MOOCs for Professional Development Texas Computer Education Association February 5, 2015

1. MOOCs for Professional Development
L. Kay Abernathy, Ed.D.
Educational Leadership
Learning and Innovation
TCEA
February 5, 2015

2. What is a MOOC?
Massive Open Online Course
• What is a MOOC? by Dave Cormier
• Uploaded on Dec 8, 2010
• Narrated by Dave Cormier
Video by Neal Gillis - Research by: Bonnie
Stewart Alexander McAuley George Siemens
Dave Cormier

3. Characteristics of a MOOC
• Content is not found in any one place but
can be located all over the web.
• MOOCs are free but there may be a fee if
participants are working for a certificate or
credit.

4. …More Characteristics
• Courses do not have specific assignments but
active participants are required to stay up to
date with rough schedules.
• Participants and instructors aggregate, remix,
and repurpose that content during the course.

5. …More Characteristics
True to its name, MOOCs can be
massive with a few hundred to
several thousand participants
engaged in a course simultaneously.

6. …More Characteristics
Classroom is one of many hubs where
interaction occurs, including personal
blogs or portfolios, websites, social
networking sites, and more.
**The-Year-0f-the-MOOCs-Top –Stories-Trends
and Lessons Learned, NYTimes, 2012.

7. Topic and Purpose
To investigate a MOOC of social media
content for professional development
related to initiation and implementation
of social media tools for professional
development concepts transference to
PK-12 educators and students.

8. • Introduction to Connectivism
• Downes, S. (2012)
• “Connectivist learning is a process of
• immersion in an environment, discovery and
• communication…”

9. Literature Review -- Introduction to Connectivism
Downes, S. (2012)
“Learning is not a matter of transferring
knowledge from a teacher to a learner, but
is rather the product of the learner focusing
and repeating creative acts, of practicing
something that is important and reflecting
on this practice.”

10. • Literature Review
• Transference is an individual’s ability to use past
experiences and new knowledge, shaped by
interaction, feedback, and reflections of understanding,
to apply in new learning situations (Bransford & Swartz,
1999).
• Transference aligns with the foundational approach of
constructivism where learners demonstrate and apply
knowledge learned from one context to another
(Berryman, 1990).

11. Literature Review
Supports
• Identify and provide different tools available to implement social media for
community, teachers, and students.
• Identify learning management system availability.
• Provide professional development in social media development knowledge
and skills, using either face-to-face or online strategies, to be able to:
– Capture and store evidence in a variety of multimedia formats and social
media tools.
– Reflect on Learning .
– Give and receive feedback as part of formative assessment
for learning.
– Plan and set goals as a lifelong learning strategy.
– Collaborate using social media tools.

12. Literature Review
Barriers
• Availability and access to web-based social media
tools.
• Availability of curriculum materials.
• Access to free learning management systems.
• Access to free network storage.
• Teachers beliefs.
• Administrators beliefs.

13. Literature Review
Barriers
• Demographic characteristics of teachers
• Teachers’ technological and content knowledge
• Technical, administrative, and peer support

14. Research Questions
– How has the participation of a PK-12 educator in a MOOC
Social Media course contributed to the transference of
social media practices to other educators and PK-12
students?
– What identified support systems, barriers, and challenges
did MOOC participants find to exist in their school
regarding technology, policy and procedures, and
implementation of social media tools for communication?

15. Research Questions
-- How has the PK-12 educators’ knowledge of social
media tools supported the implementation of social media
with educator colleagues?
-- How has the PK-12 educators’ knowledge of social
media tools supported the implementation of social media
with community?
– How has the PK-12 educators’ knowledge of social
media tools supported the implementation of social media
with PK-12 students?

