After having a semester to learn about, complete, and create a MOOC, I can say there is still yet so much to learn about them and the potential impact they can have on academia. In some ways, I share the same thoughts as I did at the beginning of the semester. In particular, I'm still unsure of the role MOOCs play in higher education and the impact they will have on online degree programs/courses. On the other hand, I feel knowledgeable about the evolution of MOOCs and the issues surrounding them.
As my understanding of MOOCs has evolved, there is still uncertainty as to where MOOCs fit in. Furthermore, the readings and videos raised more questions than answers about the future of MOOCs. One major concern was the integration of MOOCs into degree programs. I would like to see how this work for universities that are piloting it and the experiences of the institutions and students (maybe a good mixed methods study). In addition, I would like to see if completion rates increased and how the MOOC courses compare to the online or face-to-face courses.
The MOOC I participated in had the same look and feel as any online course. The major differences were the enrollment, lack of interaction with faculty, and lack of engagement (mainly videos). As a result, I still struggle with MOOCs and seeing how they compare with online courses. Nonetheless, AHE 602 was an interesting course and very timely as I have participated in MOOC discussion with several other professionals.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
MOOC Review: Learn HTML5 From Scratch
The MOOC I'm taking is named Learn HTML5 From Scratch. This is a self-pace MOOC with five sections and 37 lectures and five quizzes separated amongst the section. The lectures are easy to follow and the instructor provides resources for the students to use while following along with the lectures. For me, this has taken the most time since I like to participate in the lectures by following along with the instructor. So far I have found the information to be very helpful and it provides me with a deeper understanding of HTML5.
In addition to ease of use, I like how the instructor explains the information - starting with the basics of HTML and building each lesson upon that basic knowledge. Starting with this basic knowledge was a good way to begin the lesson given requiring students to have a vast amount of base knowledge was identified as one of the reasons students does not complete a MOOC (Colman, 2013). The instructor also offers recommendation for free software so that students can use the resources provided to complete the activities hands on. The course also has a discussion area where students can post questions and receive answers within a very reasonable time frame. I have found this to be very helpful as well.
In the brief introduction video, the instructor outlined the course and explained the learning outcomes. This video was the deciding factor that led me to take this course. The technology requirements for this course are very minimum, but it does help if you have some basic knowledge and understanding of HTML, even though the instructor starts from the basics. One of the things I think can benefit this MOOC is the incorporation of other technologies and pedagogies that can increase student learning. As Bruff (2013) stated in his article, MOOCs should include more than lecture videos. Colman (2013) also referenced this notion and recommended the use of interactive pedagogy. The unfortunate side is identifying other ways to teach HTML5 or similar concepts. In a way, I guess the free software and resources should make up for this. Maybe an end of semester project that requires students to use HTML5 to create a web site would add more value to the course (this may be already incorporated into the course as I haven't finished it yet. But I have not seen any indication of this yet.).
The free software and resources provided by the instructor were found to be extremely helpful in understanding the concepts in this course. I believe if these resources were not provided, it would be hard to grapple and understand the concepts. With these resources, I also found the discussion board helpful. In this area, if other students were experiencing problems you could read their questions and view the responses. While this was the only form of interaction I've found in the course, it was pivotal to the learning experience.
The assessment of student learning was as I expected - a short multiple choice quiz. At the conclusion of the quiz, the student received a grade, the course average, and the statistics for each question in respect to how you fared with the rest of the class. Students are also given the opportunity to share their grades on social media. Why someone would want to share their grade beats me. But that option is available for the social media enthusiasts.
My interest in this subject was heightened because I used HTML on my job. However, I've always wanted to increase my knowledge of HTML5. I not only gained knowledge about HTML5, but I also received some basic clarifications about HTML. While I was not as engaged in the course as I would have liked, I was engaged with the material because of my ability to follow along with the instructor and complete hands-on activities.
