Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been the hottest topic in Higher Education this year. Educating tens of thousands of students in one online course subtends some exciting opportunities but also a raft of pedagogical, logistical, and systemic challenges. This presentation summarises the key issues at stake and outlines a direction forward for Massive Open Online Courses in Higher Education.
Kenney, J.L. & Bower, M. (2012). Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): A snapshot. Presented at Expanding Horizons, L&T Week, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, 18 September.
Audio available from: http://tinyurl.com/moocs-snapshot
8. MOOCâŠâŠ â˘âŻBerklee College of Music, Brown Uni., Columbia Uni., Emory Uni., Hebrew Uni.of Jerusalem,
Hong Kong Uni. of Science and Technology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Ohio State
TimelineâŠ
Uni., Uni.of British Columbia, Uni.of California at Irvine, University of Florida, Uni.of London,
Uni.of Maryland at College Park, Uni.of Melbourne, Uni.of Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt Uni.,
Wesleyan Uni.
2008⊠2009⊠2010⊠2011⊠2012âŠ
â˘âŻCCK (Connectivism, â˘âŻChange MOOC
& Connective â˘âŻDigital Storytelling,
Knowledge) George â˘âŻNumerous smaller â˘âŻIntro to Openness
Jim Groom & Martha
Siemens, Stephen MOOCs in Education, David
Burtis, University of
Downes, Athabasca Mary Washington Wiley, OE US Virtual Worlds,
University & National Games & Ed Tour
â˘âŻPersonal Learning â˘âŻArtificial Intelligence, P2PU
Research Council Sebastian Thrun &
Environments
(Canada) (25 fee- Peter Norvig, â˘âŻVirtual Schooling,
Networks &
paying students + Stanford University Michael Barbour,
Knowledge, Dave
>2,300 MOOCers* (>160,000 starters) Wayne State Uni
Cormier, George
*Dave Cormier and Bryan Alexander Siemens & Stephen â˘âŻUdacity formed â˘âŻMobiMOOC
coined âMOOCsâ during CCK ac<vi<es⊠Downes (Thrun) Ignatia Webs
â˘âŻCoursera launched
â˘âŻGeorgia Tech, Duke Uni.,
Open but not always Massive OOCs: Stanford University
Uni.of Washington, Rice
â˘âŻSocial Media & Open Ed, Alec Courous, University of Regina (2008); Open (Koller & Ng) Uni., Caltech, Uni.of
Education Intro , David Wiley, Utah State University (2007); Codecademy/ â˘âŻedX (MIT (MITx) Edinburgh, Uni.of
P2PU (Sims & Bubinski) (2011); Khan Academy â over 189 million lessons; Harvard & Berkeley) Toronto, EPFL Lausanne
Academic Earth; Skillshare >5,000 teachers (2011); World Education (Switz.), Johns Hopkins
University (2012); Saylor Foundation; Course Hero; Faculty project Uni., UCSF, Uni.of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign,
(Sources: Ruminate, 2010; OU, 2012; Webs, 2012; Open Education, 2012; Virtual Schooling, Nextweb, 2012; Uni.of Virginia
P2PU, 2012; Bavatuesdays, 2012; Marginson, 2012; Coecademy, 2012; Coursera, 2012; Academicearth, 2012)
13. Jesse Stommel et al
MarylhurstâŠUniversityâŠ&âŠGeorgiaâŠTechâŠ
(Images: Kevin Dooley; Richard Elzey
gregw66; Nomadic Lass; JD Hancock; cjdc)
MOOCâŠMOOCâŠ
AugustâŠ2012âŠforâŠoneâŠweekâŠ
(Source: Hybrid Pedagogy, 2012)
14. AâŠMOOCâŠtaskâŠtoâŠdeďŹneâŠMOOCsâŠâŚâŠ
Q:âŠ
(Source: Hybrid Pedagogy MOOC MOOC, 2012)
A:⊠Massive: A typical classroom can hold 30 students or even more. An auditorium around 300. A massive class can go
exponentially beyond these numbers: thousands, hundred-thousands, or even millions, a group size beyond Dunbarâs number for
a âtribeâ (500-2500 individuals). Open: Available for free and to anyone willing and able to participate. Not bound by geography
or time zones. Uses open tools. Uses open educational resources and creative commons licensed assets. Generates open content
that can, in turn, be reused freely. Online: Use of the Internet, where individual people from all over the world can participate in the
event. Includes access via mobile devices. Course: A sequence of lessons imparting knowledge via an instructor, who guides the
process and established guidelines for participation, earning credit, and passing. Conversely, Davidson uses the âCâ to stand for
âcourseware,â and sees the MOOC as the platform to run the learning on, not the act of learning itself.
