1. The Challenges and
Benefits of using MOOCs
Professor Jonathan Pitches
University of Leeds, UK
Blended Learning Champion
for Performance, Visual Arts
and Communications
j.pitches@leeds.ac.uk
@jpitches68

2. Who….
• …has heard of MOOCs
• …has done a MOOC
• …has led a MOOC
• …has plans to design and lead a MOOC
• …has deep reservations about MOOCs’ impact
on HE?
• …is excited by the potential of MOOCs as ONE
component of a Blended Learning offer?

3. Trailer
• http://youtu.be/LTq99i7M0YQ

4. Plan of action
• Brief Context
– MOOC development and Blended Learning in the
UK and at University of Leeds
• Some reflections on the planning process
– Design
– Production
• Content examples
• Discussion – Gains and Losses

5. Context
National and Local

6. Key Local and National drivers
• Government recognition of Digital literacy
needs
• Expectations of future, digitally literate cohorts
entering into tertiary education.
• Growth of online, visual documentation (of
training).
• The introduction of £9000 fees to English
students studying in UK Higher education.
• The development of Open Access policies and
practices both in research and teaching.

7. Maturing of the MOOC
• MOOCS [Massive open online courses] will
disrupt business as normal in several domains
of higher education activity. Undergraduate
teaching and recruitment, pedagogy,
commercial CPD, and most particularly
international recruitment and reputation may
be sharply affected…There will be
opportunities to both gain and lose
positioning. (BIS Report 2013: 104).

8. BIS Report recommendations
• To push forward with the accreditation of
MOOCs; to encourage innovation and
transformation in continuing professional
development (CPD) contexts, using MOOCs;
and to acknowledge MOOCs as representing a
significant shift to digital education by
implementing policies which support and
foster digital literacies (2013: 102, cited in HEA
report 2014:19).

9. BL implementation at UoLeeds
• BL strategy
• Formulation of BL Steering Group, BLLTIG, FL Education
committee, and several Working Groups:
– YouTube
– iTunes U + iBooks
– Jorum – for OERS
– Lecture Capture and MM repository
• Appointment of Digital Learning Head at Chair level
• Recruitment of small DL team (5 + Head)
• Appointment of 9 BL champions – 1 for each faculty.
(0.1FTE)

10. Leeds Digital learning channel portfolio
Only available to
Registered Students Available to all learners
Online Courses
Individual Learning Objects
Learning Objects complementing face-to-face provision (Blended Learning)

11. Planning
Design and Production

12. Mark Evans
Movement Training for the Modern Actor
‘How will a world informed by the
contemporary discourses…of a
virtual, digital and screen-based
era itself shape theatre and the
training of actors?....
…What role will the corporeal and
embodied actor have in this new
order?’
(2009: 179)

13. Course structure
Week one
Meyerhold in Context
• Approaching
Theatre History
• C20th Actor
Training
• M’s
Contemporaries
• Biomechanics in
context
• Working safely
Week two
Meyerhold in action
• Intro to Sticks
• Intro to Balls
• Intro to
footwork
• Intro to the
Slap
• Documentation
in the 20s/30s
• Students share
Documentation
Week three
Meyerhold today
• Peer review
forum
• Expert panel
discussion
• 3 case studies of
use of training in
Physical theatre
today
• Final forum:
What use is M
now?

14. Key questions for planning
• Who is your target audience?
• How long? 2, 3, 6, 8 or 11 weeks?
– Taster MOOC
– CPD MOOC
– Full MOOC
• What is the balance of components and learning methods?
• How does each week relate to the previous week?
– Developmental or Repetition with difference
• What are the means of interaction?
• What are the means of assessment?
• Is this a c-MOOC, x-MOOC or hybrid?

15. Continuum of MOOC approaches
Connectivist
(George Siemens and
Stephen Downes, Hybrid Pedagogy)
cMOOC xMOOC
Atomistic
(Edx, Udacity, Coursera)
Networked
collaborative
learning
Linear
compartmental
learning
Open Closed

16. Script
Plan
Record
Edit
Animate
Check
Subtitle
Check
Publish
Production

17. Green screen examples

18. Animation

19. Panel sessions and discussions

20. Some examples of content

21. The Slap
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKhEB33
dMB0

22. The Platform

23. Artwork
Words are inadequate - how
do I convey the hot feeling in
my head ? - the heavy feeling
in my feet and hands as they
describe arcs through the air
? - and then contrast these
with the unbelieveable
lightness of the limbs ?- and
the bouncy feeling of the
pauses with intent?... In the
end only drawing seemed to
capture the sensations.
(Facebook event posting)

24. Video

25. Evaluation

26. Losses Gains
• Lack of simultaneous ensemble
experience and of associated group
motivation
• No hands on ‘manipulation’ of body
shape by the tutor or direct intervention
in exercises
• No control of time spent on the exercises
• No tutor-led differentiation of task for
individuals
• Levels of technical resources are uneven
across students
• Skill development of tutees cannot be
tracked by tutor
• Comments from tutor to individual in the
forums may be lost or unseen
• Uploading work after a few days’ work
can be daunting and counter-productive
• Exercises are available for scrutiny by
students 24/7
• Animation allows for high level of
detail and contextualized annotation
• Student reflection on tasks was often
deeper as they are posted in a
‘public’ environment.
• Comments by the tutor are available
to all and archived
• International audience offers rich
variety in the peer group .
• Blend of historical/theoretical
materials with practical exercises can
be carefully choreographed in situ.
• Collective research and crowd-
sourcing of knowledge

27. Extract from focus group
JP: Was there any difference in your approach when you were focusing
on the first week with all the theoretical and historical stuff and the
second week when you were more practically engaged?
Participant 1: I have never felt more engaged about the value of the
historical…
Participant 2: Yes
Participant 1: …than I’ve ever felt before in a learning context…
Participant 2: Yes I was so inspired…
…Participant 1: It took us from the familiar to the unfamiliar, which I
think was something that I was just so engaged by. I have never really
gone beyond what I know, and that’s what I really valued so much.

28. My MOOC Headlines
• Participants from 91 countries including almost 10%
from the United States, and others from Russia,
Australia, Spain, Greece, as well as the UK.
• 99% of participants who completed a post-course
survey found the educator engaging.
• 100% of participants said they would recommend the
course to a friend.
• 84% of participants who completed a post-course
survey reported spending over 30 minutes studying the
course per visit to the Futurelearn platform.

29. Impact and Repurposing
• Conversion of MOOC into an iBook
• Organisation of materials into iTunesU
• Author blog and twitter account
• New materials for L2 module: C20th and C21st
Performer training
• Academia.edu profile

31. Many thanks!
Jonathan Pitches
Professor of Theatre and
Performance
University of Leeds
Blended Learning Champion for
Performance, Visual Arts and
Communications
j.pitches@leeds.ac.uk
@jpitches68