Presentation for my EDDE 801 course (Athabasca University EdD program) on MOOCs. Covers a brief history of MOOCs, an initial taxonomy of issues around MOOCs and the taxonomy applied (briefly) to the Greek Open Course effort (ca. 2014)
3. AK’s MOOC Experience
… as a learner … … since January 2011… … more or less, I’ve lost track
cMOOC 18
xMOOC completed* 62
xMOOC audited 5
xMOOC dropped 3
xMOOC: Coursera, Udacity EdX, OpenLearning, Open2Study, FutureLearn,
MiriadaX, Canvas.net, Coursesites, NovoEd, iVersity, Janux, etc…
4. Agenda
• (Brief) History of MOOCs (at least as I see it)
• Some issues around MOOCs (from emerging research)
• Case Study: MOOCs at the University of Athens
Ground rule: Have questions? Raise a hand for the Microphone or post text
In the chat – I’ll get to it during the presentation
15. Early thoughts on types…
Downes Lane Bonk Clark
cMOOC Network Based Reusable transferMOOC
xMOOC Task Based Repeatable madeMOOC
Content Based Rotating synchMOOC
Name Branding asynchMOOC
Experimental adaptiveMOOC
Personality connectivistMOOC
Loss Leader miniMOOC
Theory-driven
Trend-driven
JIT
Alternative
Admissions
17. … and current thoughts
Dimension
Open
Massive
Use of Multimedia
Degree of Communication
Degree of Collaboration
Learning Pathway
Quality Assurance
Amount of Reflections
Certification
Formal Learning
Autonomy
Diversity
Conole, 2013
Levels
Low
Mid
High
18. Based on current research done with a colleague
SOME ISSUES AROUND MOOCS
19. Some background
• Research Project
• Review of openly published materials about
MOOCs
• Including blogs, news-stories, and published research
• November 2011 to February 2014
20. Initial Typology
What is a MOOC?
Academic Governance & MOOC Goals
Instructional Design
Learner Motivation
Learner Engagement & Participation
Learner Satisfaction
Usability & Accessibility
Assessment Challenges
Value of “completion” & certification
Sustainability & Reputation
Course Content & Copyright
Teaching in a “Massive” environment
Cultural Communication & Cultural Hegemony
21. Interactions
Sustainability
What is a
MOOC?
Governance
MOOC Goals
ID
Hegemony &
Communication
Motivation
Engagement
Usability
Satisfaction
Assessment
Certification
Copyright Teaching
25. MOOCs at the University of Athens
CASE STUDY (IT’S REALLY A CRITIQUE)
26. Grand Overview
• Ανοικτά Ακαδημαϊκά Μαθήματα (Open College Courses)
• Lifelong learning project, funded by Greece & EU
• Goal: create ~1000 open courses
• 791 “A-” courses
• 158 “A+” courses
• Currently in trial run: http://opencourses.gr/
27. Types of courses
Προδιαγραφή Rubric for
“Α-”
grade
Rubric for “Α”
grade
(podcast)
Rubric for
“Α+” grade
Detailed course description (incl. English) √ √ √
Detailed course objectives (incl. English) √ √ √
Keywords and Glossary (incl. English) √ √ √
Organization of course materials into topic modules √ √ √
Detailed description of module goals and objectives √ √ √
Keywords & Glossary for modules √ √ √
Lecture notes, slides, and supporting materials for each lecture √ √ √
Bibliography √ √ √
Exercises - - √
Utilization of electronic sources of host institutions - - √
Multimedia Content such as:
i) Recorded video lectures
ii) Recorded video lectures with slides
iii) podcast, voice-over lectures (e.g. adobe presenter)
√
√
√
28. Mature department: 15
28
Department Α- Α Live
English Language and Literature 0 2 0
German Language & Literature 9 2 2
Theater Arts 3 0 0
Geology & Geoecological 23 26 3
Early Childhood Education 0 14 0
Biology 0 9 9
Theology 6 15 12
Religious Studies 3 0 3
Mathematics 44 41 19
Physics 3 0 1
Chemistry 32 9 3
Dentistry 7 14 12
Computer Science & ICT 14 17 63
Medicine 20 10 6
History of Science 7 3 0
171 162 133
29.
30.
31.
32.
33. Pros (starting with the kudos)
• Creation of courses in Greek
• Leveraging local know-how and bringing it to citizenry
• Intent to create a eLearning network for all instructors and
designers involved – increase feeling of community
• Want to also include lab courses!
• Seeking people with instructional design background
• Good marketing for Greek institutions
34. Cons
• Taken the worst of the xMOOC and put it online:
• Straight translation of campus lectures to an online “course”
• Focus on digitization, not pedagogy
• Courses still described in “hours of instruction”, which is just as
bad as “seat-time” in the US.
• Standards for course design are set at the macro level
• academic department conform to what standard regardless of
department
• No recognition of Distance Education as viable mode of
learning in Greece, but now they are seeking qualified
individuals to help in this effort…
35. Conclusion
This is one confused effort. Their literature indicates that they
wish to create Massive Open Online Courses, however in
practice they are creating OpenCourseWare.
