Innovation, Education, Technology

Bericht zum Einsatz von 6 MOOCs in Kooperation mit Coursera.

Data and analysis from an evaluation of the 6 MOOCs the University of Edinburg has delivered through the Coursera platform.

"98% of Exit survey respondents indicated that “they felt they got out of the course(s) what they wanted”, with the great majority reporting that the length, pacing and level had been about right.

The most common time spent on study per week on the MOOCs was in the range 2-4hrs."

OK, MOOCs are not OER, but this is a good historical account of how MOOCs grew initially from Open Education roots, it has that quality of setting down clearly what everyone knows (at least everyone who has followed MOOCs since they began).

There's an interesting comment about finding the pedagogy of EDx being odd, a comment which I share since my slight acquaintance of an EDx MIT Physics course suggests its core was based on the talk and demo approach that physics education research has shown not to work very well. The EDx platform, though, seemed worth a look at as a way of presenting OERs

When it comes to quality there are some crucial questions. What are MOOCs actually aiming at? Can the quality of MOOCs be assessed in the same way as any defined university course with traditional degree awarding processes? Or do we have to take into account a different type of objective with MOOC learners? Are the learners mostly interested in only small sequences of learning, tailored to their own individual purpose, and then sign off and move to other MOOCs because their own learning objective was fulfilled?

As with every other learning innovation, MOOCs first raised a lot of interest and hopes for a new approach to education but now the focus must change to evaluating if those promises can be delivered in the long term and on a sustainable basis. One aspect which, due to the infancy of MOOCs as learning innovation, has not yet been analyzed is  the aspect of quality in MOOCs. As with every other learning environment the quality is very much the condition which determines how effective and successful learning can take place.

The text books will be PDFs, which suggests that the actual content won't be of any interest in terms of innovative use of technology.

Interesting list of top 40 courses (e.g. no engineering, no medecine) which I guess reflects the differences in HE between UK and BC, also interesting that books will be reviewed.

Exactly what it says it is, but it nicely highlights the variety that underlies MOOCs and our talk about them (@pbsloep)

This is one of the most considered and constructively critical articles I have read on the four letter word that dare not be spoken!!

Moocs - an examination that is worth engaging with. Why the rewriting of history, the new narrative of moocs, should be treated with care and why we need to carfully think about the real purpose of a mooc and education.

As some are raised a Catholic or an atheist or a vegetarian, I was raised an academic. The university always had about it a mystique, a cloud of mystery and veneration. Lauded in my household were the values of objectivity, critical thinking, close reading. As early as the fourth grade, my mother took me to her college Shakespeare classes, introduced me to her professors, and indulged me with lunch at the student union. I attended classes with her throughout her undergraduate study; and for years after, I’d walk through campus simply to absorb the essence of the place. Today, I am as much in love with the endeavor of higher education as I am disappointed by its outcomes.

The reformation of higher education is under way. Whether we agree or not, the vast credentialing system of universities and colleges, the importance placed upon expertise, the value of the degree and the Ph.D., the political economies that oppressthose that form the backbone of the system, the administration of learning, therights of students, and even the act of learning itself are all under scrutiny. It is a scrutiny that’s been in play for years, and has been exacerbated most recently by the advent of the MOOC (massive open online course), the corporatization of education, and the exportation of pedagogy to technologists and private entrepreneurs. Sadly, little is coming forward from this inquisition of education that’s hopeful. Academics and administrators are afraid for their careers, and students and learners of all ages are looking openly at other options (other options that enterprising speculators are at the ready to provide).

Great article on the changing face of higher education and the rise of the autonomous learner.

A very thought provoking essay in particular and an interesting site in general! 

Les bases des MOOC... 

Finally, a literature review.

Also see the @pbsloep's commentary on his original scoop.

Need a long rainy day to read all this great stuff.  So wave of the future or tsunami ready to hit and hurt and then leave?

TJ Bliss et al. - An OER COUP: College Teacher and Student Perceptions of Open Educational Resources

Initial posting for the just launched project #reclaimopen that wants to counter fancy web services that are hosted on third-party servers. Instead it is argued to host applications such as blogs or cloud on controllable servers which are more coducive for building a digital identity.