A pedagogical perspective on MOOCs: What are the implications for learning and teaching in Higher Education?

Prof. Dr. Sabine Seufert
A pedagogical perspective on MOOCs:
Implications for Learning and Teaching in HE?

2
My Research Background?
(Digital) Innovations in Learning
GAFA
Curricular
Innovations
Cultural
Innovations
Methodical
Innovations
Information Literacy
Schools as learning organisations
Roles of teachers and learners

Road Map of My Talk
© IWP, Universität St. Gallen Alle Rechte vorbehalten.19.06.2015
Students? Companies?
Faculty/ Business Schools?
Role of Libraries?
MOOCs Pedagogy in
Higher Education

MOOCs Pedagogy: what is «new»?
M = Massive
O = Open
C = Course
O = Online
MOOCs Pedagogy in
Higher Education

MOOCs Pedagogy: Two different worlds…
c = connectivsmx = extension
Atkinson (2012)
https://woknowing.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/comparing-moocs-
mits-opencourseware-and-stanfords-massive-ai-course/

MOOCs Pedagogy: What is a xMooc?
 Instruction: Learning results from the transmission of
information from an expert to novices
 Specially designed platform software
 Video lectures as Instruction Method
 Computer-marked assignments
 Peer assessment
 Supporting materials: e.g. copies of slides, supplementary audio
files, urls to other resources, online articles
 A shared comment/discussion space
 No or very light discussion moderation
 Badges or certificates, some kind of recognition for successful
completion of a course, based on a final computer-marked
assessment employer acceptance of MOOC qualifications.
 Learning analytics (“Big Data”)

MOOCs Pedagogy: What is a cMooc?
 “Connectivsm”, Construction: Learning results from sharing
knowledge between participants and emerges through learning
experiences
 Use of social media: supported by a range of ‘connected’ tools
and media.
 Participant-driven content: all participants contribute to and
share content.
 Distributed communication: a self-organising network with
many sub-components.
 Assessment: no formal assessment, although participants may
seek feedback from other, more knowledgeable participants, on
an informal basis.

MOOCs Pedagogy: Profiling MOOCs?
 Open
 Massive
 Use of multimedia
 Degree of communication
 Degree of collaboration
 Learning pathway
 Quality Assurance
 Amount of reflection
 Certification
 Formal learning
 Autonomy
 Diversity
Degree of Evidence
LowMediumHigh
Dimension
«Rather xMooc»

MOOCs Pedagogy: A Taxonomy
NOT WORKING!
xMooc
Pedagogy
cMooc
Pedagogy
Instruction Construction
Reich (2012)
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/edtechresearcher/2012/04/all_edtech_
summarized_in_one_slide_market_open_and_dewey.html

Students: Implications?
NOT WORKING!
cMooc
Pedagogy
Construction
Irregular Students mainly with
Academic Background
Motif to study:
“learn more about the subject” (96%),
“trying out online learning” (78%),
“to get to know MOOCs” (72%),
“to look over course content” (69%),
“to get a certificate” (62%),
“to improve carrer opportunity” (49%)
“to become part of an online-
community” (49%)
(e.g. University of Edinburgh)
xMooc
Pedagogy
Instruction

“On the internet, if you’re not paying for the
product, you are the product.”

NOT WORKING!
Regular Students on Campus
Raising expectations for
«innovative pedagogy»?
What happens in the classroom
(added value to come)?
Flipped Classroom Model?
cMooc
Pedagogy
Construction

http://www.uq.edu.au/tediteach/
flipped-classroom/what-is-fc.html

NOT WORKING!
xMooc
Pedagogy
cMooc
Pedagogy
Public debate
Internal discussion
Focus of studies
so far
Many research relates
to the US
Business Schools: Implications?

Media attention over the past year – far greater
attention than their actual impact
http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/gradechange.pdf

And it is a matter of size!

Role of MOOCs?

Learn about Online Pedagogy?

Business Schools: Implications?
NOT WORKING!
xMooc
Pedagogy
cMooc
Pedagogy
Strategy of Business School?
Support infrastructure for
«innovative pedagogy»?
Flipped Classroom Model?

