The document summarizes a seminar discussing MOOCs and distance learning. It begins with a brief history of MOOCs starting in 2007 and the initial hype around them. It then describes a real-life MOOC experience and discusses criticisms of MOOCs, noting they may lack involvement from educational researchers. The seminar considers what MOOCs can and cannot do and whether they are a fad or opportunity for the university.

1. Joint SALT PGT Academic Board Seminar – MOOCs and Distance Learning
MOOCs and Distance Learning
Council Chamber, 12-2pm, Thursday 7th March 2013

2. How MOOCs started
Why all the hype?
A real life MOOC
Discussion on what
MOOCs can or can’t do
for us
Lunch

4. Why is this bloke standing here talking to us?

6. TRIO Project - DACE
2007

7. 2009
“Learning is free but accreditation costs money”
Local
Television

9. First some questions……….

10. What does MOOC stand for?
A. Massively Open Online
Course
B. More Object Orientated
Computing
C. Massive Open Online
Course
D. More Open Online
College
E. Massive Open Online
College
F. More Overrated
Overhyped Claptrap
M
assivelyOpen
OnlineC...
M
ore
ObjectOrientated...
M
assive
Open
Online
Course
M
ore
Open
Online
College
M
assive
Open
Online
Col...
M
ore
Overrated
Overhyp..
0% 0% 0%0%0%0%

11. Have you taught on a distance learning
course?
A. Yes
B. No
Yes
No
0%0%

12. Have you been a student on a distance
learning course?
A. Yes
B. No
Yes
No
0%0%

13. Which of the following best describes
your reading about MOOCs?
A. I’ve read nothing
B. I’ve read a couple of articles
C. I’ve mainly followed what’s
been in the Times Higher
D. I’ve read some information
from sources like JISC, Times
Higher and a few bloggers
E. I’ve read more than twenty
articles from a variety of
different sources
F. I am Stephen Downes
I’ve
read
nothing
I’ve
read
a
couple
ofarticles
I’ve
m
ainlyfollow
ed
what..
I’ve
read
som
e
inform
atio...
I’ve
read
m
orethan
tw
en..
Iam
Stephen
Dow
nes
0% 0% 0%0%0%0%

14. Have you taught on a MOOC?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Maybe but I’m not
sure if it was a
MOOC
Yes
No
M
aybe
butI’m
notsure
i...
0% 0%0%

15. Have you been a student on a MOOC?
A. Yes, I’m taking a
course at the
moment.
B. Yes, and I completed
the course
C. Yes, but I didn't
complete the course
D. No
Yes,I’m
takinga
course..
Yes,and
Icom
pleted
th...
Yes,butIdidn'tcom
plet...
No
0% 0%0%0%

16. MOOCs are...
You can choose up to three if you like
A. The end of modern
universities as we know
them
B. A global opportunity for
Swansea
C. Something we should
explore with scepticism
D. A way of developing our
on campus provision
E. A fad we should not take
seriously
F. Something we should
actively develop
Theend
ofm
odern
unive...
A
globalopportunityfo...
Som
ethingw
e
should
ex...
A
w
ayofdevelopingour..
A
fad
w
e
should
nottake...
Som
ethingw
e
should
act...
0% 0% 0%0%0%0%

17. Where does the story begin?

18. Not to be confused with….
Open Educational Resources (OER)
iTunesU
You Tube Edu
Khan Academy
Etc etc etc ……

19. https://twitter.com/dkernohan/status/250889990828089344/photo/1/large

20. http://www.downes.ca/ http://www.elearnspace.org/about.htm
Stephen Downes George Siemens
cMOOCs

21. Experimental

22. 25 fee paying students
2,300 other students
Connectivism and connected knowledge2008

23. Provide all who want to learn with access to available
resources at any time in their lives; empower all who
want to share what they know to find those who want to
learn it from them; and, finally furnish all who want to
present an issue to the public with the opportunity to
make their challenge known.
Illich,1971
The second O - Open

24. Moodle
Second Life
Blogs
Online
meetings
RSS
Learners
choice of
tools
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW3gMGqcZQc

25. Very time consuming
Huge amounts of
information
Need to be an advanced
independent learner
to get the most form the
course
Criticisms

26. http://connect.downes.ca/
PLENK 2010 - Personal Learning Environments, Networks and Knowledge

