The document summarizes a roundtable discussion hosted by the BizMOOC project. It provides an agenda for the roundtable including presentations on the state of MOOCs, lifelong learning in the workplace, and business strategies for using MOOCs. Reflections from participants acknowledge challenges like cultural shifts needed in businesses to recognize lifelong learning, and the need to demonstrate cost savings to businesses from MOOC implementation. Next steps include disseminating outcomes to stakeholders and promoting an upcoming webinar on MOOC design.

2. BizMOOC
Roundtable
Tuesday 23 October 2018
Ambient Laboratory, Jennie Lee Building
Institute of Educational Technology
The Open University (UK)
Dr. Rob Farrow, The Open University (UK)
Dr. Beck Pitt, The Open University (UK)
Prof. Martin Weller, The Open University (UK)
Content contributions from BizMOOC partners (CC-BY)

4. http://oerhub.net

5. 1230 Registration, networking, lunch
1315 Welcome and introductions
1330 Roundtable objectives
1345 Overview of the BizMOOC project
1400 MOOC: state of the art
1430 Lifelong learning in the workplace
1500 Business strategies and advantages
1545 Concluding remarks
1600 Close

6. BizMOOC
Roundtable
Today’s Objectives
• Dissemination/exploitation of results
• Networking, community and knowledge exchange
• Share responses, reflections, good practice
• Letters of support

7. BizMOOC
Roundtable
Housekeeping
• We need to document everyone’s attendance
• Outcomes will be shared with project partners
• We will provide a 1-2 pp. written report to EU funders
• No one will be identified with their comments

8. BizMOOC
Roundtable
Overview of the BizMOOC Project
• What is a MOOC?
• Project partners & structure
• Project objectives, activities & outputs

9. What is a MOOC?

10. BizMOOC
Partners
The Open University (UK), University de Alicante (ES), Burgas Free
University (BG), University of Economics Krakow (PL), AVL List GmbH (AT),
Hasso-Plattner-Institute (DE), DIDA srl (IT), Košice IT Valley (SK), The
National Unions of Students in Europe (BE), EADTU (European Association)
ByMadman2001(talk·contribs)(Ownwork,basedonImage:BlankMap-Europe-v5.png)[GFDL
(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html),CC-BY-SA-3.0(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)orCCBY-SA2.5-2.0-
1.0(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)],viaWikimediaCommons

11. The Aims of BizMOOC
• Raise awareness of MOOC and their
potential in Universities, businesses
and society across Europe;
• Provide tools and resources to
empower the use of MOOC for CPD,
increase employability and develop
entrepreneurship.
RandomnetworkbyscreenpunkislicensedCCBY-NC2.0andisavailableviahttps://www.flickr.com/photos/screenpunk/6871382961/

12. OPENLY LICENSED, COMMUNITY
RESOURCE DEDICATED TO MOOC FOR
BUSINESS, WORKFORCE AND
UNIVERSITIES
WWW.MOOC-BOOK.EU
THE MOOC BOOK
BIZMOOC CORE RESULT

13. Can MOOCs be used as a recruitment tool?
Are MOOCs really free for my
employees? What are potential
additional costs?
What topics are offered? Where can I find
MOOCs for certain topics?
How do I measure the quality of the MOOC on offer?
…and what about data security?
Will I get a better job? Do companies know about MOOCs?

14. 1. Learning with MOOC for Professional Development / Digital
Skills, Digital Learning
2. How to generate innovative ideas and how to make them work
3. Intrapreneurship: Make your Business Great Again
Pilot MOOCs
http://bizmooc.eu/pilot-moocs/

15. 1. Awareness and perception of
MOOCs
2. Involvement in online and MOOC
activities
3. Expectations, reasons, benefits
and barriers to engaging with or
creating MOOCs
4. Opportunities and interest for
collaboration with other institutions
BizMOOC Research Focus
Moocopoly by Alan Devine is licensed CC BY 2.0 and is available via
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/14097867845/

16. BizMOOC
Roundtable
MOOC : The State of the Art
• The vision of MOOC in Business
• Outcomes from MOOC research & evaluation
• Critical questions

17. MOOC in Business: The Vision
Boost employee productivity and profits
Improves employee retention rates
Addresses real world challenges to improve on-the-job performance
Organisations can identify motivated employees
Enlarge skill sets
Increase the confidence of employees
Support team spirit and cooperation
Promote intercultural competences
Ensure that employees are up-to-date with skills and professional knowledge
Free training
Possibility of enlarging employee and employers networks
Introductory training MOOCs can cover the basics or part of the introduction/new employee
processes (onboarding)
A variety of levels of training can be integrated into employee development plans
MOOCs provide flexibility in time and in knowledge to acquire

18. Collaboration between HEI’s and business
re: CPD/training currently limited
MOOC potential for training perceived as
not necessarily suitable for all contexts
Employees or potential employees who
undertake study via MOOC perceived by
as indicative of “motivation and desire for
continued learning than about
demonstrating specific knowledge”
(Radford et al, 2014)
MOOC currently utilised by specific
groups of learners
What other research says
Research Now! by Beck Pitt is licensed CC BY
https://www.flickr.com/photos/40959105@N00/
28738266343/in/dateposted-public/