16. Participants
Fall 2014 distributed survey about social media
use to 112 enrolled participants in the MOOC
course, Social Media: Communication Tools for
Educators.
• 112 possible respondents
• 100 did not complete (MOOC Option)
• 12 completed course and survey
• 10.75% response rate

17. Participants
• Examination of blogs, Facebook postings, and Twitter
posts representative of participants who completed
the MOOC course during the same timeframe as the
12 survey respondents
• Analysis revealed three themes
– Social Media Tools
– Reflective Writing
– Transference to Practice

18. Qualitative Findings
-- “Prior to this course I had basic exposure and
used social media in my personal life but really
hadn’t wrapped my head around how it could
be used in the classroom. I had basic ideas but
was limited by policies and my own lack of
training on ways to use them” (Student 1).

19. • “ I firmly believe time invested by Educators in
educating themselves will be the biggest long
term benefit to the students they teach and
connectivism is a trend worth following ”
(Student 1).
• ”The MOOC made my PLN “Personal Learning
Network” much larger and taught me that the
PLN is a constantly changing
environment ”(Student 2).

20. -- “One thing I am determined to do is to
ensure that students get to collaborate,
contribute and share knowledge with
others especially those with a diverse point
of view” (Student 3).

21. -- “My social networking has increased
dramatically in the last few weeks—I am more
familiar with Twitter, and I am more comfortable
using it. I have enjoyed being a part of a
Facebook group—it’s very easy to navigate and
find members of my class. WordPress is a great
way to share thoughts and reflect” (Student 4).

22. MOOC PD Implementation
Questions to consider:
• Who is the audience?
• Why are we encouraging the use of MOOCs
for professional development?
• How will the courses be used to show
evidence of learning?
• How do you provide educators and students a
choice and voice in their learning?

23. Recommendations for Future Study
• Examine barriers that impede the transference social
media tools for communicating with the public in
today’s PK-12 settings.
• Research how PK-12 classroom teachers use current
social media tools and reflections to provide
formative feedback regarding
educator and student progress.
• Research how PK-12 educators communicate
with parents and community.

25. References and Resources
• WordPress: Abernathy WordPress Blog
• Facebook:
LU Social Media for Communication MOOC
• Twitter: #LUSocial Media Tools for Communication
• OpenEducation.Blackboard.Com: Search for Social
Media: Communication Tools for Educators

26. References and Resources
• What is a MOOC?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e
W3gMGqcZQc
• Connectivism – Shawn Burke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
20Oqm1GvsU

27. …More References
• George Siemens: Changing Schools, Changing
Knowledge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR_ziHA_8LY
• Social Media in Education, February 27, 2014,
http://youtu.be/chhjlvnjvxo

28. …More References
• Social Media in Education, February 27, 2014,
http://youtu.be/chhjlvnjvxo
• Social Media, Participative Pedagogy, and Digital
Literacies, Howard Rheingold, May 6, 2010 at
Collaboration Technology Summit 2010, Case
Western Reserve University
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRG_Xy6y5G0

29. …More References
Downes, S. (2011). How to participate in
MOOC. Retrieved from
http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-
to-participate-in-mooc.html
Doing what comes naturally
By Jim Dillon on March 26th, 2014 |

30. …More References
http://smartblogs.com/education/2014/03/26
/doing-what-comes-naturally/
Paul Stacey’s Blog @: The Pedagogy of MOOCs
http://edtechfrontier.com/2013/05/11/the-
pedagogy-of-moocs/

31. …More References
George Siemen’s Interview on MOOCs and
Open Education.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
a2cEzsMEMY
MOOCs and Beyond – Updated to 7 Things You
Should Know About MOOCs, June 2013.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRG_Xy6y
5G0

32. …More References
MOOCs and Beyond – Updated to 7 Things You
Should Know About MOOCs, June 2013.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRG_Xy6y5
G0
Social Media in Education, February 27, 2014,
http://youtu.be/chhjlvnjvxo

33. …More References
• Social Media, Participative Pedagogy, and
Digital Literacies, Howard Rheingold, May 6,
2010 at Collaboration Technology Summit
2010, Case Western Reserve University
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRG_Xy6y5
G0

34. Contact Information
Presentation Location: http://tinyurl.com/n6mcpc4
L. Kay Abernathy, Ed.D.
lkayabernathy@lamar.edu
kayabernathy@gmail.com