MOOC's

What is a MOOC?

A MOOC is a Massive, Open, Online Course.

• MOOC's are massive: MOOC's can have 400,000 - 500,000 registered students, but according to Tech Crunch the average size has been 40,000+.
• By open, it usually means anyone can take the course.
  • Students usually register with a vendor, who forms partnerships with universities, to offer non-credit courses.
  • But, more MOOC vendors are creating partnerships with universities to offer some type of verified certificate to students, that students have to pay for.
  • In addition, the American Council on Education is working with some universities and colleges to offer different forms of course credit to students, after participating in MOOCs.
• MOOC's have only been offered online-you must have access to the internet to take a course.
• MOOC's are courses, that usually last between 4-6 weeks, though some are shorter and others longer.
  • Just like other courses, MOOC's usually provide a syllabus, recommended student background, course format (videos, quizzes), and the names of the instructors.

How did MOOC's get started?

According to A Short History of MOOC's and Distance Learning, there were two courses that used the term MOOC in 2008 and 2012:

1. In 2008, educators Stephen Downes and George Siemens offered the free, online course Connectivism and Connective Knowledge/2008 (CCK8), after teaching a similar credit course at the University of Manitoba, Canada. They used many different platforms to connect with over 2,000 students, such as Facebook, wiki's, blogs, and forums.
2. In 2012, two Stanford Professors Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig offered their course for free and online, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence. More than 160,000 students in 190 countries signed up. Based on their experience, the professors developed Udacity, a MOOC for-profit provider.

Who offers MOOC's?

• Udacity, formed in 2012, a for-profit American company, was one of the first MOOC providers. Students often have to pay for their courses.
• Within one year, two more American start-ups for MOOCs appeared: Coursera and EdX.
  • Coursera is also a for-profit company, which provides courses in partnership with a large range of educational institutions. Usually, their courses are free.
  • EdX is a non-profit company, governed by MIT and Harvard, and according to their web site, strives to offer the "best of higher education", in person and online. Usually, their courses are free.
  • What are other popular MOOC vendors? Canvas.net, Desire2Learn Open Courses, and Udemy.
  • Here's a list of popular MOOC providers: MOOC and Open Course Providers.
• There are now thousands of MOOC's being offered by universities, colleges, for-profit and non-profit companies.

Are there different types of MOOC's?

• Some people have tried to define MOOC's further, according to MOOC News and Review:
  • xMOOCs: xMOOCs are usually offered by one or more higher educational institutions, and sometimes, a for-profit company, such as Coursera.
  • cMOOCs: cMOOCs, sometimes referred to as Connectivist MOOCs, are often offered by individuals or groups of instructors, who encourage connections between students, using free online platforms, such as blogs, wikis, and social media to communicate, and share content and resources.

Why do people take a MOOC?

• In this article, 7 Reasons to Take a MOOC, students say they take MOOCs because it's popular; it's a way to specialize in your field; you can meet other professionals in your field, from all over the world; there's a wide range of subjects to choose from; courses are online; you can interact in discussions and by participating in peer reviews; and you can be part of a global community.
• According to Iversity, an European MOOC provider, students take MOOCs to satisfy intellectual hunger, extend existing knowledge on a topic, and for professional development.
• Review this article What It's Like to Take a MOOC to find out a student's perspective of what it was like to take a MOOC with two superstar MIT economists, teaching about global poverty.

Where do I find MOOC's?

• You can explore MOOC's by using Class Central, the MOOC List or Open Culture.
• If you're interested in the best Higher Education MOOC's, check out this article, MOOCs: Top 10 Sites for Free Education With Elite Universities
• You can check out the Durham Tech Instructional Technologies blog, periodically, we suggest MOOCS for Teachers and Educators.
• If you want to see a Community College MOOC, Wake Tech offers a few MOOCs, for college readiness.

What do I need to register for a MOOC?

• Usually, you need to provide your email address and create a password.

What will I do in a MOOC?

• Each course is different. Many offer instructor videos, discussion forums and multiple choice tests.
• But some courses also offer optional or required assignments, that are often graded by peers, since there are too many assignments for instructors to grade.
• Still other courses that are not using a vendor, such as Connectivist MOOCs, encourage students to post to blogs, wikis and social media.
• It is up to each student how much or how little they review materials and contribute to the course.

Can I get a certificate or a digital badge?

It depends. Each course is different.

• Some courses offer free certificates, some offer free digital badges, others offer the materials free, still others offer you the choice to pay to get different types of certificates.
• If you're not familiar with digital badges, remember Girl Scout badges? Once you master a skill, you're awarded a badge. In a similar manner, if you meet certain course criteria, the instructors can award a badge (or a set of badges), that can then be loaded into Mozilla's Backpack or into Credly or into other badge display products. From Mozilla Backpack and Credly, you can get codes to embed the badge in your web site or blog and/or share your badges with others on social media.

Why are colleges and universities offering MOOC's?

• Provide education to the global community; generate interest in their educational institution, sometimes referred to as branding.
• Experiment with new ways of teaching and learning; perform research on large online classes and their students.
• EdX, a non-profit provider governed by Harvard and MIT, states their goals are:
  • Expand access to education for everyone
  • Enhance teaching and learning on campus and online
  • Advance teaching and learning through research

What does it take to offer a MOOC?

According to Educause's handout What Campus Leaders Should Know about MOOC's, it takes a great deal of resources to provide an effective MOOC:

• Money: Sophisticated video production, graphic design and course content creation can cost huge amounts of money. Some universities have paid $40,000-$50,000 to their MOOC providers to create content, provide an online platform, and provide technical assistance.
• Faculty: Instructors who have taught MOOC's have said they spent 100's of hours creating videos and materials for their classes.
• Delivery Platform: You must have a reliable computer system that can handle 400,000 to 500,000 student registrations, that can also provide students with course access and materials.
• A Vendor: Often vendors provide instructional designers, graphic designers, video and audio production staff and facilities, teaching assistants, and technical advisers.

Not all MOOC's have been successful, some have run into serious technological issues, since they are dealing with large numbers of students.

How effective are MOOC's?

• The jury is out. MOOC's have very low completion rates (10%), but some studies have found MOOC's to be effective:
  • From EdX: Comparing Effectiveness of Learning in MOOCs and Classrooms
  • From Journalist's Research: MOOCs and online learning: Research roundup

MOOC Controversies

• In Atlantic's article What does Open Mean? One Academic Weighs in, the author highlights the concerns of Amhearst College faculty about MOOCs. Faculty have wondered if working with for-profit vendors to provide their popular credit courses as "open" courses, is a positive decision for both faculty and for public higher education.
• In an "about Education" article, the author focuses on some of the issues students and faculty are having with MOOC's, The Dark Side of the MOOCs: Problems with Massively Open Online Education:
  • Courses are large and impersonal, with pre-recorded videos, and large discussion forums
  • Students lack feedback, since many courses depend on multiple-choice tests
  • MOOC completion rates are poor
  • There is a lack of a path to credit or to a credit degree
  • Faculty are expected to donate large amounts of time towards teaching free classes
• There have also been concerns about faculty intellectual property, student identity protection, the collection and use of student data, and course effectiveness.

Where can I find more info about MOOC's?

• What is a Massive Open Online Course Anyway?
• MOOCs in 2013/2014: Breaking Down the Numbers
• Educause: What Campus Leaders Should Know about MOOC’s
• Research: MOOCs, Flipping and Badges
• Exploring the Fringe: Flipping, Microcredentials (Badges) and MOOCs