The instructor helps the students with time management by including the length of the videos (which are the most time consuming activities in the course) and the number of questions for each quiz. This helped me as a student when deciding on when to complete tasks. Small techniques as such are important to the course design and layout. Because I was informed at the beginning I was able to schedule how I completed tasks.
As for most things at this point in my life, time is a huge variable that determines how many tasks I complete. Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to dedicate to the MOOC. But I hope to complete more of the lessons because the information is very helpful.
Finally, I created my brief survey for this course. If I was to implement this MOOC, the survey would include about 10 in-depth questions both open ended and Likert scale.
Sources:
Bruff, D. (2013). Lessons learned from Vanderbilt's first MOOC.
Colman, D. (2013). MOOC interrupted: Top 10 reasons our readers didn’t finish a massive open online course.
In addition to ease of use, I like how the instructor explains the information - starting with the basics of HTML and building each lesson upon that basic knowledge. Starting with this basic knowledge was a good way to begin the lesson given requiring students to have a vast amount of base knowledge was identified as one of the reasons students does not complete a MOOC (Colman, 2013). The instructor also offers recommendation for free software so that students can use the resources provided to complete the activities hands on. The course also has a discussion area where students can post questions and receive answers within a very reasonable time frame. I have found this to be very helpful as well.
In the brief introduction video, the instructor outlined the course and explained the learning outcomes. This video was the deciding factor that led me to take this course. The technology requirements for this course are very minimum, but it does help if you have some basic knowledge and understanding of HTML, even though the instructor starts from the basics. One of the things I think can benefit this MOOC is the incorporation of other technologies and pedagogies that can increase student learning. As Bruff (2013) stated in his article, MOOCs should include more than lecture videos. Colman (2013) also referenced this notion and recommended the use of interactive pedagogy. The unfortunate side is identifying other ways to teach HTML5 or similar concepts. In a way, I guess the free software and resources should make up for this. Maybe an end of semester project that requires students to use HTML5 to create a web site would add more value to the course (this may be already incorporated into the course as I haven't finished it yet. But I have not seen any indication of this yet.).
The free software and resources provided by the instructor were found to be extremely helpful in understanding the concepts in this course. I believe if these resources were not provided, it would be hard to grapple and understand the concepts. With these resources, I also found the discussion board helpful. In this area, if other students were experiencing problems you could read their questions and view the responses. While this was the only form of interaction I've found in the course, it was pivotal to the learning experience.
The assessment of student learning was as I expected - a short multiple choice quiz. At the conclusion of the quiz, the student received a grade, the course average, and the statistics for each question in respect to how you fared with the rest of the class. Students are also given the opportunity to share their grades on social media. Why someone would want to share their grade beats me. But that option is available for the social media enthusiasts.
My interest in this subject was heightened because I used HTML on my job. However, I've always wanted to increase my knowledge of HTML5. I not only gained knowledge about HTML5, but I also received some basic clarifications about HTML. While I was not as engaged in the course as I would have liked, I was engaged with the material because of my ability to follow along with the instructor and complete hands-on activities.
The instructor helps the students with time management by including the length of the videos (which are the most time consuming activities in the course) and the number of questions for each quiz. This helped me as a student when deciding on when to complete tasks. Small techniques as such are important to the course design and layout. Because I was informed at the beginning I was able to schedule how I completed tasks.
As for most things at this point in my life, time is a huge variable that determines how many tasks I complete. Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to dedicate to the MOOC. But I hope to complete more of the lessons because the information is very helpful.
Finally, I created my brief survey for this course. If I was to implement this MOOC, the survey would include about 10 in-depth questions both open ended and Likert scale.
Sources:
Bruff, D. (2013). Lessons learned from Vanderbilt's first MOOC.