Companies: Implications?
NOT WORKING!
xMooc
Pedagogy
cMooc
Pedagogy
Scalability = attractive
for corporate world
Efficient Training
methods
Self-organized Learners
as employees
Employer acceptance
of MOOC qualifications?

Kearns, P. (2000). Reifegrad einer Bildungsorganisation

Companies: Implications?
NOT WORKING!
xMooc
Pedagogy
cMooc
Pedagogy
Experimenting Field
Learning Method in distributed
multinational corporations
A method to support change
and innovation processes
in companies

Moocs Pedagogy: A Taxonomy
NOT WORKING!
xMooc
Pedagogy
cMooc
Pedagogy
Coursera, Udacity,
edX prefer to base
their MOOCs
Role of Librarians?
Professional
Development for
Librarians

Library: Implications?
NOT WORKING!
xMooc
Pedagogy
cMooc
Pedagogy
Role of Library:
Supporting Services
to deal with
Open Educational
Resources
for faculty / for students

Moocs Pedagogy: A Taxonomy
NOT WORKING!
xMooc
Pedagogy
cMooc
Pedagogy
Role of Library:
Supporting Services
for developing
Information Literacy
of Students

Role of Library: Possible Functions
 Copyright clearance
 Content licensing
 Alerting MOOC developers to open content
 Helping to ensure that MOOC content is accessible
to all users, including those using assistive technologies
 Encouraging the use of open licensing
 Providing instruction in information literacy
Barnes, C. (2015) MOOCs: The Challenges for Academic Librarians. Australian
Academic & Research Libraries, 44:3, 163-175

Role of Library: Possible Functions
 Providing instruction in information literacy
 Examples:
 Providing Mini-MOOCs (scalable support,
xMOOC approach)
 Developing information research assignment
for formal courses (e.g. introduction to
scientific writing courses)
 Support for Information Literacy in cMOOCs
 MOOCs as a tool for developing best practice
(e.g. using data mining techniques to evaluate
best practices in information literacy instruction)

Future?
http://www.tonybates.ca/2014/10/13/comparing-xmoocs-and-
cmoocs-philosophy-and-practice/
They’re big, but will they survive?

 Barnes, Cameron. MOOCs: The Challenges for Academic Librarians. Australian Academic &
Research Libraries, 44:3, 163-175, 2015, DOI: 10.1080/00048623.2013.821048
 Butler, Brandon. Issue Brief: Massive Open Online Courses: Legal and Policy Issues for
Research Libraries. (Washington, D.C.: Association of Research Libraries, 2012).
http://www.arl.org/storage/documents/publications/issuebrief-mooc-22oct12.pdf
 Educause Executive Briefing. “What Campus Leaders need to know about MOOCs,”
Educause, December 12, 2012, http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/PUB4005.pdf.
 Kazakoff-Lane, Carmen. Environmental Scan and Assessment of OERs, MOOCs and Libraries:
What Effectiveness and Sustainability Means for Libraries Impact on Open Education.
(Chicago, IL. Association of College and Research Libraries, 2014).
http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/publications/whitepapers/Environmental%
20Scan%20and%20Assessment.pdf
 OCLC. “MOOCs and Libraries: Massive Opportunity or Overwhelming Challenge”? Symposium
held at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 18-19, 2013.
http://www.oclc.org/research/events/2013/03-
18.html?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=OCLC%20Abstracts%20Test%20Group
%201&utm_campaign=OCLC%20Abstracts.
 Robertson, R. John. “What do Academic Libraries have to do with Open Educational
Resources?” In Open Ed 2010 Conference Proceedings, (Barcelona, Spain, 2010).
http://hdl.handle.net/10609/4847.
 Yuan, Li, Sheila MacNeill, and Wilbert Kraan. Open Educational Resources - Opportunities and
Challenges for Higher Education. (United Kingdom: JISC CETIS, 2008).
http://wiki.cetis.ac.uk/images/0/0b/OER_Briefing_Paper.pdf.
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