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
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Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): A snapshot
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.
JacquelineKenney&Ma/BowerDepartment of Education, Macquarie University
• Virtual Schooling, Michael Barbour, Wayne State Uni
• MobiMOOC Ignatia Webs
• Intro to Openness in Education, David Wiley, OE US
• Artificial Intelligence, Sebastian Thrun & Peter Norvig, Stanford University (>160,000 starters)
• Udacity formed (Thrun)
• Coursera launched Stanford University (Koller & Ng)
• edX (MIT (MITx) Harvard & Berkeley)
• Digital Storytelling, Jim Groom & Martha Burtis, University of Mary Washington
• Personal Learning Environments Networks & Knowledge, Dave Cormier, George Siemens & Stephen Downes
• CCK (Connectivism, & Connective Knowledge) George Siemens, Stephen Downes, Athabasca University & National Research Council (Canada) (25 fee-paying students + >2,300 MOOCers*
*Dave Cormier and Bryan Alexander coined ‘MOOCs’ during CCK ac<vi<es
Open but not always Massive OOCs: • Social Media & Open Ed, Alec Courous, University of Regina (2008); Open
Education Intro , David Wiley, Utah State University (2007); Codecademy/P2PU (Sims & Bubinski) (2011); Khan Academy – over 189 million lessons; Academic Earth; Skillshare >5,000 teachers (2011); World Education University (2012); Saylor Foundation; Course Hero; Faculty project
• Berklee 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 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.
StephenDownes(Na<onal Research Council, Canada),DaveCormier(University of Prince Edward Island),andGeorgeSiemens(Athabasca University).We'vecollaboratedonnumerousonlinecoursesbeforeandhaveconPnuedtorefineourpedagogicalmethodsandourtechnicalinfrastructure.Theformatthisyearisdifferentfromwhatwe'vedoneinthepast:we'veinvitedagroupoffascinaPngthinkerstosharetheirexperPsewithus‐oneperweek.
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 Dunbar‘s number for
a ‘tribe’ (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 ‘C’ to stand for
“courseware,” and sees the MOOC as the platform to run the learning on, not the act of learning itself.
‘When 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.’ (Hill, 2012)
MOOCsasgame‐changers:universiDesMOOCsareoneoffoureconomicpressuresonUShighered(King & Sen, 2012):
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