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Integrating MOOCs into university practice: education and research
- 1. Integrating MOOCs into University Practice: education and research @lisaharris & @nic_fair University of Southampton Web Science Institute Find out more about us at our Innovation In HE blog
- 2. Lisa Harris & Nic Fair • Dr Lisa Harris : Director Web Science Institute and Digital Educator. Connect @lisaharris / L.J.Harris@soton.ac.uk • Nic Fair: PhD student Web Science & Education and Digital Educator. Connect at www.nicfair.co.uk / @nic_fair / nsrf1g12@soton.ac.uk
- 3. ECAR Study of [UK] Undergraduate Students and IT, 2014 • Technology is embedded into students’ lives, and students are generally inclined to use and to have favourable attitudes toward technology. • More students than ever have experienced a digital learning environment. The majority say they learn best with a blend of online and face-to-face work. • MOOCs can provide that blended learning effectively.
- 4. The Web Science Series of mini-MOOCs • Web Science: how the web is changing the world • Digital Marketing • Power of Social Media • Linked Data and the Semantic Web • Learning in the Networked Age • Southampton’s Futurelearn MOOC page
- 5. Digital Marketing MOOC #FLdigital • Our on campus MSc students (70) posted in the platform and write blogposts reflecting on the learning experience of 1) participating and 2) blogging • Digichamps & PhD students joined educators in weekly video reflections • Showcases ground breaking research by our PhD students and educators • Students as co-creators, facilitators and active learners • Curriculum innovation through research-led teaching
- 6. Experiential learning for all
- 7. Encouraging student reflection Digichamps and MOOC Facilitators Hannah Watts & Amanda Herron recording the weekly feedback for our YouTube Channel with educators Lisa Harris and Mike Molesworth • Only 12% of the campus-based group had any prior knowledge/experience of MOOCs • 62% liked the MOOC from the start • 15% initially disliked the idea, but came to like the MOOC by the end • 15% were neutral before/after studying the MOOC • 8% disliked the MOOC throughout
- 8. Student reasons FOR and AGAINST the MOOC • flexibility of study timing • ability to repeat sections to aid understanding • accessibility on mobile device • Up to date content • Access to different cultures and examples • learned there was “no one right answer”. • Opportunities to network • Difficult to motivate to complete tasks due to lack of attendance deadlines/class time. • Disliked FL platform structure - hard to keep conversations going. • Why take a free online course when they had paid for F2F
- 9. The Power of Social Media MOOC #FLsocialmedia • Integrated with an existing on-campus ‘Curriculum Innovation’ module in May 2016 (and upcoming in May 2017) to encourage interaction and aid exam revision • Students posted their group videos on YouTube and shared with MOOC learners for feedback/discussion • Students wrote a short reflection on the additional learning achieved from their MOOC interactions
- 11. My reflections and changes for next time… • Some useful interactions but many students struggled • Assume no prior knowledge of MOOCs – provide very specific instructions • Assume no prior knowledge of how to engage with other learners – provide specific examples • “I blame the system!” – students are too used to essay formats and traditional tasks. MOOC puts them outside that comfort zone. • This year student preparation and their digital literacy skills will be improved via the new Learning in the Networked Age MOOC in the previous two weeks
- 12. MOOCs as Research Methodology “What if your next research dissemination exercise could also help you gather unique data for your next research project, while at the same time providing your students with unique learning opportunities?” (Moon, D, 2016) “MOOCs have the potential to benefit learners, educators, and researchers through the crowdsourcing of data.” (Ferguson et al, 2016)
- 14. Benefits & Considerations • Access to global sample on a large scale • Adds strategic and institutional value to MOOC resources • Can contribute to Research Excellence Framework reporting (in the UK context) • Must have an educational benefit and pedagogical purpose (help meet learning outcomes) • Must be suitable to the topic/subject/field of study • Self-selection sample bias and lack of control groups • Ethics – data protection, consent • Learner access to research findings (based on: Hodge, R, 2016)
- 15. Learning in the Network Age “Universities should prioritize [MOOC] courses that will be designed from the outset to address fundamental questions about teaching and learning.” (Reich, 2015)
- 16. Learning in the Network Age – data collection Example of the survey questions used in the MOOC
- 17. Learning in the Network Age – learner feedback https://yourPLN.co.uk Example PLN network map
- 18. Conclusion • MOOCs are a teaching resource for blended learning modules – with significant scaffolding needed for newcomers to online learning. • MOOCs are a way to crowdsource large research samples – with significant research and educational considerations to factor in. • MOOCs need to be intelligently designed from the outset with these pedagogic and research goals in mind
- 19. References • ECAR, 2014. ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology. • Ferguson, R, Scanlon, E & Harris, L, 2016. Developing a Strategic Approach to MOOCs • Hodge, R, 2016. Adapting a MOOC for Research: Lessons Learned from the First Presentation of Literature and Mental Health: Reading for Wellbeing • Moon, D, 2016. Crowdsourcing for social sciences researchers: data gathering, teaching, learning and research dissemination from a single project • Reich, J, 2015. Rebooting MOOC Research
Editor's Notes
- As well as being used as a blended learning resource, MOOCs can also provide an innovative research opportunity. Research data collected via MOOCs (not about MOOCs)
- 1. Learners took part in psychological experiments related to course content but results of which useable for research. 2. Monash – pre- and post-survey on stress levels to assess the impact of the course on stress levels 3. 7 research activities (inc. a follow up survey) spaced throughout the course – 4 surveys and 3 activities
- (+) - not just a teaching resource but also a research tool
- This course aims to equip you with the learning literacies and network skills vital for educational success in the networked age. It begins by considering the nature of digital inequalities such as access, openness, ownership and inclusion and how these issues might be effectively addressed in an educational context. Then you will explore your own Personal Learning Network – what it looks like and how you use it – before discovering strategies to grow, manage and activate your network to maximum effect in this environment.
- Learners complete iSurvey
- Instant feedback in the form of a network map on a web page. Learning task – to identify interaction patterns and compare with aggregate map. Clear pedagogical / learning benefit as well as providing research data for PhD thesis.