Designing and Developing a MOOC

2015

Online Learning, 2018

As massive open online courses (MOOCs) increase, the large scale and heterogeneity of MOOC participants bring myriad significant design challenges. This exploratory mixed methods study explores 143 MOOC instructors’ considerations and challenges in designing MOOCs; 12 of whom were interviewed and had their courses analyzed. The survey, interview, and course review data revealed a variety of considerations and challenges in MOOC design in terms of pedagogy, resources, and logistics. Pedagogical considerations included learning objectives, assessment methods, course length, course content, flexibility, and collaborative learning support. Resource considerations included the affordance of MOOC platforms, support from the host institution and the platform, and the available intellectual and hardware resources. Logistical considerations included the amount of time instructors spent designing the MOOC. The obstacles included pedagogical challenges (e.g., engaging learners, increasing learner interaction, and limited assessment methods), resource challenges (e.g., limitations associated with the affordances of the platform), and logistical challenges (e.g., time limitations for designing and developing MOOCs). To address these challenges, the instructors often relied on reviewing other MOOCs. They also sought help from colleagues, their universities, and support personnel of the adopted platforms. Keywords: massive open online courses (MOOCs), instructional design, design considerations, design challenges, MOOC instructors

University News, 2014

Massive Open Online Courses, shortly MOOCs, are a trending phenomenon in online education. Neither distance education nor online courses are new, but especially in the field of technology enhanced learning, MOOCs have been gathering enormous attention by the public. Thus, following the main idea of bringing education to a broad range of people, two universities in Graz developed an xMOOC platform for the German speaking area, mostly addressing people in Austria. Before the first courses started the authors reflected on how such a MOOC should be carried out and which key factors (didactical, technical and administrative) have to be considered. This research study strongly concentrates on developing a checklist for practitioners who would like to do an xMOOC in the future by examining different xMOOCs and reflecting first experiences gathered through daily work on MOOCs. It can be concluded that doing a Massive Open Online Course is much more challenging as maybe expected at first sight. Nevertheless the proposed checklist will help to overcome first barriers and provide solid steps towards one's first online course.

The purpose of this paper is to review papers on the promises and perils of MOOCs which are exponentially growing in Higher Education (HE) sector. Proponents of MOOCs see them as unprecedented learning opportunities enabled by technologies which could bring disruptive revolution in HE, while critics take them just an upgraded version of distance learning which could reproduce banking model of HE through instructor manipulation of technology in delivering learning contents. Research indicate that pedagogical practices in MOOCs are neither entirely new nor radically innovative. Learners' experiences are also neither overwhelmingly positive nor negative. However, interests of higher education institutions and governments are growing concerning how to make use of educational potentials offered by MOOCs.

Accessibility has emerged as a fundamental characteristic in the approach and exertion of higher education recently as has its capability to introduce creativity in teaching and learning practices. The emergence of the Internet along with the potentials it offers to allow the publication and distribution of resources, the astonishing evolution in online educational content, and the introduction of open content license for such content have all integrated to generate new means of elaborating and delivering teaching resources and techniques. Recently, a new concept, MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) presented itself as a novel way to exploit and share teaching expertise and learning resources through a global online presence taking advantage of the possibilities that cloud computing offers. In this paper, first, we will present an overview of different known MOOCs platforms, then we will focus on Harvard and MIT initiative, edX, the MOOC platform that offers widened access to quality ...

Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2014

Background: Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have become immensely popular in a short span of time. However, there is very little research exploring MOOCs in the discipline of health and medicine.

The challenges that massive open online courses (MOOCs) bring to the learning arena spur adult educators to improve delivery. A framework for a new type of MOOC is presented to address some of the challenges presented by earlier models. This new MOOC, called a mesoMOOC, can bridge several challenges that hinder current effective delivery of MOOCs and utilize proven strategies in online learning to better implement MOOCs. The framework for the mesoMOOC calls for MOOC designers to address the orientation process, embed a connectivist synchronous component to the classroom, provide online formative and summative assessment, and develop subsections within classes.

The paper justifies the necessity to introduce to the society the Lithuanian case on massive open online course (MOOC) design and delivery. The problem is still available that academic society in Lithuania have no experience on the case and the research will help them to plan, to design to delivery and to provide MOOCs for wider society. The paper presents a research on the respondent's answers according to the questionnaire designed.

Creativity and Critique in Online Learning, 2018

Since their inception in 2012, the most significant challenge faced in the production and presentation of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has been how to engage and retain learners. Although often heralded as the next step in the evolution of online education, even if MOOCs represent a revolution in terms of the number of learners signing-up, they leave a lot to be desired with respect to the number of people who actually complete a course. This chapter explores some of the issues involved in retaining learners and focuses on the design and development of one MOOC (Forensic Psychology: Witness Investigation by The Open University on the FutureLearn platform), which experimented with new ways to keep learners engaged. The course utilised a narrative approach, with a storyline running throughout, and was released in a serialised fashion. Analysis revealed a relatively high rate of retention and the use of narrative devices at the end of each week appeared to entice learners to return the following week to find out what happened next. As a result, learners were more likely to drop out midweek than between weeks. The implications this might have for learning design and the development of MOOCs are discussed.

Yuksekogretim Dergisi, 2017

M M assive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are built on the impression that "information is everywhere" by extending access to education. A MOOC is a course, but it is open, distributed, participatory, and part of lifelong network learning. The underlying idea of a MOOC is accessibility, since anyone can participate by working collaboratively either to acquire new knowledge or to expand existing knowledge. This implies that MOOCs create a pathway for lifelong learning processes. MOOCs are online classes in which anyone can participate, regardless of location, in most cases for free. They are comprised of short video lectures, simulations, and online labs combined with computer-graded tests and online forums where participants can discuss the course content or get help (Hoy, 2014). