What’s a MOOC?

Exploring the Possibilities of Massive Open Online Learning

Phylise Banner . Society for Technical Communication . May 2013

Explorations

• The MOOC concept, origins and maturity stages

• Underlying learning theories and practices

• Applications for tech comm professionals

• Educational opportunities for STC

What’s a MOOC?

• Massive Open Online Course• Guided open learning opportunity

within a semi-structured framework

• Structure within which to serve free, open-access education

• Modeled from social networks and collaborative media sites

The Historical Perspective

• 2002: MIT Open Courseware• 2006: Khan Academy• 2008: Connectivism and

Connective Knowledge at the University of Manitoba

• 2011: Artificial Intelligence course at Stanford

The Evolution of Theory

• Behaviorism –Classical conditioning (Pavlov) –Operant conditioning (Skinner)

• Cognitivism (Piaget)

The Evolution of Theory

• Constructivism (Dewey)• Social Learning Theories–Socio-Constructivism–Connectivism

Principles of Connectivism (Siemens, 2004)

• Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.

• Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.

• Learning may reside in non-human appliances.

• Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known.

• Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.

Principles of Connectivism (Siemens, 2004)

• Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.

• Currency (up to date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.

• Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

A Teaching and Learning Generation

• According to Downes, knowledge is distributed, interconnected, personal, and a recognition of a pattern in a set of introspective or behavioral events. (2006)

A Teaching and Learning Generation

We have become accustomed to learning on our own within self selected groups.

So, what do those groups look like?

Massive Communities of Learners

• What does a MOOC look like?• What are the core components?• What differentiates one from

another?• What does it mean to be a

participant?• How is my learning progress

measured?• Where can I find a MOOC for me?

A Peek at a Few MOOCs

Core Components

• Facilitation – Daily update

• Participation– Aggregate– Remix– Repurpose– Feed forward

What’s the Difference?

• Is this knowledge exploration or education?

• Is this just the digital version of a correspondence course?

• Are the new MOOC platforms just another LMS?

Assessment Strategies

• Most are not credit awarding, but assessment of learning has been done for certification and small cohorts.

• Many have embraced badges for credentialing.

Time to Learn!

“A course is a learning journey,led by an expert, and taken in the company of fellow travelers on a common quest for knowledge”

Ann Kirschner, 2012

Seek and You Shall Find

• The big players in MOOC offerings:

Udacity (Thrun)http://www.udacity.com/

Coursera (33 Universities)https://www.coursera.org/

EdX (Harvard, MIT, etc.)https://www.edx.org/

Udacity

Coursera

EdX

MOOC Technologies

CourseSiteshttps://www.coursesites.com

Canvas Networkhttps://www.canvas.net/

GRSSHopperhttp://grsshopper.downes.ca/

OpenMOOChttp://openmooc.org/

Google Course Builderhttp://code.google.com/p/course-builder/

MOOC Directories/Search Portals

Course Buffethttp://www.coursebuffet.com/

Class Centralhttp://www.class-central.com/

Knollophttp://www.knollop.com/

CourseTalk (ratings)http://coursetalk.org/

Benefits

• Open (and free) access for all• Connectivist exploration of

knowledge• Flexibility in time/place• Networking and community

cultivation• Lifelong learning opportunities• Large-scale professional

development possibilities

Challenges

• Retention and completion rates• Assessment and validity• Self regulation• Organic network management• Chaos

New Roles and Opportunities

• Exploration of a new instructional design paradigm

• Content development, curation, and delivery

• Community formation, coordination and facilitation

• Lifelong learning!

The STC Tech Comm MOOC

Topics of interest (22 SIGs):

Tech Comm basicsUsabilityContent StrategyInformation Design & ArchitectureInstructional Design & LearningInformation VisualizationPolicies and ProceduresTechnical EditingAnd more …

The STC Tech Comm MOOC

Featured content developers/presenters:

Mollye BarrettKai WeberDana WestBernard AschwandenPhylise Banner

The STC Tech Comm MOOC Team

For more information about MOOCs, or to join the STC Tech Comm MOOC team, please contact us via email:

lloyd.tucker@stc.orgpbanner@gmail.com

Resources

The MOOC Model for Digital Practicehttp://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/MOOC_Final.pdf

Connectivism and Collective Knowledge 2011 http://cck11.mooc.ca/

MOOC Guide Wikihttp://moocguide.wikispaces.com

The Must-Have EdTech Cheat Sheethttp://edudemic.com/2012/07/edtech-cheat-sheet/