The number of online courses has dramatically increased in the last decade with various design directions and engagement trajectories. The majority of courses have a limited number of participants, allowing for greater interaction with and feedback from the professor. These are associated with credit, have tuition and involve the use of instructional videos in addition to traditional textbooks. Various means of assessment can be present, such as peer reviews and assignments with clearly depicted rubrics. Learner support systems can be in place via an active community and there are numerous indicators available in order to evaluate online instruction at the post secondary level. SEOK identified flexibility, user interface, navigations, getting started, technical assistance, course management, universal design, communication, discussion and content as important determinants of the success of an online course. As a result, living in a digital age, it is no surprise that on line education is rapidly emerging, the evolution to the MOOC however, has its concerns.
What is a MOOC?
The term MOOC which stands for Massive Open Online Course, was initially coined in 2008 by Dave Cormier of the University of Prince Edward Island and senior research fellow Bryan Alexander of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education. The MOOC is aimed at unlimited participation with access via the web, it is more frequently free, although there are various MOOCs offered at a cost, and is usually not associated with credit, although there is an agenda to allow MOOCs with course credit within degree programs at some universities. A typical MOOC delivers lectures via video, has discussion boards, quizzes, problem sets and assignments that are computer or peer graded. There are cMOOCs which are grounded in connectivist theories of learning, are learner-directed and open ended, and there are xMOOCs which are extended, meaning they are to be used in addition to an on campus course.
New Insights:
Immediate concerns arise simply in regard to the massive learner base comprising students from diverse geographical locations, with a varying degree of understanding of the english language, from various educational backgrounds and significant age gaps. As a result, massive misguided discussions are on the rise. MOOCs lack the supervision and intimacy that a size regulated on line course has, and professor availability and feedback is a real issue. It is perceived as a lower quality of education, with unstructured virtual inquiry environments, available to everyone, posing concerns to the maintenance of academic integrity standards. Submissions of large scale identical assignments has been documented, and certain institutions are using MOOCs to gather research on the student base, in order to enhance design direction, with questionable informed consent. Elite Universities offer MOOCs and it appears most instructors are required to create MOOCs, raising the question of the efficacy of on-campus tuition based courses when contrasted to a free MOOC from the same professor. In May 2013, Udacity in collaboration with AT&T and the Georgia Institute of Technology, announced the first entirely MOOC based Master’s Degree costing a fraction of its normal tuition. Over $30 million dollars have been invested into edX (MIT and Harvard) and as a result MOOCs will be here to stay, leading into the analysis of possible solutions to increase the success of the MOOC.
In order to address the concern of misguided discussions, local “meet-ups” have been initiated, however there is still a large number of enrolled students that never actually complete the course. Research has been done to determine engagement trajectories and establish patterns for the development of improved design directions. As a result, a variety of material is made available in the MOOC such as videos and non-traditional texts, and 63% of students found the MOOC more enjoyable when contrasted to the same on-campus course. The MOOC also provides individuals from all educational backgrounds, geographical locations and financial levels with the opportunity for educational advancement. In order to account for varying educational backgrounds, certain educators provide supplemental material links for those not as familiar with course content, in order to establish the required knowledge base. The expansion of the language capabilities of the MOOC in order to allow for greater enrolment from other parts of the world is also an option well underway. Furthermore, the MOOC provides an opportunity for co-teaching, where the professor lectures via the MOOC videos while the graduate student provides feedback, a great solution for busy faculty members. Other educators use pop-up multiple choice quizzes embedded in the lecture video, to ensure participation and keep the academic integrity standards.
As a result, the new insights gained are in terms of the complexity involved on the part of the educator to prepare for the MOOC via videos, assignments, quizzes and supplemental material. There is also the challenge of reflecting professor personality via a video and thus educators require more preparation in the MOOC course versus an on campus course. However, the videos can in turn be used for co-teaching or as an added resource for on campus courses allowing for better time management if the video is available to students prior to class.
Trends:
There appears to be an increasing trend towards peer grading in MOOCs, raising the question of appropriate grading guidelines, and how to account for graders of all ages and educational backgrounds. In order to address this issue, particularly within Science academia, I would turn to the use of multiple choice quizzes and competence based tests. Students, however, can still engage in self-directed learning, set their own goals and self-regulate their time management. I can include peer grading in smaller assignments in order promote more student interaction. There are numerous Math and Science MOOCs that are extremely successful yet they rely significantly less on peer grading.
The second trend in the MOOC is the increasingly lower completion rates. In order to enhance student engagement and participation by keeping the student’s interest and commitment level, I would use additional supplemental material that is not only interesting yet also relevant, current and pertaining to the course content. These can be videos or scholarly articles with the most recent experimental discoveries. Graphic novels and interactive 3D technology videos are another great way to enhance learning while also appealing to the humorous side.
The MOOC is still a “work in progress” and it has yet to bee seen whether the hype will slow down or whether there will be even more evolution on the horizon. MOOCs have the potential to be transformative to education however in order to achieve that, more insights into retaining student participation need to be revealed.
Web-Conference:
The Web-Conference experience was a great learning opportunity for both myself and my learning partner. We managed to have the video aspect working after a few minutes, and it was great getting to know each other. I found my learning partner was also a mother of two and was in a scientific field as well. It also enabled me to learn and explore more about MOOCs. The one thing I learned from my partner was how educators could be working themselves out of a career by the creation of the free MOOC and how they should have copyright. I do agree that the need for academic freedom and institutional autonomy should lead to copyright of the material to the MOOC creator due to the potential for global reach. Furthermore, I also believe MOOCs can contribute to the enhancement of the existing educator career when the MOOC is used in addition to an on campus course or in co-teaching with a graduate student. When the MOOC is treated as a supplement to elite education as opposed to an exclusive replacement, I believe the success of both the educator and student is well underway.
vivianachiorean 