MOOC FOR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING Jaspal Singh

MOOC – WHAT, WHERE AND WHY ?

WHAT IS MOOC ?

In the MOOC alphabet soup, the acronym means different things to different people. What

could it mean for an organization?

Source: Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) - Wikipedia

WHEN DID MOOC COME INTO EXISTENCE ?

The MOOC existed before the MOOC mania started.

THE STATE OF THE MOOC

The state of the MOOC is that we are making sense out of it all as we move along the hype cycle. Is it

a bubble or here to stay?

MOOC – TRENDS AND CHANGES

MOOC : EMERGING NEW ‘NORMAL’ FOR MOOCS

Only about 10% will finish the course. Is that bad? There are a lot of lurkers. Is that bad?

We can’t judge new formats with old mindsets, metrics or expectations.

MOOC – TRENDS AND CHANGES

“We are moving away from the model

in which learning is organized around

stable, usually hierarchical institutions

(schools, colleges, universities) that, for

better and worse, have served as the

main gateways to education and social

mobility. Replacing that model is a new

system in which learning is best

conceived of as a flow, where learning

resources are not scarce but widely

available, opportunities for learning

are abundant, and learners increasingly

have the ability to autonomously dip

into and out of continuous learning

flows.”

- Marina Gorbis (IFTF)

INDIA INC. LOGS IN TO MOOC

MOOC AND OPEN COURSE PROVIDERS

Source: MOOC and open Course Providers

COMPANIES AND UNIVERSITIES SERVE MOOCS TO THE MASSES

COMPANIES AND UNIVERSITIES SERVE MOOCS TO THE MASSES

MOOC AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

PARALLEL UNIVERSES OF ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Did you know: around 70% of participants in MOOCs have a degree

“When combined with the fact that MOOCs to date have not been applied for academic credit, it is apparent that the primary usage of MOOCs has been for professional development or lifelong learning.” (M Feldstein)

Corporate interest in MOOCs has only just begun and may lead to yet another MOOC

family. When do MOOCs make sense in a corporate setting?

PHIL HILL'S FOUR MOOC LEARNERS ARCHETYPES

Student Archetypes Description

Lurkers observe or sample a few items at the most.

Active Participants Intend to participate in the MOOC, including consuming content, taking

quizzes and exams, taking part in activities such as writing assignments

and peer grading, and actively participate in discussions via discussion

forums, blogs, twitter, Google+, or other forms of social media

Passive Participants view a course as content to consume. - watch videos, perhaps take

quizzes, but tend to not participate in activities or class discussions

Drop-Ins These are students who become partially or fully active participants

for a select topic within the course, but do not attempt to complete the

entire course

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM MOOC AS LEARNING TOOL ?

Videos

• You can adjust speed of videos.

• Sometimes the video lectures are verbal presentation of content available elsewhere, decide which

suits you : reading or watching.

Discussion forums

• Brush up on your netiquette.

• Be aware that anyone can be in a MOOC, so conduct yourself professionally.

• Posting anonymously is of limited value.

• Be careful of ‘auto-subscription’ to forums lest you get 100s of emails overnight.

• Choose one or two forums and interact with those.

• Posting in a discussion forum is different than writing academically, read others to get a feel for tone.

Quizzes

• These are knowledge checks, so be realistic about your expectations.

• If you want a certificate find out what the requirements are.

Peer assessment

• The experience of others on the MOOC will vary so be open to the various types of feedback you might

get.

CERTIFICATION AND SOA• SOA is issued on most of the MOOC courses after successful completion of course as per course criteria.

• Verified certificate are issued on successful completion of MOOC courses from Leading universities, which are

issued on nominal charges between $ 24 to $ 49 and some of the cases it may be as high as $499 for

specialization courses.

• There are some MOOC programmes which are self paced learning and not time bound, where on SOA or

Certificate is issued.

MOOC ADOPTION – COMMON CHALLENGES

• There is never enough time

• Classes are hard to follow with discipline

• Technology can be intimidating

• You need a reasonably good internet speed at home. eg:- Downloading virtual machine images to

do some assignments

• You need a reasonably good desktop or laptops. eg:- A minimum of i5 processor and 8 GB RAM is

recommended.

• You need to learn new programming or scripting languages. eg:- Assignments in python.

• The course caters to many groups of people.

MOOC ADOPTION : COMMON MISTAKES

• Attending more than one course at the same time

• Waiting for last minute to complete the assignments and quizzes

• Not utilizing the community forums effectively

• Not asking questions thinking it is very basic

MOOC ADOPTION : STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

Time Technology

• Set a day/time for MOOCing.

• Register at least two weeks before the MOOC

starts.

• Check how many hours the instructor recommends

spending each week.

• If there are synchronous components check the

time zone.

• Log-in before the MOOC starts to become familiar

with the platform.

• Check if you are expected to engage over Twitter,

Google Hangouts.

• Secure a headset to watch videos, make sure there

is a mic if there are synchronous sessions to

participate in.

• Try to find someone who is willing to help you with

the technology throughout the course if you get

stuck.

Learning Resources

• Re-watch videos as needed

• Schedule regular time each week

• Communicate with peers through forums and peer

assessments

• Ask for help from the Community TAs

• Is there a book you need to buy?

• Do you have a suitable space where you can learn?

• Identify how the MOOC will fit with other courses or

with other MOOCs, create a year long MOOC plan

or integrate with other learning

SOME INTERESTING LINKS ON MOOC

1. What is a MOOC? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW3gMGqcZQc

2. Anant Agarwal Ted Talk 2013: Why MOOCs still matter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn0i2v87woU

3. edX -- How it Works - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIh8huowqO8

4. Source: Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) – Wikipedia

5. Source: MOOCs and Higher Education: What is next?

SOURCES

http://mfeldstein.com/moocs-beyond-professional-development-courseras-big-announcement-in-context/

http://mfeldstein.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/education/edlife/massive-open-online-courses-are-multiplying-at-a-rapid-pace.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2013/07/10/coursera-hits-4-million-students-and-triples-its-funding/

http://storify.com/derekbruff/prof-leaves-mooc-mid-stream

http://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/the-mooc-honeymoon-is-over-three-takeaways-from-the-coursera-calamity

http://www.educause.edu/eli/events/eli-online-spring-focus-session/2013/2013/everything-you-think-you-know-about-moocs-could-be-wrong

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/09/higher-ed-leaders-urge-slow-down-mooc-train

http://allmoocs.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/gartners-hype-cycle-as-springboard-mooc-and-public-policy

http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2013/07/08/neoliberalism-and-moocs-amplifying-nonsense

http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.be/2013/04/moocs-whos-using-moocs-10-different.html

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/12/a-must-have-educational-technology.html

http://www.educause.edu/sites/default/files/library/presentations/ELI134/OL01/FeldsteinHill_Everything%2BYou%2BThink%2BYou.pdf

http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.be/2013/04/moocs-taxonomy-of-8-types-of-mooc.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGaUfWkJdi4&feature=player_embedded

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23qmooc

http://homocompetens.blogspot.be/2013/03/this-one-has-mooc-in-title.html