 MOOCs Scott Stevens and Susan Strayer This work is licensed under a Creative CommonsAttribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

MOOCs  Who has ever heard of MOOCs?  Raise your hand!  Who has ever taken a MOOC?  Raise your hand!

What are MOOCs?

What is it?  A MOOC is a model of educational delivery that is, to varying degrees, massive, with theoretically no limit to enrollment; open, allowing anyone to participate, usually at no cost; online, with learning activities typically taking place over the web; and a course, structured around a set of learning goals in a defined area of study.

How does it work?  Most MOOCs are structured similar to traditional online higher education courses:  Syllabus  Course content typically consists of readings, assignments, and lectures, which are often short (6–12 minutes) “microlectures.”  Students watch the lectures, read assigned material, participate in online discussions and forums, and complete quizzes and tests on the course material.

Who is doing it?  MOOCs are typically provided by higher education institutions, and often in partnership with non-profit and for-profit organizations.  Consumers are students who take part for a variety of reasons:  Informal learning  Competency in a particular area  Credit towards a formal degree or certification

Why is it significant?  Disruptive ideas about the sources and processes of education  Major changes to the financial model of higher education  Development and availability of technologies including consumer hardware, widespread network access, and educational applications.  Growing interest in open resources

Where is it going?  MOOCs will continue to hold higher educations main interest for at least the short term.  Georgia Institute of Technology is partnering with AT&T and Udacity to create low cost master’s-degrees in computer science.  Other companies are expanding resources and offering free translations of course lectures to an international audience.

Discussion  Based on what you know now…  One group comprise a list of  potential advantages of MOOCs  potential disadvantages of MOOCs

What are the downsides?  Considerable investment in fees to work with organizations and local costs  MOOCs are free, so financial sustainability remains unclear  Reluctant faculty participation  Devalues direct faculty-student interactions  Current completion rates are around 10%  Uneven value of peer work due to varying interests in topic

What are the implications for teaching & learning?  Global access to higher education  Makes learning a lifelong endeavor  Creates a network of institutions, colleges, and universities  Innovation lab for best practices for other online, blended, and face-to-face settings  raise important questions and spark essential conversations about curriculum design, accreditation, what constitutes a valid learning experience, and who has access to higher education.

MOOC Examples  Coursera -  Hogwarts Is Here (Harry Potter themed “magical” courses)   Art & Activity: Interactive Strategies for Engaging with Art   Children Acquiring Literacy Naturally 

Credits  Educause. “ELI, 7 Things You Should Know About… MOOCs.” Educause/ELI Web. 10 July  Eudcause. MOOCs and Beyond Web. 10 July