36. Sources
• MOOC 1.0 vs. 2.0: http://www.wired.com/2014/09/moocs-2-0/
• MOOC Balance Score Card: http://www.slideshare.net/drygrape/mooc-balance-score-card-10-vs-20
• MOOC Business Models: http://www.slideshare.net/drygrape/mooc-10-20-business-models?related=1
• Major Players in the MOOC: http://chronicle.com/article/The-Major-Players-in-the-MOOC/138817/
• Genres of Networked Learning: http://femtechnet.newschool.edu/wp-content/
uploads/2013/08/MOOCvsDOCC_Infographic.jpg
• MOOC Evolution: http://mfeldstein.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/
uploads/2012/07/EvolutionCombine20120815.jpg
• Development of MOOC Providers:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Figure_1_MOOCs_and_Open_Education_Timeline_p6.jpg
• Massive Open Radio University: http://dhayton.haverford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/1303167mooc.jpg
• Conole, G. (2013). A New Classification for MOOCs. MOOC Quality Project. Retrieved from: http://mooc.efquel.org/a-new-classification-
for-moocs-grainne-conole/
• Cormier, D. (2010). What is a MOOC? Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW3gMGqcZQc
• MOOC Hysteria image: http://cogdogblog.com/2012/07/17/mooc-hysertia/
• Structure of CCK08: http://x28newblog.blog.uni-heidelberg.de/2008/09/06/cck08-first-impressions/
• Man writing [image]: http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/69/6980/OZNK100Z/posters/pop-ink-csa-images-
man-furiously-writing-at-desk-with-papers-everywhere.jpg
• Child watching TV [image]: http://www.psychalive.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/kids-watch-TV-300x199.jpg
• Conversation puzzle [image]: http://modernimmortal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/conversation2.jpg
• Conversation chaos [image]: http://artofconversation.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83452194e69e2017ee81ffd85970d-320wi
• Notorious Lurker [image]: http://www.stopmotionworks.com/miscimages/lurker2.gif
Editor's Notes
What does “completed’ mean?
Who judges completion?
One course dropped was Coursera, one Udacity, one canvas.net
This is one of the jokes that comes up when talking about the history of MOOCs. The Massive Open Radio University, or MORU.
I think in one of our readings (maybe the MDE 621 reader?) there has been a mention of every technology that we’ve had, television, radio, film, being a “disruption” to education. I guess the internet is no different. That said, no, the MOOC does not trace it’s lineage to the MORU.
I wasn’t a member of those 2008 and 2010 MOOCs, but this is one of my first MOOCs (sort of) looked like
Use this slide to type in FATHOM and AllLearn
The MOOC has
DOCCs, MOLO, SPOCs, SMOC, and, SmOOCs (and probably so many more!)
Age of the acronym: http://www.hastac.org/blogs/cathy-davidson/2013/08/21/mooc-spoc-docc-massive-online-face2face-open-uh-oh-age-acronym
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/27/ut-austin-psychology-professors-prepare-worlds-first-synchronous-massive-online
People are so quick to criticize that they don’t get the history “right”
Internet ethnographic data
Commitment to open, which is why we didn’t use closed access journals. This was also fortuitous because there weren’t a lot of articles published in closed journals at the time so it was easier to ignore the few that were there.
What is meant by engagement?
Are all forms of engagement visible?
We can see student-student engagement, and something we can see student-material engagement, but not always. Does this mean that it doesn’t happen?
What about lurkers?
“Dropout rates and behavior of lurkers represents one of the most puzzling issues for most educations in online courses” (Rodrgiguez 2011)
The instructivist model of delivering learning content in the form of videos, i.e. “talking head videos”. This causes low interactivity on behalf of learners and as a consequence it cannot be considered as engaging (Veletsianos, 2013, p12). This issue can be related with other kinds of criticisms as developed by scholars such as Kim (2012) who stated that MOOCs “cannot create the relationships and personal connections between learners and teachers that catalyzes our most authentic and meaningful learning experiences.”
Other factors that support this kind of criticism are poor design and usability and accessibility. For example, forums can be overwhelming (Cabiria, 2012) and there are problems in navigation. Familiarity with ICT and English language are also considered to be accessibility barriers (Fini, 2009). Multimedia and language has been emphasized by Kop (2011) as elements that could play an important role in who would be engaged online and who would not.
On the other hand it is important to note that some scholars have recently started to determine the success of MOOCs based on other criteria rather than completion or participation of anyone registered for the course (Kolowich, 2013a). It is quite characteristic according to the founders of Coursera that “most students who register for a MOOC have no intention of completing the course. Their intent is to explore, find out something about the content, and move on to something else” (Kolowich, 2013a).
Does this mean that the course is failure if they don’t engage in some facet?
If colleges accept MOOCs that have been accredited by ACE this could go a long way toward making these certificates more valuable to learners (Kolowich, 2013d).
What is the difference between an MITx course and an MIT course?
Can students with a certificate of completion get credit at MIT?
What is the role of verification of exam taker, like we see EdX and Coursera doing now?
Does that make the certificate more valuable?
What about students who take a MOOC, take the exams to pass and get the certificate, but don’t do any of the other work?
There are three types of courses:
A-
A
A+
This slide was imported from a presentation given to faculty of the institution
This slide was imported from a presentation given to faculty of EKPA.
Translated by AK
Interesting to note that the courses that have the most sought out courses are sciences
Distance Education degrees are currently NOT really recognized in Greece.
Even the Open University of Greece is considered a residential school
Example of me looking this past summer to make my masters equivalent to Greek ones so that they would be recognized. Seemed like online ones were specifically excluded.
32,916 HoI for A- courses
8,216 HoI for A_ courses