19. Become a way of training employees on very specific and concrete topics
Facilitate rapid and efficient lifelong learning
Complement employee existing experiencee
Support personal educational interests
Promote interaction through online forums etc.
Educate new employees
Contribute to the continued modernisation of education
Promote corporative involvement in offering/producing MOOCs
Adapt higher education course material and training to the workplace at low cost
Expectations of MOOCs

20. “MOOCs are courses designed for large numbers of participants, that can be accessed by
anyone anywhere as long as they have an internet connection; they are open to everyone
without entry qualifications, and offer a full/complete course experience online for free”.
(Jansen & Schuwer 2015)
Awareness / Perception

21. Awareness / Perception

22. Use of MOOC in Business

23. The level of familiarity of EU companies with the MOOC concept is still rather low.
The main benefits of MOOCs are in relation to their application within Human
Resource Development (incl. on-boarding) and as a customer training, marketing
and recruitment tool.
High expectations in the fields of saving costs, better networking opportunities,
modernization of education, providing up-to-date knowledge, learning new
competencies & offering high quality in a flexible way
Huge interest in using MOOCs as complement to existing resources and materials
/ as a complementary education tool
Many unsolved questions with regards to legal limitations, unawareness, lack of
experience, confidentiality issues etc.
Key Findings

24. Reflections 1/2
Suitability and practicality of MOOC in business depends a lot on the
size of the business
Branding of MOOC as free/low-cost can be seen to imply low value
- there is an image issue here
Self-paced learning/resources can be more effectively integrated
into other business needs/activity
MOOC aren’t always aligned to business standards (which are not
always held in common)
Interest & engagement with MOOC dependent on stage someone is
at in their career

25. Reflections 2/2
MOOC may be more successful in business when pitched in terms
of competitive advantage rather than altruistic act – but this has
some implications for the commons
If not linked to tangible outcomes then MOOC are a ’hard sell’ in
business
Digitally badged courses may be of particular relevance here
cMOOC style approaches require a space for interaction – this
needs to be moderated, which may impact cost savings
NGOs and voluntary sector (like education sector) are less driven by
this commercial / profit imperative

26. BizMOOC
Roundtable
Lifelong Learning in the Workplace
• Closer look at MOOC potential for business
• The value of lifelong learning in 21st century workplace
• Pilot MOOCs focused on lifelong learning
• Identifying synergies and barriers to overcome

27. Industry 4.0
ChristophRoser CC-BY

28. Lifelong Learning
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be
those who cannot read and write, but those who
cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Toffler, A. (1970)
Future Shock
Global Human Capital Report (2017) suggests the
world has only developed 62% of human capital
Low confidence of global
CEOs in their own company
readiness for digital
activities: “The confidence
in their organizations’
digital abilities is at an all-
time low: Just over half
rate their Digital IQ as
strong or very strong (a
score of 70% or greater),
down from two-thirds of
executives in 2014 and
2015” (Curran et al., 2017)

29. 1. Learning with MOOC for Professional Development / Digital
Skills, Digital Learning
2. How to generate innovative ideas and how to make them work
3. Intrapreneurship: Make your Business Great Again
Pilot MOOCs
http://bizmooc.eu/pilot-moocs/

30. Society Focus
Results of quantitative & qualitative survey (N=1193, 10 languages)
85% of sample use the Internet for skills development
40% of sample currently use MOOC
55% of sample have never used a MOOC
85% planning to use a MOOC in future
The majority of those surveyed were aged 18-55 with at least an
undergraduate degree

33. Interest in the BizMOOC Pilot MOOC
Perceived value of sources of info/training

34. Reflections 1/2
Businesses tend to think in terms of training rather than learning –
without a culture shift the value of lifelong learning in unrecognised
Solutionism: MOOC branding has a habit of trying to be all things to
all people but this means it’s not seen as solution to specific issue
Many businesses need to be more proactive about lifelong learning
as we move into automation & more flexible career pathways
Tension between business objectives and lifelong learning needs to
be overcome in business strategies

35. Reflections 2/2
There’s a recognition that businesses need to get better at peer
learning, sharing – but this represents significant cultural shift
Need to strike balance between competition/collaboration
Voluntary sector already aligned to the language of lifelong learning;
also has more reliance on volunteers, etc. so fewer resources to
begin with. Perhaps more fertile starting point than business.
Similarly, smaller businesses also have fewer dedicated resources
for this and may need to focus more on lifelong learning and MOOC
can be a route to this

36. BizMOOC
Roundtable
Business strategies & advantages
• What does successful implementation look like?
• What can be gained?
• What are the major barriers to be overcome?
• What kind of collaborations are needed?