Colman, D. (2013). MOOC interrupted: Top 10 reasons our readers didn’t finish a massive open online course.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
MOOC Assessment and Grading
Because of the massiveness of the MOOC course, assessing learning and grading assignment is a big concern for me. While there have been several potential solutions I struggle to believe there a clear cut method that effectively assessed learning for all students involved. As I read Davidson's (2009) article on crowdsource grading, subjectivity kept coming to mind. Depending on the student's goals, relationships with their peers, and their classification (i.e. freshman, etc.), the level of assessment will vary. I'm sure peer evaluation will offer some value to the learning process. However, from a student's perspective, I would not want that evaluation to determine the overall course grade.
As I continued to think and read, I also concluded that every MOOC is not designed to have an exam or some form of assessment that requires a test. Some MOOCs may require more application of the material indicating an understanding of the content. If this is the case, how do instructors or course designers factor that into the course development? This approach has more applicability and can generate ideas and conversations that can improve the overall learning experience.
This approach is what I believe will be used in my MOOC. Because student engagement is so important to the online course experience, one way to access the participant's understanding of the content is to have them develop an engaging piece (or outline this in the form of storyboard, mind map, etc.) for their course. This will allow them to receive feedback from their peers and maybe gain new ideas on how to engage students. This form of assessment also enables meaningful conversation and collaboration amongst the participants.
Sources:
Davidson, C. (2009). How To crowdsource grading.
As I continued to think and read, I also concluded that every MOOC is not designed to have an exam or some form of assessment that requires a test. Some MOOCs may require more application of the material indicating an understanding of the content. If this is the case, how do instructors or course designers factor that into the course development? This approach has more applicability and can generate ideas and conversations that can improve the overall learning experience.
This approach is what I believe will be used in my MOOC. Because student engagement is so important to the online course experience, one way to access the participant's understanding of the content is to have them develop an engaging piece (or outline this in the form of storyboard, mind map, etc.) for their course. This will allow them to receive feedback from their peers and maybe gain new ideas on how to engage students. This form of assessment also enables meaningful conversation and collaboration amongst the participants.
Sources:
Davidson, C. (2009). How To crowdsource grading.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
MOOCs Pedagogy
Learning occurs from the constructivist's standpoint when individuals create their own understanding of the material based on what they already know and what they are learning. The learning for these individuals involves significant interaction with their peers (Richardson, 2003). In a sense, the learning moment encompasses more than the professor and the content. The content developer is forced to rethink how to create a learning environment that encourage interaction and the collaboration of ideas amongst students.
The content, objectives, learners, and professors all play a role in the disseminating of knowledge. The key is thinking outside of the box when it comes to developing content and identifying new ways to teaching the materials. As stated by Morris and Stommel (2012), simple and reusable units of learning should be created so it can be applied in different ways, thus the notion of learning objects. These objects can be helpful for the learning process. Early on, however, it can be difficult to create them because of the many ways of learning and the various types of learners.
I like the approach Udacity has taken on regarding online learning. Too many times, we take what's done in the classroom and try to replicate it in some form in the online environment. While I don't fully disagree with this model (as I'm guilty of it), I believe it does lead to a course with pdf syllabi, talking heads, tons of discussions, etc. My goal is to make learning immersive as highlighted by Morris and Stommel (2012). Using games is indeed one way to accomplish this; however, the use of case studies and group work encourages interaction and collaboration. In the end, the learning must be student-centered with the professor facilitating the learning.
Sources:
Morris and Stommel (2012). Udacity and online pedagogy: Players, learners, objects. Hybrid Pedagogy.
Richardson, V. (2003). Constructivist pedagogy. Teachers College Record, 105(9), 1623-1640.
The content, objectives, learners, and professors all play a role in the disseminating of knowledge. The key is thinking outside of the box when it comes to developing content and identifying new ways to teaching the materials. As stated by Morris and Stommel (2012), simple and reusable units of learning should be created so it can be applied in different ways, thus the notion of learning objects. These objects can be helpful for the learning process. Early on, however, it can be difficult to create them because of the many ways of learning and the various types of learners.
