Week 3 – HCI Hot topic MOOCs The next step

MOOC

Massive Open Online Courses, aka MOOCs, Transform Higher Education and Science Scientific American, Mar 13, 2013 |By M. Mitchell Waldrop and Nature magazineM. Mitchell WaldropNature magazine

Kay, J., Reimann, P., Diebold, E., & Kummerfeld, B. (2013). MOOCs: So Many Learners, So Much Potential... IEEE Intelligent Systems, 28(3),

An Early Report Card on Massive Open Online Courses MOOCs promise to change the face of higher education, one giant classroom at a time. Here's what they're doing well—and how they can do better. Wall Street Journal, Geoffrey A. Fowler October 8, 2013

“…Often, more than 90% of people who sign up for a MOOC don't finish, though many come to online learning with a different intent than would students at a traditional university…. For all but the most self-reliant, online learning can be isolating. Perhaps the largest challenge MOOCs face is that students lose interest when they don't feel engaged…. "The most important thing that helps students succeed in an online course is interpersonal interaction and support," says Shanna Smith Jaggars, … 32% of students failed or withdrew from for- credit online courses, compared with 19% for equivalent in-person courses…. At Coursera, when students have work that needs to be done, the company sends them s congratulating them on what they've already completed as a gentle nudge to keep going, says co-founder Andrew Ng. The company tried notes that simply reminded the students about what was due, but they weren't as well received…. Adding manpower is another potential solution. In trial courses with San Jose State University that offer students college credit, MOOC provider Udacity hired mentors who stayed on top of students. … Ellen Junn, the provost of San Jose State. … One fall 2012 test by San Jose State and edX found that incorporating content from an online course, Circuits and Electronics, into a for-credit campus-based course increased pass rates to 91% from as low as 55% without the online component.

Current MOOCs Lots of students Lots of data – Harvard released public data collection Computer scientists inspired Potential opportunities for disadvantaged learners Campus experience?

Future MOOCs? Make use of learning data to support – the learner – the current teaching team – course authors – education researchers Incorporate latest education research – eg track what learners’ progress against learning objectives Business models….