Dr Iain Doherty eLearning Pedagogical Support Unit Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning The University of Hong Kong 3 rd May 2013 Everything You Need to Know About MOOCs (Well Almost) The University of Hong Kong

Overview Why Offer a MOOC? 2 Three Key MOOC Questions 4 What is a MOOC? 31 MOOCs in Context 33 The Different Types of MOOC 35 Will MOOCs “Succeed”? 6

What is a MOOC? The term MOOC was coined by Dave Cormier or Bryan Alexander (Alexander, 2008; Cormier, 2008; Daniel, 2012; Masters & Qaboos, 2011; G. Siemens, 2012a) to describe a course on Connectivism (CCK08) organized by George Siemens and Stephen Downers in 2008, which attracted 2,200 participants (Downes, 2010).

What is a MOOC?  Massive  Student numbers can be 100,000 +  Open  Study any course, anywhere at any time  Online  As opposed to face-to-face or blended  Course  Learning units in an academic subject

Why Offer a MOOC? MOOCs can profile an institution as a leading 21 st Century educational institution. MOOC MOOCs may well be a “game changer” with respect to how education is delivered and consumed and institutions need to be in the MOOC space to experience delivering education in this way and to remain current with educational practices. MOOCs provide an opportunity for an institution to experiment with teaching practices and to engage with new pedagogical approaches. Institutions have a range of subject areas that are specific to their region e.g. HK SAR / China context and HKU can showcase these subjects through offering MOOC courses. An institution can make knowledge more accessible to the general public through offering a range of MOOCs.

MOOCs in Context The history of introducing technologies into teaching and learning has been one of over promise and under delivery (Daniel, 2012; Reiser, 2001). Already seen the failure of two significant online ventures – Fathom from Columbia University and ALLLearn backed by Oxford, Stanford, Yale and Princeton (Knight, 2012). Technologies will only be successfully integrated into teaching and learning when teachers change the way that they teach (Zemsky & Massy, 2004).

MOOCs in Context Although we have seen different teaching models (King, 1993; McWilliam, 2008; George Siemens, 2005), wholesale changes in teaching approaches have not come about and, as we shall see, they are not occurring to any particular degree with MOOCs. We need to move beyond the use of technologies for the purposes of information transmission. There has been progress in this area but too often we still see the Learning Management System – the enterprise tool of choice – used poorly for teaching and learning (Beer, Jones, & Clark, 2009; Browne, Jenkins, & Walker, 2006; Malikowski, 2011).

Teaching Must Come First The United Kingdom’s Open University Vice Chancellor recognizes (Coughlan, 2012a) that teaching quality is a key issue that bears upon the ultimate success of any particular MOOC provider. Worth listening  It is easy to get into the OU but very difficult to come out the other side with a qualification.  The OU is self sustaining, provides a quality education valued by employers and has solved the student identity issue for examination purposes.

Three Key MOOC Questions In terms of the success of any particular MOOC we can focus on three key questions that will bear upon their ultimate success:  What are the pedagogies that underpin the MOOC?  What use is being made of technologies in the MOOC?  What is the underlying philosophy / ethos of the MOOC? The majority of MOOCs are offered through MOOC platforms and so these are organizational questions.

cMOOCs  The first MOOC ever offered was a cMOOC.  Based on a Connectivist Learning Theory  Knowledge / content is generated by teachers, students and multiple others.  Multiple technologies – 12 in this first MOOC – are used to connect people participating in the course.  On the fringes but cutting edge in terms of pedagogy and technologies

sMOOCs Coursera MOOCs could be characterized as a Standard MOOCs or an sMOOC.  Founded in the fall of 2011 by Daphne Koller (Stanford) and Andrew Ng (Stanford) and was launched in April 2012 after significant venture capital funding was secured (MarketWire, 2012).  As of 4 th April 2013 Coursera has 62 university partners and had registered over 3.5 million users enrolled in over 300 courses in 20 categories (Coursera, 2013a; Protalinksi, 2013a).

sMOOCs  Grounded in behaviorist learning theory with some cognitive components and some constructivist components.  This means transmission style teaching with drill and practice, problem sets and e.g. discussion forums.  Uses a limited range of technologies and could be thought of in terms of LMS as platform.  Very much in the mainstream with monetization a key component.