I like the approach Udacity has taken on regarding online learning. Too many times, we take what's done in the classroom and try to replicate it in some form in the online environment. While I don't fully disagree with this model (as I'm guilty of it), I believe it does lead to a course with pdf syllabi, talking heads, tons of discussions, etc. My goal is to make learning immersive as highlighted by Morris and Stommel (2012). Using games is indeed one way to accomplish this; however, the use of case studies and group work encourages interaction and collaboration. In the end, the learning must be student-centered with the professor facilitating the learning.
Sources:
Morris and Stommel (2012). Udacity and online pedagogy: Players, learners, objects. Hybrid Pedagogy.
Richardson, V. (2003). Constructivist pedagogy. Teachers College Record, 105(9), 1623-1640.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Micro-MOOC
The MOOC I will be developing will be on how to build student engagement in an online course. This area is of particular interest to me since many professors share concerns about how to engage students in the online environment, which can also be used for MOOCs. I will be focusing on three areas of engagement: student-to-student, student-to-instructor, and student-to-content. In my MOOC, I will share best practices and research on how to engage students in each of the three areas. In addition to discussions and blogs, some other teaching pedagogies that could be use include case studies, games, etc. The key will be to deliver the content in an engaging manner that mimics how professors can replicate the activities in their classes.
The objectives for this MOOC are as follows:
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The objectives for this MOOC are as follows:
- Identify strategies to engage students with the three areas.
- Discuss ways to incorporate engagement into an online course you are teaching.
- Create and post a case-scenario on activity with engagement.
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Saturday, October 12, 2013
The Role of Faculty in MOOCs
After reading the articles for this week, the divide between MOOCs and higher education seemed to have grown wider. To some faculty, developing MOOCs mean an increased workload with one professor spending hundreds of hours preparing material and developing course content. This same professor calls it a full-time job. (Kolowich, 2013). If preparing a MOOC is a full-time job, how would institutions account this into faculty existing workload given most professors have to conduct research, publish, teach, advise, serve on committees, etc. Some professors hoped developing MOOCs increase their visibility amongst their discipline, media, and the public (Kolowich, 2013). My concern is what type of visibility are they trying to get and for what reasons? Are they trying to become the next superprofessor since the ability to become a rock star professor wasn’t achieved? Being the top professor on campus can encompass so many things till it makes it challenging to identify the characteristics of a rock star professor (Rees, 2013).
Nonetheless, some professors are jumping on the latest educating trend to be recognized at any rate possible, which they believe and hope will boost their visibility within their department, institution, and constituents around the world. With this approach and as Rees’s (2013) article title indicate, it will be disastrous for the professors who truly care about the students and their education and for the ones who don’t seek fame or notoriety (i.e. the non-aspiring rock stars or superprofessors). It will also cause tremendous problems for the people that matters the most – the students.
With this in mind, every professor can’t be the superprofessor or develop MOOCs. Before developing a MOOC, it will be essential for each professor to consider why develop a MOOC. As with any project, it will be helpful to identify the goals and why this is necessary.
It was enlightening to read that some professors stated the reason for developing a MOOC was to increase access to higher education worldwide (Kolowich, 2013). If that is indeed the reason, it appears some professors do want to contribute to our society and are striving to make it a better place. While I embrace this notion, I still struggle with the idea of developing MOOCs for increased visibility. To me, there is no concern about the students, just another line for the curriculum vitae.
No matter the case, MOOCs are being developed and some people are benefiting from them. While this means an increase workload for the superprofessor, it also causes problems for the lesser known professors as they wonder about their future and how MOOCs will impact their jobs (Kolowich, 2013). The future is unknown, but it is important to recognize the overall impact (workload, employee lives, education world, etc.) this has on the professors, families, current students (both undergraduate and graduate) and a quality education.
Lastly, below is my video discussing the MOOC I will be developing for this course.
