
Evaluation methodology
• UREC approval• Online course evaluation questionnaire• Online synchronous focus groups• Face-to-face/online semi-structured individual
interviews for target group• Other (tbc) e-mail interviews, blog, twitter,
discussion forum analysis
Some commentsI thought the
organization of the MOOC was excellent, clear schedules, and
great support.
This MOOC surpassed my expectations in terms of
content and engagement. The "live virtual classrooms" really made the difference.
It was a challenging as much as enriching experience. Challenging because it was the first time for me to engage with a MOOC…; enriching because I learnt a lot
from the experience on a number of different levels
It was illuminating and empowering at the
same time to learn in such a clear way the
value of CPD, reflection and what
professionalism means.
Some more commentsAs I am very new to the
MOOC learning, I was at first a bit lost as it was such an
multi-channel learning, incorporating listening,
reading, discussion, thinking etc all most at the same time
Exhausting and quite stressful to enjoyable
and rewarding in equal measure
Having initially felt overwhelmed by the 'on-line' learning experience, I
feel that I have gained new knowledge and
understanding in relation to the benefits of collaboration and
interactive learning.
Having taken a number of MOOCs
this one encouraged my participation at a
more thoughtful level than previous
sessions.
And more…I don't like
the use of different sites - it is very
confusing. I missed three days posts because I did not
realise that I had to sign up to all forums.
assessed students
were the real students and we other on the border
The micro teach was not clear
and the organisation
was a little late
somehow it was strangely difficult to find what I was looking for on the
course pages.
In retrospect it all worked well
but I remember
feeling at the time a bit lost as regards the Moodle site.
#FSLT 12 Focus Groups• Organization of MOOC
– How to support navigation thorough and across the platforms
• Assessment– How can we best meet the needs of assessed & non-assessed participants?– Equity & Criteria
• Use of technology/activities– Balance of synchronous & asynchronous activities & best use of each
• Inclusive Practice– Common phenomenon in MOOCs for participants to feel ‘lost’ and
‘unsupported’. – Intended audience of #FSLT12 was ‘the novice’. How could we have been more
inclusive throughout?
Focus Group
Organisation of MOOC/ Navigation
• ‘getting over that initial concern’• ‘personal efforts’• ‘establish participant audience’• ‘becoming part of the community’• ‘extends beyond a normal course’
Assessment
• ‘more clarity’ about link with pedagogy of MOOC and Microteach’
• ‘Rich peer feedback’• ‘Microteach requires thought & preparation’• ‘opportunity to practice with new technologies’• ‘lots of new skills developed’• ‘high quality outputs’• ‘chance to observe varied examples of online teaching’• ‘illuminated diversity of other participants’• ‘vets’ very impressed with ‘newbie's’
Inclusivity
• Openness not an immediate concern for ‘newbie's’• Pragmatic approach to sharing & collaboration• Convenient and flexible way to learn about teaching and
learning in HE• Good challenge to prepare Microteach for diverse audience• New literacies required for active participation• Informal networks established for buddying• Future potential for ‘vets’ as volunteers to support a cohort
Other outcomes
• OERs• RADAR• YouTube http://bit.ly/Q9fEqO • Other resources (Jenny’s table)
Limits of navigation
Questions
• What do you need (platform – and other -components) to conduct a MOOC?– And, what is nice-to-have but not necessary?
• How are those aspects related to the subject of the course?
• What guidance can be offered about appropriate design for conducting MOOCs?
Can we arrange the room for discussion
What do you need
How are components related to topic?
What is appropriate MOOC design?
Thoughts & reflectionsA controlled classroom environment isn’t a bad thing (Krauss)
• Overall ‘an evaluation success’‘FSLT12 combined best aspects of a closed online course with
the best aspects of openness in a MOOC and put them together’(Jenny Mackness)
– Assessment created a common focus– What aspects of the course might have exemplified
open academic practice?– How does this impact on new lecturers courses?– What about the 75% of participant views that have
yet to be captured?
Thank you
George RobertsMarion Waite
Jenny MacknessOCSLD, Oxford Brookes University
June [email protected]