sMOOCs There is a lack of pedagogical focus which may have to do with the fact that Coursera institutions consider MOOCs to be a side line activity rather than a way to explore new / better teaching and learning models (Armstrong, 2012; Daniel, 2012). The three key questions have been answered and sMOOCs have been characterized as “lacking” in a number of ways. There are always exceptions (Knox et al., 2012).

xMOOCs edX could be characterized as an xMOOC.  the X signifying excellence, external outreach, exploration, experimentation and expansion (Rodrick & Sun, 2012) – holds for edX which has grown out of a tradition of exploring online teaching and learning (Daniel, 2012).  MIT announced MITx at the end of 2011 for a launch in spring MITx has now morphed into edX with the addition of Harvard and UC Berkeley (EdX, 2012).

xMOOCs  edX is not for profit (EdX, 2012) and has been financed to the tune of US$ 60 million through participating institutions and through “gifts” from Harvard and MIT alumni (EdX, 2012).  As of November 2012 edX had 370,000 students (Coursera had 1.7 million at the same point in time) (Pappano, 2012).

xMOOCs edX  At the time of writing edX has 33 courses (edX, 2013a) offered by HarvardX, MITx and BerkeleyX.  Beginning in fall 2013, edX will offer courses from another 11 universities. In 2014, edX will expand further through offering courses from an additional 9 universities (edX, 2013b).  Much more selective than Coursera and will cap when they have recruited the best universities in the world.  edX is making statements about courses designed specifically for the web (De Luzuriaga, 2012).

xMOOCs edX  Aspirational statements about “creating new online learning experiences” and about researching “how students learn and how technology can transform learning–both on-campus and worldwide” (EdX, 2013; Rodrick & Sun, 2012).  Commitment in these areas with edX collaborating with Cengage Learning for content creation (IStockAnalyst, 2012).

xMOOCs edX  Overall, edX conceives of their MOOCs as providing the potential for educational research that will improve both the on campus and off campus experience (“Classroom in the Cloud,” 2012; de Luzuriaga, 2012; Lin, 2012).  Underlying pedagogies / technologies may not be that different at the moment but there seems to be an ongoing commitment to quality content creation / exploring technologies for effective teaching.

Will MOOCs Succeed? There is a lot of hype and no one is quite sure what impact they will have on the future of education (Regalado, 2012; Webley, 2012). That said, MOOCs are much talked about and researchers along with the more popular press certainly understand MOOCs as potentially disrupting the traditional educational landscape (Rodrick & Sun, 2012).

Find ways to satisfy employers Learning and identity issues Will MOOCs Succeed? Will have to find ways to monetize This is possible and Coursera is already doing it Teachers will have to change the way that they teach Can’t just record a lecture and put it online Teachers will have to change the way that they teach Can’t just record a lecture and put it online First question concerns what constitutes success Become self- sustaining whilst delivering a quality education valued by students and employers?

References Alexander, B. (2008). Connectivism Course Draws Night, or Behold the MOOC. Infocult: Uncanny Informatics. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from course-draws-night-or-behold-the-mooc.html course-draws-night-or-behold-the-mooc.html Armstrong, L. (2012). Coursera and MITx - Sustaining or Disruptive. Changing Higher Education. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from coursera-.html coursera-.html

References Beer, C., Jones, D., & Clark, K. (2009). The Indicators Project Identifying Effective Learning: Adoption, Activity, Grades and External Factors. Same places, Different Spaces. Proceedings ascilite Auckland 2009 (pp. 60–70). Auckland, New Zealand: ascilite. Retrieved from beer.pdf beer.pdf

References Browne, T., Jenkins, M., & Walker, R. (2006). A Longitudinal Perspective Regarding the Use of VLEs by Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom. Interactive Learning Environments, 14(2), 177– Classroom in the Cloud. (2012).Harvard Magazine. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from cloud cloud

References Cormier, D. (2008). The CCK08 MOOC – Connectivism Course, 1/4 Way. Dave’s Educational Blog. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from mooc-connectivism-course-14-way/ mooc-connectivism-course-14-way/ Coughlan, S. (2012a). How Do You Stop Online Students cheating? BBC News. Retrieve May 1, 2013, from