Sources:
Kolowich, S. (2013). As MOOC debate simmers at San Jose State, American U. calls a halt. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Kolowich, S. (2013). The professors who make the MOOCs. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Rees, J. (2013). The MOOC racket: Widespread online-only higher ed will be disastrous for students and most professors. Future Tense.
Nonetheless, some professors are jumping on the latest educating trend to be recognized at any rate possible, which they believe and hope will boost their visibility within their department, institution, and constituents around the world. With this approach and as Rees’s (2013) article title indicate, it will be disastrous for the professors who truly care about the students and their education and for the ones who don’t seek fame or notoriety (i.e. the non-aspiring rock stars or superprofessors). It will also cause tremendous problems for the people that matters the most – the students.
With this in mind, every professor can’t be the superprofessor or develop MOOCs. Before developing a MOOC, it will be essential for each professor to consider why develop a MOOC. As with any project, it will be helpful to identify the goals and why this is necessary.
It was enlightening to read that some professors stated the reason for developing a MOOC was to increase access to higher education worldwide (Kolowich, 2013). If that is indeed the reason, it appears some professors do want to contribute to our society and are striving to make it a better place. While I embrace this notion, I still struggle with the idea of developing MOOCs for increased visibility. To me, there is no concern about the students, just another line for the curriculum vitae.
No matter the case, MOOCs are being developed and some people are benefiting from them. While this means an increase workload for the superprofessor, it also causes problems for the lesser known professors as they wonder about their future and how MOOCs will impact their jobs (Kolowich, 2013). The future is unknown, but it is important to recognize the overall impact (workload, employee lives, education world, etc.) this has on the professors, families, current students (both undergraduate and graduate) and a quality education.
Lastly, below is my video discussing the MOOC I will be developing for this course.
Sources:
Kolowich, S. (2013). As MOOC debate simmers at San Jose State, American U. calls a halt. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Kolowich, S. (2013). The professors who make the MOOCs. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Rees, J. (2013). The MOOC racket: Widespread online-only higher ed will be disastrous for students and most professors. Future Tense.
Friday, October 4, 2013
What does “Open” Mean for Higher Education?
When I hear the word open used in a sentence with education, I immediately think of resources and information that is free and available to the public for increasing one’s own knowledge. These open resources as stated by Carr (2013) also provide opportunities for students to save money. As tuition continues to rise and student loan recipients increases, the need for saving money is heightened and parents and students look for ways to save money. One way to save money is through the use of open textbooks. Carr stated that textbook costs have risen over 800% on the past three decades. As a result of the rising costs, some students have opted to not purchase the textbook (Carr, 2013). However, we along with Howard (2012) believe and know that reading is a necessary component when taking courses.
Open resources can also supplement face-to-face (and online) instructions. Khan academy is a great example of how students who need additional help with math and other subjects can find step-by-step examples and guidance. This type of open resources has been used by many to supplement what was learned in the classroom.
When it comes to MOOCs, I characterize open as the full availability of information for public access. In higher education, open can be defined as access to a quality education. It can also include open resources and software that can be used to supplement the course content. The benefit to higher education institutions is professors can use the resources from MOOCs to supplement their instructions and to aid students as they study.
Sources:
Carr, D. F. (2013). In shadow of MOOCs, open education makes progress.
Howard, J. (2012). Publishers see online mega-courses as opportunity to sell textbooks. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Open resources can also supplement face-to-face (and online) instructions. Khan academy is a great example of how students who need additional help with math and other subjects can find step-by-step examples and guidance. This type of open resources has been used by many to supplement what was learned in the classroom.
When it comes to MOOCs, I characterize open as the full availability of information for public access. In higher education, open can be defined as access to a quality education. It can also include open resources and software that can be used to supplement the course content. The benefit to higher education institutions is professors can use the resources from MOOCs to supplement their instructions and to aid students as they study.
Sources:
Carr, D. F. (2013). In shadow of MOOCs, open education makes progress.
Howard, J. (2012). Publishers see online mega-courses as opportunity to sell textbooks. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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