The document summarizes a presentation given at the 2013 Association for Business Communication conference in New Orleans. It discusses defining MOOCs, considering their historical context and efficacy. Key points include defining characteristics of MOOCs like free/open enrollment, video modules, peer review and discussion forums. The presentation describes the design process for a MOOC on business communication including developing curriculum, scripting videos and planning assessment. Outcomes like critical thinking, rhetoric and digital media production are highlighted.

1. Associa'on
for
Business
Communica'on
New
Orleans,
LA
October
2013
Rebecca
E.
Burne@,
Ph.D.
Director,
Wri.ng
and
Communica.on
Georgia
Tech
~
Atlanta,
GA
Paper
Co-­‐authors
Andy
Frazee,
Ph.D.
Karen
J.
Head,
Ph.D.
Associate
Director
Director
Wri.ng
and
Communica.on
Communica.on
Center

2. Overview
§ Defining
MOOCs
§ Understanding
historical
context
§ Considering
efficacy

3. Defining
MOOCs

4. MOOC
Defini'on
§ Massive
§ Open
§ Online
§ Course

5. Appropriateness
of
MOOCs
for
Business
Communica'on
The
2013
NMC
Horizon
Report
iden.fies
MOOCs
as
an
important
technology,
no.ng
that
MOOCs
have
“deviated
from
the
ini.al
premise…a
pedagogy
in
which
knowledge
[was]
not
a
des.na.on
but
an
ongoing
ac.vity,
fueled
by
the
rela.onships
people
build
and
the
deep
discussions”
Johnson
et
al.,
2013,
p.
11

6. MOOC
Characteris'cs
§ FREE,
OPEN
enrollment
across
the
world.
§ MOSTLY
FREE
materials.
§ HUGE
class
size.
§ VIDEO
modules
for
primary
content.
§ PEER
REVIEW
for
engagement
and
assessment.
§ DISCUSSION
FORUM
par.cipa.on.
§ SYNCHRONOUS
and
ASYNCHRONOUS
viewing
§ LOW
COMPLETION
rates

7. Our
MOOC
Characteris'cs
§ FREE,
OPEN
enrollment
—
Across
the
world
(e.g.,
Argen.na,
Canada,
China,
Egypt,
Iran,
Mexico,
New
Zealand,
Pakistan,
Russia,
US)
§ FREE
MATERIALS
—
Open-­‐source
textbook
and
open-­‐access
materials
§ HUGE
class
size
—
21,934
registered;
14,772
ac.ve
students
§ VIDEO
modules
—
26
video
lectures;
7
live
Hangouts
§ PEER
REVIEW
—
2,942
submiced
assignments;
19,571
peer
assessments
§ FORUM
par.cipa.on
—
1,728
threads;
6,990
posts;
2,866
comments
§ SYNCHRONOUS
and
ASYNCHRONOUS
viewing
—
95,631
viewings
of
videos
by
10,452
par.cipants
§ LOW
COMPLETION
(1–2%)
—
297
passed;
238
earned
cer.ficates

8. Our
Outcomes
§ Cri'cal
Thinking:
Evaluate
the
effec.veness
of
personal
essays,
images,
and
oral
presenta.ons.
Assess
your
work
and
the
work
of
your
peers.
Reflect
on
your
own
processes
and
performance.
§ Rhetoric:
Analyze
the
ways
in
which
you
and
other
communicators
use
persuasion.
Think
about
and
use
context,
audience,
purpose,
argument,
genre,
organiza.on,
design,
visuals,
and
conven.ons.
§ Process:
Apply
processes
(read,
invent,
plan,
drak,
design,
rehearse,
revise,
publish,
present,
and
cri.que).
§ Digital
Media:
Produce
wricen,
oral,
and
visual
ar.facts.

