The Open Academy Initiative: Fostering an Innovation Culture with a Local Flavour
1. The Open Academy Initiative:
Fostering an Innovation Culture with a Local Flavour
Mark BROWN, Eamon COSTELLO,
Enda DONLON & Mairéad NIC GIOLLA MHICHÍL
ALT-C
University of Warwick
6th September, 2016
7. Jansen, D., & Schuwer, R. (2015). Institutional MOOC strategies in Europe Status report based on a
mapping survey conducted in October - December 2014. EADTU – HOME project. Available from
http://eadtu.eu/documents/Publications/OEenM/Institutional_MOOC_strategies_in_Europe.pdf
1. MOOC debate
8. 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0% 100.0%
US 2013
US 2014
EU 2014 (all)
S 2015 (all)
S 2015 (Ireland)
MOOCs are important for institutions to learn about online pedagogy
Agree Neutral Disagree
1. MOOC debate
Ireland
14. Jensen, D., & Schuwer, R. (2015). Institutional MOOC
strategies in Europe: Status report based on a mapping
survey conducted in October – December 2014.
2. MOOC platforms
15. “Resilience requires
adaptation and evolution to new
environmental conditions, but retains core identity”
(Weller & Anderson, 2013, p.55).
2. MOOC platforms
19. • How technically fit for purpose is the platform?
• How pedagogically fit for purpose is the platform?
• How sustainable is the business model for the platform?
• How confident are you in the sustainability of the platform?
• How reputable are the partners associated with the platform?
• How strong is the pedagogical community supporting
innovation through the platform?
Key questions…
2. MOOC platforms
20. Key
Questions
Future
Learn
Open
2Study
Open
UpEd
Open
EdX
Moodle Udemy
How technically fit for
purpose is the platform? (3 x 3)
= 9
(3 x 3)
= 9
(0 x 3)
= 0
(3 x 3)
= 9
(2 x 3)
= 6
(1 x 3)
= 3
How pedagogically fit for
purpose is the platform? (3 x 3)
= 9
(3 x 3)
= 9
(1 x 3)
= 3
(3 x 3)
= 9
(3 x 3)
= 6
(1 x 3)
= 3
How confident are you in
the sustainability of the
platform?
(2 x 2)
= 4
(1 x 2)
= 2
(1 x 2)
= 2
(1 x 2)
= 2
(1 x 2)
= 4
(1 x 2)
= 2
How reputable are the
partners associated with
the platform?
(3 x 3)
= 9
(2 x 3)
= 6
(2 x 3)
= 6
(3 x 3)
= 9
(1 x 3)
= 3
(0 x 3)
= 0
How strong is the
pedagogical community
supporting innovation
through the platform?
(3 x 3)
= 9
(1 x 3)
= 2
(2 x 3)
= 6
(2 x 3)
= 6
(2 x 3)
= 6
(0 x 3)
= 0
Total
2. MOOC platforms
This presentation briefly explores the ongoing MOOC debate and then describes a world first MOOC innovation at DCU being led by the NIDL
More specifically the presentation has three parts. After touching on the MOOC debate we describe how DCU went about thinking about how to respond to the MOOC movement and more particularly our key drivers and how these informed our evaluation of different platforms. Then remainder of the presentation describes the DCU Open Academy and some of the MOOCs we will be offering over the next 12 months.
There remains considerable debate over the future of MOOCs since this open access book was published in 2013.
The evolution of the MOOC debate is reflected in this new open access book published in March which contains a chapter by Mark Brown
Some people argue the MOOC fad or bubble has burst and we are now in the ‘Trough of Disillusionment’ in terms of the Gartner Hype Cycle. However, this cycle does not tell the full story and treats all MOOC initiatives as the same. Moreover, it fails to recognise the importance of the context in which MOOCs are used within and beyond institutions.
The fact is that the number of learners taking MOOCs in 2015 almost doubled the number of people registering in 2014. There is little sign of a reduction of interest in MOOCs by prospective learners. No doubt the MOOC debate will continue to evolve on the next year or so.
In the case of DCU we spent more than a year thinking about how we should respond to the MOOC movement, including doing nothing as there is an important opportunity cost.
The key point is that DCU spent this time identifying our drivers and notably our commitment to building a rich innovation ecology in teaching and learning was seen as the major driver for embarking on a MOOC initiative. We saw MOOCs as a means of innovating in different approaches to online learning that we could then bring back to our regular teaching and learning environment.
Drawing on a clear understanding of our drivers we then evaluated a number of different MOOC platforms using a variety of evaluation tools. This slide shows how we plotted some of the tools according to pedagogical community and their brand awareness.
By changing the X and Y axis using different criteria the position of the MOOC platforms would often change.
We also identified a number of guiding questions to help with the selection process and then scored these for each platform.
In many respects this process was more important than the outcome or scores as it helped to structure and frame our internal conversations.
We have published more details of how we went about this selection process in the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning if you want further information.
In the end after considerable deliberation we selected a new MOOC platform known as Academy that will be launched shortly by Moodle HQ. DCU will be the first university in the World to pilot this dedicated MOOC platform which ticked all the boxes for our innovation agenda or driver. Put simply, we did not see much would be gained by simply being a client of an existing major MOOC platform.
We are currently working on the development of four MOOCs in what will be known as the DCU Open Academy. These are at various stages of development as the Academy platform itself continues to be developed. This slides is just a placeholder for these courses and final course titles may change over the next few months.
We have deliberately selected our first series of MOOCs to help commemorate 1916
These slides show some early examples of Irish 101
Our fourth MOOC is part of another externally funded project which aims to prepare new and prospective flexible learners for further study and student success. There is another paper at the conference describing this initiative.
In sum, the DCU Open Academy initiative is very much framed around our commitment to fostering an innovation ecology in teaching and learning. In this respect the initiative differs from what other institutions appear to be wanting to achieve by gaining institutional profile through their handful of MOOCs. In keeping with our innovation driver we were attracted by the opportunity to shape the development of the MOOC platform rather than simply be one of many other institutions using someone else’s platform. And in this respect our investment in the DCU Open Academy is part of a wider strategic commitment that DCU has to creating a modern, 21st Century digital campus with a strong learning futures focus.