27. Kop, R. (2010) The Design and Development of a Personal Learning Environment: Researching
the Learning Experience, European Distance and E-learning Network Annual Conference
2010, June 2010, Valencia, Spain, Paper H4 32 (conference paper) conference presentation
Kop, R. (2011) The Challenges to Connectivist Learning on Open Online Networks: Learning
Experiences during a Massive Open Online Course. The International Review of Research in
Open and Distance Learning, Vol 12, No 3 (2011): Special Issue - Connectivism: Design and
Delivery of Social Networked Learning (journal article)
Fournier, H., Kop, R. and Sitlia, H. (2011), The Value of Learning Analytics to Networked
Learning on a Personal Learning Environment, 1st International Conference on Learning
analytics and Knowledge 2011, Banff, February 27-March 1st, 2011. Paper 14 (conference
paper) conference presentation
Kop, R. and Fournier, H. (2011) New Dimensions to Self-directed Learning in an Open
Networked Learning Environment, International Journal of Self-Directed Learning, Volume
7, Number 2, Fall 2010, page 1-18 (journal article) - conference presentation
Kop, R. and Fournier, H. (2011) Facilitating Quality Learning in a Personal Learning Environment
through Educational Research, online session at the Canadian Institute of Distance Education
Research, May 2011. The link gives access the the Elluminate recording, an Mp3 and
Powerpoint slide.
Kop, R., Fournier, H. and Mak, S.F.J. (2011) A Pedagogy of Abundance or a Pedagogy to Support
Human Beings? Participant support on Massive Open Online Courses, International Review of
Research in Open and Distance Learning, Special Issue - Emergent
Learning, Connections, Design for LearningVol. 12, No. 7, pg. 74-93 ( journal article)
Fournier, H. and Kop, R. (2011) Factors affecting the design and development of a Personal
Learning Environment: Research on super-users, in the International Journal of Virtual and
Personal Learning Environments, Volume 2, Issue 4, 12-22, October –December 2011. (journal
article) conference presentation conference paper
Kop, R. and Carroll, F. (2011) Cloud Computing and Creativity: Learning on a Massive Open
Online Course, European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning, Special Issue on Creativity
and OER (journal article)
Rita Kop
http://www.you-learn.org/

28. The facilitators said we couldn’t possibly read everything, but I feel like I’ve not
read anything from Weeks 4 and 5. As you can see there’s a huge amount of
discussion going on in the Week 4 forum and it’s already building up in Week
5 which has just started. And that’s not even counting the twitter feed and The
Daily. I feel like a marathon runner who went too fast for the first 3rd and is
not going to make the 13 mile marker.
Part of the problem is the encroachment of my real job …
Jobling, 2010

29. 2012
Mainstream media gets exited abut xMOOCs

30. The intersection between Wall Street and Silicon Valley
Caulfield, 2012
xMOOCS

34. 62 Universities
2.7 million learners
5 languages
4 continents
Coursera, 2013

35. Impressive numbers at MIT
155,000 registrations on one course
23,000 tried first problem set
9,000 passed the mid-term
7,157, passed the course
40 years worth of MIT students

36. Criticisms
It seems pretty obvious that no one who
had any working knowledge of research in
pedagogy was deeply involved in the
creation of the course.
Armstrong, 2012
[T]he xMOOCs begin developed by US
institutions…. follow a more behaviourist
approach.
Daniel, 2012
Too soon for any real research into
the learner experience

37. Online learning. Really?

38. Something a little smaller perhaps?

39. University of Arkansas at Jonesboro
University of Texas at Arlington
Lamar University
Retention rates
+ +
Smaller numbers but………..
Company worked intensively to develop courses with-

40. Good distance teaching calls for teams that support
academics with a range of skills
Daniel, 2012
Librarians
Learning Technologists
Pedagogy specialists
Administrative Support
IT Services

41. TRIO Project - DACE
2007

42. Technology

43. Moodle
Second
Life
Blogs
Online
meetings
RSS
Learners
choice of
tools cMOOC
xMOOC

44. £62 million 900 students

45. A real life MOOC

47. Lunch

48. Discussion on
what MOOCs can
or can’t do for us

49. MOOCs are...
You can choose up to three if you like
A. The end of modern
universities as we know
them
B. A global opportunity for
Swansea
C. Something we should
explore with scepticism
D. A way of developing our
on campus provision
E. A fad we should not take
seriously
F. Something we should
actively develop
Theend
ofm
odern
unive...
A
globalopportunityfo...
Som
ethingw
e
should
ex...
A
w
ayofdevelopingour..
A
fad
w
e
should
nottake...
Som
ethingw
e
should
act...
0% 0% 0%0%0%0%

50. MOOCs are...You can choose up to three if you like
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
The end of ...
A global op...
Something w...
A way of de...
A fad we sh...
Something w...
First Slide Second Slide

51. http://followersoftheapocalyp.se/morris-snooks-he-loves-his-moocs/

52. http://followersoftheapocalyp.se/morris-snooks-he-loves-his-moocs/

53. http://followersoftheapocalyp.se/morris-snooks-he-loves-his-moocs/

54. References
Illich, Ivan (1971). Deschooling Society. Marion Boyars, London and New York
Caulfield, M. (2012). Why We Shouldn't talk MOOCs as Meritocracies
http://hapgood.us/2012/09/01/why-we-shouldnt-talk-moocs-as-meritocracies/ accessed 5th March 2013
Futurelearn (2013) MOOCs Explained http://futurelearn.com/moocs-explained/ accessesed 5th March 2013
Coursera (2013) 29 New Schools, 92 New Courses, 5 Languages, 4 Continents and 2.7 Million Courserians
http://blog.coursera.org/post/43625628117/29-new-schools-92-new-courses-5-languages-4 accessed 5th march 2013
Jobling (2010) PLENK2010 – It’s a Marathon not a Sprint!
http://blog.cpjobling.me/2010/10/12/plenk2010-its-a-marathon-not-a-sprint/ accessed 5th March 2013
Armstrong, L. (2012). Coursera and MITx: Sustaining or disruptive?
http://www.changinghighereducation.com/2012/08/coursera-.html Accessed 6th March 2013
Daniel J. Making Sense of MOOCs: Musings in a Maze of Myth, Paradox and Possibility. Journal Of Interactive
Media Retrieved March 6, 2013, from http://www-jime.open.ac.uk/jime/article/view/2012-17.