37. Business involvement in online and MOOC activities

38. Reasons for and against involvement in MOOCs

39. “From the company’s point
of view, MOOCs cannot be
accessible for all as soon as
company specific
knowledge is transferred…”
(Business based in Western Europe)
“As an employer,
unfortunately, there is still
little verification possible if an
employee is really studying
and if the learning is effective
enough for the individual”
(Business based in Western Europe)
“In our organization MOOC looks
particularly useful in supporting
communities (e.g., developers, project
managers or cloud dev ops), where there
is a need to increase skill, to learn while
depending on personal interactions
among the participants.”
(Business based in Eastern Europe)

40. “We have good relations with
different universities in
[Redacted]. I visit them to
recruit new interns. I can
imagine using them [MOOC]
to make our company
attractive to future interns and
employees. We can also help
universities deliver something
[based on] practice. We can
also reuse content which
saves time.”
(Business based in Eastern Europe)
“Our organisation has no resources
to develop MOOCs but we could
provide information for the
development of MOOCs connected
with standards and standardization
processes and procedures. It would
be helpful for the organisations and
for the individuals as well.”
(Business based in Eastern Europe)
“We might be interested, but it is [a]
top management decision”
(Business based in Eastern Europe)

41. MOOC: Good
Business
Pratice
Business by Christophe Benoit is licensed CC BY 2.0
and is available via
https://www.flickr.com/photos/christophebenoit/21666
276190 /College of DuPage Celebrates 50th
Commencement 2017 12 by COD newsroom is
licensed CC BY 2.0 and available via
https://www.flickr.com/photos/codnewsroom/3482212
1715/

42. Opportunity for targeted awareness raising regarding MOOC
Foreground detail on quality processes and alignment with
professional standards
Recognise that businesses and HEIs bring different strengths and
possibilities with regard to CPD provision and collaboration
Building trust, addressing perceptions of “graduate employability”
etc. become possible through collaboration
To broaden access to MOOC a collaborative, strategic approach
involving a wide range of stakeholders beyond HEIs and business
is needed
Recommendations

43. Develop the structure and content of the MOOC using proven
learning design principles and tools
Conduct research on the characteristics and needs of the target
groups in the early phase of the design process
Involve experts in the evaluation of the design and course prototype
well in advance of its launch
Take sufficient time for the design of the MOOC
Use linguistic tools to overcome language issues
Recommendations

44. Acknowledge and address unequal knowledge and experience with
MOOCs within the design team
Assign tasks and responsibilities according to team member’s
areas and levels of expertise
Establish the goals, learning outcomes, characteristics and quality
criteria of the MOOC before developing the MOOC
Select KPIs that are most appropriate for the MOOC
Plan the overall evaluation and quality process, including who will
review what elements using which template with applicable criteria,
before delivery
Recommendations

46. Review a range of MOOC platforms
Ensure the accessibility of content and assets (such as videos) on
different devices
Provide the MOOC content in multiple languages and include
examples which reflect specific target audience(s)
localities/circumstances
Consider the medium- to long-term life of the MOOC
Whenever necessary, introduce flexible course options (fast track
and full track)
Recommendations

48. Introduce e-tivities as good practice examples for ice-breaking
activities
Introduce self-training options
Host an online closing event which recaps the most important take-
aways and enables learners to reflect informally on their
experiences
Enable learners to become co-creators of the MOOC
Recommendations

49. BizMOOC
Roundtable
Concluding Reflections & Next Steps

50. Learning with colleagues can be good, but closed courses (e.g.
SPOC) inhibit learning from wider populations
Trust is a massive issue when it comes to linking competencies and
the recognition of learning. The undergraduate/bachelor degree
remains the recognised standard.
Human resources rarely interested in MOOC – this is a key area for
raising awareness. Distinction between elearning and MOOC is
muddy at best for most people in business.
Concluding Reflections 1/3

51. Businesses who already have an elearning platform are unlikely to
be interested in MOOC as they believe a solution is already in place.
MOOC branding needs to be less “academic” and more corporate
for maximum market penetration. There was a suggestion that
innovation was the overlap to focus efforts.
There are perhaps too many MOOC offerings out there – it can be
difficult for a business to know where to begin.
The idea of ‘fast-tracking’ makes sense for some but having
differentiated certification at the end raises questions about value.
Concluding Reflections 2/3

52. There was a perceived contradiction between some BizMOOC
recommendations – e.g. self-paced learning vs e-tivities. The
context for recommendations could perhaps be clearer.
The idea that businesses would not make their organisational
knowledge openly available was raised several times.
Presentation in multiple languages, accessibility and open source
code were all considered important for business uptake.
More work is needed on the real cost to business of training an
individual/group via MOOC and demonstrating the savings that are
possible.
Concluding Reflections 3/3

53. Feeding outcomes back to the project team and to EU
Blog post – November 2018
Letters of Support
Dissemination to our stakeholders
Check out the MOOC BOOK! http://mooc-book.dida.srl/
OpenUpEd MOOC Design Webinar Week
https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/tickets-webinar-week-mooc-design-
51454934093
Next Steps

54. Thank you!
www.bizmooc.eu
www.mooc-book.eu
facebook.com/Bizmooc
@Bizmoocbook
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the
contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which
may be made of the information contained therein.