9. Karen,
Rebecca,
and
Andy
worked
closely
together
in
designing
the
course
and
managing
our
17-­‐person
team.
Photo
used
with
permission
©
R.E.
Burnec

10. The
PIs,
project
managers,
and
postdocs
had
weekly
team
mee.ngs.
Curriculum
was
designed.
Videos
were
scripted.
Assessment
was
planned.
Photo
used
with
permission
©
R.E.
Burnec

11. The
videos
included
§ Screen
summaries
§ Callouts
§ Hand-­‐wricen
notes
during
brainstorming
§ Annota.ons
on
sample
ar.facts
Photo
used
with
permission
©
R.E.
Burnec

12. During
the
live
weekly
Hangouts,
students
from
around
the
world
met
virtually
with
instructors
in
Georgia
Tech’s
Communica.on
Center.
Photo
used
with
permission
©
R.E.
Burnec

13. MOOCs
Hangout
sessions
in
the
Communica.on
Center
were
videotaped
for
later
analysis.
Photo
used
with
permission
©
R.E.
Burnec

14. Asser'ons
§ #1
Technology
§ #2
Hype
§ #3
Limita'ons
§ #4
Reality
§ #5
Poten'al

15. Asser'on
#1
Technology.
MOOCs
are
the
most
recent
technology
enabling
distance
learning.
Each
technology
has
affordances
and
limita.ons
that
shape
pedagogy
and
enable,
encourage,
constrain,
and
impede
learning.

16. Asser'on
#2
Hype.
MOOCs
receive
great
acen.on
(~4.5
million
hits
on
Google),
a
lot
of
it
unwarranted
hype
in
newspapers
and
in
the
blogosphere.

17. Asser'on
#3
Limita'ons.
MOOCs
are
not
yet
good
in
peer
review,
in
assessing
anything
but
quan.ta.ve
responses,
in
responding
to
par.cipants
who
need
accommoda.ons,
in
in-­‐depth
and
monitored
discussions,
or
in
enabling
reflec.on.
They’re
.me-­‐consuming
and
expensive
to
produce
and
may
not
be
governed
by
the
same
high
standards
as
the
organiza.on
sponsoring
them.

18. Asser'on
#4
Reality.
MOOCs
are
not
the
salva.on
of
higher
educa.on.
They’re
excellent
for
prepara.on,
review,
and
enrichment.
They
are
another
resource,
valuable
if
done
well,
but
they’re
frustra.ng
and
unproduc.ve
if
not
done
well.

19. Asser'on
#5
Poten'al.
The
technology
has
not
yet
caught
up
with
the
need.
The
individual
success
stories
are
persuasive
and
heartwarming,
but
problems
with
access,
ac.vi.es,
assignments,
accommoda.on,
and
assessment
are
enormous.

20. Understanding
Historical
Context

21. The
Bigger
Context
of
MOOCs
§ Distance
educa'on
– Systems:
extension,
correspondence,
fiber
op.cs,
online
learning
– Media:
radio,
film,
television,
and
video
§ Wri'ng
centers
§ Technologies
The
videos
were
recorded
and
edited
in
Georgia
Tech’s
professional
TV
studio.
Photo
used
with
permission
©
R.E.
Burnec

22. Contextual
Perspec'ves
Distance
Educa'on
Systems
§ University
degree
and
extension
services
§ Correspondence
courses
§ Fiber
op'c
networks
§ Online
learning/e-­‐learning

23. Contextual
Perspec'ves
Media:
Radio
§ Educa'onal
Radio
Sta'ons
—
N.
America,
Asia,
Africa,
Europe
§ Benefits
—
wide
distribu.on,
low
cost,
usable
in
areas
with
virtually
no
other
technology
§ Limita'ons
—
limited
interac.on,
pacing,
playback
Berman,
S.D.
(2008).
“The
Return
of
Educa.onal
Radio”
The
Interna3onal
Review
of
Research
in
Open
and
Distance
Educa3on.
9(2)
hcp://www.irrodl.org/
index.php/irrodl/ar.cle/view/563/1038
hcp://streema.com/radios/genre/Educa.on