References Coursera. (2013a). About Coursera. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from Daniel, J. (2012). Making Sense of MOOCs: Musings in a Maze of Myth, Paradox and Possibility. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, Spring Iss(December), 1–21. Retrieved from

References De Luzuriaga, T. (2012). HarvardX Marks the Spot. Harvard Gazette. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from marks-the-spot/ marks-the-spot/ Downes, S. (2010). 03. CCK08 - The Distributed Course. The MOOC Guide. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from the-distributed-course the-distributed-course

References edX. (2013a). Explore Free Courses from Leading Universities. edX. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from EdX. (2012). UC Berkeley Joins edX. Retrieved April 11, 2012, from edX. (2013b). What is edX? edX. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from

References IStockAnalyst. (2012). Cengage Learning to Provide Book Content and Pedagogy through edX’s Not-for-Profit Interactive Study Via the Web. iStockAnalyst. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from ngage-learning-to-provide-book-content-and-pedagogy- through-edx-s-not-for-profit-interactive-study-via-the-web ngage-learning-to-provide-book-content-and-pedagogy- through-edx-s-not-for-profit-interactive-study-via-the-web

References King, A. (1993). From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side. College Teaching, 41(1), 30–35. Retrieved from Knight, R. (2012). Free, High-Quality and With Mass Appeal. Financial Times Business Education. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from feabdc0.html#axzz2A9qvk48A feabdc0.html#axzz2A9qvk48A

References Knox, J., Bayne, S., MacLeod, H., Ross, J., & Sinclair, C. (2012). MOOC pedagogy: The Challenges of Developing for Coursera. ALT Newsletter Issue 28. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from challenges-of-developing-for-coursera/ challenges-of-developing-for-coursera/ Lin, L. (2012). EdX platform integrates into classes. The Tech, 132(48). Retrieved from

References Malikowski, S. R. (2011). A Three Year Analysis of CMS Use in Resident University Courses. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 39(1), 65–

References MarketWire. (2012). Coursera Secures $ 16M From Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and New Enterprise Associates to Bring Online Education Platform to Millions Globally. MarketWire. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from secures-16m-from-kleiner-perkins-caufield-byers-new- enterprise-associates-bring htm secures-16m-from-kleiner-perkins-caufield-byers-new- enterprise-associates-bring htm

References Masters, K.., & Qaboos, S. (2011). A Brief Guide To Understanding MOOCs. The Internet Journal of Medical Education, 1(2), 2–6. doi: /1f21

References McWilliam, E. (2008). Unlearning How To Teach. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 45(3), 263– Pappano, L. (2012). The Year of the MOOC. The New York Times Education Life. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from sive-open-online-courses-are-multiplying-at-a-rapid- pace.html sive-open-online-courses-are-multiplying-at-a-rapid- pace.html

References Regalado, A. (2012). The Most Important Education Technology in 200 Years. MIT Technology Review. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from most-important-education-technology-in-200-years/ most-important-education-technology-in-200-years/ Reiser, R. A. (2001). A History of Instructional Design and Technology: Part I: A History of Instructional Media. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(1), 53–64.

References Rodrick, D., & Sun, K. (2012). EdX: Harvard’s New Domain. The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from scrutiny-online-learning/?page=single scrutiny-online-learning/?page=single Siemens, George. (2005). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved from

References Siemens, G. (2012a). What is the Theory that Underpins Our MOOCS? elearnspace. Retrieved April 17, 2013, from theory-that-underpins-our-moocs/ theory-that-underpins-our-moocs/

References Webley, K. (2012). MOOC Brigade: Will Massive, Open Online Courses Revolutionize Higher Education? Time U.S. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from massive-open-online-courses-revolutionize-higher- education/ massive-open-online-courses-revolutionize-higher- education/

References Zemsky, R., & Massy, W. F. (2004). Thwarted Innovation - What Happened to e-learning and Why? A Final Report for The Weatherstation Project of The Learning Alliance at the University of Pennsylvania in cooperation with the Thomson Corporation. (pp. 1–76). Pennsylvania: The University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved from innovation-what-happened-e-learning-and-why innovation-what-happened-e-learning-and-why