got MOOCs? Lesley Kawaguchi, Santa Monica College, Facilitator Dolores Davison, Foothill College Patricia James Hanz, Mt. San Jacinto College Yvonne Valenzuela, Golden West College

What IS a MOOC? A. A small version of a moose. B. A character out of the Three Stooges C. A massive open online course D. All of the above E. None of the above

Hopefully, You Guessed “C”  A MOOC is a “massive, open, online course”  So, you might be thinking…define massive.  Udacity (more about them in a bit) has a class with an enrollment of 160,000 student  Coursera (the Stanford project—even more…)

Whoa….Did you say 160,000+? Hilda begins to think she should have attended that panel on “minimal marking” at last month’s conference of writing teachers.

So, how is this even possible?  MOOCs are not for credit (except….)  Much of the grading is automated or is done by peers, and predictive analytics are used to help students learn material  Massive discussion boards allow students to ask questions of their classmates  Classes are generally open entry, open exit  At any one time, attendance varies and has a different connotation

Some things to consider as we move on…  Do MOOCs call for additional rethinking of expectations of teaching and learning - beyond current conversations?  Today’s MOOCs offer:  Alternative delivery of instruction - noncredit offerings to a mass, potentially world wide, audience.  Alternative approaches to instruction - a more modest faculty role, expanded reliance on students and peer-to-peer grading and auto- grading.  Alternative evaluation of learning - use of data analytics. Alternative evaluation of learning - use of data analytics. Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)

Ask a MOOC Participant  Getting more content to more people as cheaply as possible allows for more students and users to learn. Colleges should not just be for the elite and extremely smart.  Distributed learning and an open-ended, flipped classroom model. What’s wrong with a course being taken a direction not expected, and not on the syllabus? Can’t students learn even more when they are not checking off a list of requirements and learning rubrics and instead are actually asking (and answering) some the the questions around the content itself?flipped classroom model  Using learning networks, learning data, and student engagement to help more students succeed in college and beyond. Isn’t this the goal of institutions, student, AND educational technology companies?

Introduction to Sustainability Jonathan Tomkin Unversity of Illinois 8 weeks Model Thinking Scott Page University of Michigan 10 Weeks Securing a Digital Democracy Alex Halderman University of Michigan 5 Weeks Modern Contemporary American Poetry Al Filreis University of Pennsylvania 10 Weeks A History of the World Since 1300 Jeremy Adelmen Princeton University 12 Weeks

Let’s look at one…. Video link Lecture

Recently in the NY Times… “Because anyone with an Internet connection can enroll, faculty can’t possibly respond to students individually. So the course design — how material is presented and the interactivity — counts for a lot. As do fellow students. Classmates may lean on one another in study groups organized in their towns, in online forums or, the prickly part, for grading work. ”

So, What’s the Big Deal?  160,000+ students! In one class!  Taught by Stanford, Michigan, Harvard, MIT professors, many of the classes are advertised as being essentially the same as the courses offered at the major universities in the US  There is no cost to enroll in a MOOC  The subjects vary from practical skills (accounting) to advanced courses in medicine and everything in between.

The Major Players CompanyCourseraEdXUdacity CredentialsFounded by Stanford CS faculty Collaboration between Harvard and MIT Founded by Stanford faculty and Google employees Classes190+ courses, in diverse subjects 8 courses currently, expanding in classes, primarily in skills and computer science ConnectionsStanford, Michigan, Princeton, Edinburgh Harvard, MIT, Cal, University of Texas Google, Stanford, Silicon Valley employers

Impact on the CCCs  Credit for MOOCs?  Certification in subject areas or workforce?  Preparation for placement exams?  Bridge to more advanced courses?  Other Opportunities?

Going ForwardGoing Forward…

Concerns about MOOCs?  Plagiarism  Lack of motivation  Faculty primacy over curriculum  Reporting of competencies  Authentication  Scalability

Recently in the NY Times… “The shimmery hope is that free courses can bring the best education in the world to the most remote corners of the planet, help people in their careers, and expand intellectual and personal networks..”

Let’s avoid……