9 things that could help you improve your MOOC (summary of the 2016 Coursera Partners Conference break-out sessions by Chiara Coen)

1. 9 things I learned at the 2016
Coursera Partners Conference

2. “You might as well start a
YouTube channel instead
of a course if that’s where
you’re planning to stop.”
A course is
NOT a
collection of
video
lectures

3. Thinking
skills and
your course
UNDERSTAND
watch videos
(least difficult) REMEMBER
quick quizzes
(more difficult)
APPLY / CREATE
p r o j e c t s / l a r g e r
a s s i g n m e n t s
(scaffolding!)
(most difficult)
ASSESS
discuss / review
peers / graded quiz
(difficulty varies)
* A good course
combines all 4
components

4. “You’ll test whether
learners have actually
p r o c e s s e d t h e
knowledge, rather than
just remembered it.”
Base graded
quizzes on
assignments,
not lessons
“This is a scalable way
of checking whether
learners successfully
c o m p l e t e d a n
assignment.”
“But what about my
videos?!” Use reflective,
lower-level, ungraded
quizzes in (or straight
after) your videos
lectures.

5. “Add dedicated #social
media accounts to these
in-platform forums.”
They’re not only good for
marketing purposes, but
a l l o w l e a r n e r s t o
communicate and reflect
outside the platform too.
Every
platform
needs its own
discussion
forum
* S h o u l d w e
r e c o n s i d e r o u r
choice to use Slack
(externally)?

6. “The best tasks are project-based
ones. Make their grading scalable
by opting for peer reviews or
quizzes based on the intended
project outcomes. Support learners
through the forum.”
Go for project-
based
learning

7. Large number of learners =
lots of forum activity
Moderators
Fueling the debate
Eliminating trolls
Pick community members
from learners
*Coursera support!
Your MOOC
probably
needs a
community

8. 1. ACCESS AND MOTIVATION
(make the learning environment)
2. ONLINE SOCIALISATION (start
with a small team)
3. INFORMATION EXCHANGE
(communicate about known
information, problems,
successes)
4. KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION
(what can we do to prevent /
improve / …?)
5. DEVELOPMENT (metacognition,
look back at the online
experience, understand how
you’ve learned)
Scaffolding
is not just
for tasks
* Gilly Salmon’s
five-stage model
U s e i t t o
construct your
community, too!

9. … instead of just asking
learners where they’re
from.
Use Interactive
Use
interactive
Google Maps
* Cfr. workshop
locations à making
the boring (filling
o u t p e r s o n a l
r e g i s t r a t i o n
details) more fun!

10. Active learning in
Data Science and
Programming
courses?
1. Keep your course in the
psychological space between fear
and boredom
2. Celebrate struggle
à m i s t a k e s =
evidence of progress
3. Scaffolding!!!
4 . B a s e g r a d e d q u i z z e s o n
assignments, not lectures! (Use
reflective, ungraded quizzes in your
videos)