>500âŠpeopleâŠcollaboratedâŠonâŠaâŠ1,000âŠwordâŠessayâŠtoâŠdeďŹneâŠMOOCsâŠ
MOOCâŠMOOCâŠonâŠgoogledocsâŠ(availableâŠat:âŠh/p://www.hybridpedagogy.com)âŠ
17. There are many potential benefits of
MOOCs, including flexible access,
multiple learning pathways, social
inclusion, intercultural collaboration,
digital literacy development, and
potentially immersion in a community
of practice that may result in a
lifelong learning network.
(Source: Cormier, 2012) (Source: King, 2012)
MOOCs not only have the potential to
alter the relationship between learner
and instructor, but also between
academy and the wider community
(EDUCAUSE, 2011).
MOOCs allow for collaboration that
is not immediately available in a
traditional style classroom.
18. David Wiley OPE
NN
ESS
â˘âŻ OpenâŠsystemsâŠâŠâŠď âŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠď âŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠď âŠ
â⯠EducaPonâŠ2.0âŠ
â˘âŻ OpenâŠclassroomsâŠ
â⯠CrowdsourcingâŠ
â˘âŻ OpenâŠknowledgeâŠ
â⯠KnowmadsâŠ
â˘âŻ OpenâŠlearningâŠ
â⯠EveryoneâŠ
Sources: Virtual School MOOC, 2012; Open Education, 2012; Morovec, 2008; UNESCO, 2012)
29. âWhen analyzing the disruption potential of MOOCs, it is
easy to forget that the actual concept is just 4 or 5 years
old. Furthermore, the actual definition of the concept has
undergone a significant change in the past 12 months as
an entirely new branch has emerged.â (Hill, 2012)
âEspeciallyâŠdisturbingâŠisâŠthatâŠnoneâŠofâŠtheâŠmajorâŠ
MOOCâŠprovidersâŠhaveâŠhiredâŠanyoneâŠtrainedâŠinâŠ
instrucPonalâŠdesign,âŠtheâŠlearningâŠsciences,âŠâŠ
educaPonalâŠtechnology,âŠcourseâŠdesign,âŠorâŠotherâŠ
educaPonalâŠspecialPesâŠtoâŠhelpâŠwithâŠtheâŠdesignâŠofâŠ
theirâŠcourses.âŠâŠTheyâŠareâŠhiringâŠaâŠlotâŠofâŠ
programmersâŚââŠ
(Source:âŠEdtechdev,âŠWordpress,âŠ2012âŠinâŠSiemens,âŠ2012)âŠ
30. MOOCsâŠasâŠgameâchangers:âŠuniversiDesâŠ
MOOCsâŠareâŠoneâŠofâŠfourâŠeconomicâŠpressuresâŠonâŠUSâŠhigherâŠedâŠ(King & Sen, 2012): âŠ
1.⯠TheâŠInternet:âŠfromâŠcommunity,âŠtoâŠexamsâŠandâŠbooks;âŠ
2.⯠DistanceâŠEd:âŠUSâŠuniversityâŠstudentsâŠtakingâŠonlineâŠ=âŠ20%âŠoneâŠcourse;âŠâŠ
9%âŠwholeâŠdegreeâŠ(US DoE, 2011);âŠâŠ
3.⯠ForâProďŹtâŠUniversiPes:âŠlowâtouchâŠandâŠnoâŠresearchâŠbutâŠhighâŠspendâŠonâŠteachingâŠ
(Uni.âŠofâŠPhoenixâŠspendsâŠUSD$200âŠmillionâŠperâŠyearâŠteachingârelatedâŠR&D);âŠ
4.⯠OnlineâŠstartâups:âŠMOOCsâŠasâŠnoâtouch,âŠproďŹtableâŠatâŠscale,âŠovercomeâŠphysicalâŠ
limitsâŠtoâŠstudentâŠnumbersâŠandâŠuPliseâŠexisPngâŠtechnology,âŠpeopleâŠ&âŠprocessesâŠ
No.âŠ%âŠStudentsâŠEnrolledâŠatâŠpublic,âŠprivateâŠâŠ
No.âŠUSâŠColleges/UniversiDes
âŠâŠ&âŠforâproďŹtâŠuniversiDes
(Source: NCES in King & Sen, 2012, p. 6)
31. BarriersâŠtoâŠsustainabilityâŠ
1.⯠Developing revenue models to make the concept self-sustaining;
2.⯠Delivering valuable signifiers of completion such as credentials, badges or acceptance into
accredited programs;
3.⯠Providing an experience and perceived value that enables higher course completion rates (most
today have less than 10% of registered students actually completing the course); and
4.⯠Authenticating students in a manner to satisfy accrediting institutions or hiring companies that
the student identify is actually known. (Source: Hill, 2012)
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c âŠoâŠuâŠrâŠsâŠeâŠs⊠ThankâŠyou.âŠ
Contacts:âŠ
jacqueline.kenney@mq.edu.auâŠ
ma/.bower@mq.edu.auâŠ