24. Contextual
Perspec'ves
Media:
Film
§ Academic
Film
Archive
of
North
America
—
100,000+
educa.onal
films
made
in
N.
America,
early
1900s–~1985;
subjects
including
art,
history,
social
science,
literature,
and
science
(hcp://www.afana.org/)
§ Indiana
University
Libraries
Film
Archive
—
48,000+
films
da.ng
from
before
World
War
II
and
intended
for
classroom
use,
including
U.S.
Department
of
War
produc.ons
and
5,600+
programs
produced
by
the
Na.onal
Educa.onal
Television
(NET)
network,
precursor
to
PBS.
Staging
facility,
housed
at
History
San
Jose
hcp://www.afana.org/facts.htm

25. Contextual
Perspec'ves
Media:
Television
§ Federal
Communica'on
Commission
—
in
1952
designated
242
channels
for
educa.onal
television.
60
channels
in
use
by
1960.
§ Network
TV
created
educa.onal
programming.
– Example:
Sunrise
Semester
on
CBS,
1957-­‐1982.
30-­‐minute
NYU
lectures
with
mail-­‐in
materials.
Available
for
viewing
by
anyone;
college
credit
with
fees.
– Example:
Ask
Mr.
Wizard,
1951–1965.
hcp://sta.c.stevespangler.com/stevespangler/uploads/
2007/06/mrwizardearly.jpg

26. Contextual
Perspec'ves
Media:
Videos
and
DVDs

27. Contextual
Perspec'ves
Media:
Videos
and
DVDs
hcp://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/professors/professors.aspx

28. Contextual
Perspec'ves
Wri'ng
Centers
hcp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

29. Considering
Efficacy

30. Considering
the
Efficacy
of
MOOCs
Ra'onales
Benefits
Cau'ons
Access
Available
to
anyone
in
the
world
with
a
computer,
internet
access,
and
applica.ons.
Limited
by
.me
for
online
connec.on,
available
power,
local
laws,
and
func.onality
for
ADA
accommoda.ons.
Convenience
Asynchronous
and
synchronous.
On-­‐line
viewing
and
exercises.
Off-­‐line
reading
and
assignments.
Limited
convenience
based
on
limited
navigability
of
plaworm,
uneven
par.cipa.on.
Cost
To
students:
basic
course
currently
free.
Some
levels
of
“cer.fica.on”
have
a
cost.
To
students:
cost
of
technology
and
.me.
To
school:
expensive
and
.me
consuming
to
create,
tape,
and
disseminate;
cost
of
faculty
and
support
system.
Pedagogy
Planned
lectures.
Some
innova.on
possible.
Hangouts
for
community.
Forums
for
collabora.on
and
learning.
Lecture
largely
ineffec.ve
for
learning.
Plaworm
for
quan.ta.ve
courses.
Use
forums
technology
glitches.
Assessment
Online
quizzes.
Peer
assessment.
Some
self-­‐assessment.
Online
can’t
be
graded
if
downloaded.
Dysfunc.onal
peer
assessment.
Uneven
peer
par.cipa.on.
Plaworm
designed
largely
for
quan.ta.ve
disciplines.

31. MOOCs
A
Match
for
Business
Communica'on?
…if
the
focus
is
on
processes,
rhetoric,
and
culture
of
communica.on.
Yes…if
problems
with
access,
ac.vi.es,
assignments,
accommoda.on,
and
assessment
are
resolved.
Yes…if
the
purpose
is
preview,
enrichment,
or
review.
…if
the
focus
con.nues
to
emphasize
pre-­‐recorded
lectures,
inflexible
assignments,
inacen.on
to
process.
No…if
issues
related
to
quan.ta.ve
assessment
and
inadequate
peer
review
are
not
addressed.
No…if
intended
as
replacements
for
credit
courses.

32.
Rebecca
Burne@,
rebecca.burnec@lmc.gatech.edu
Georgia
Ins'tute
of
Technology
CONTACT
ME
If
you
have
ques.ons
about
our
program,
please
email…or
come
for
a
visit.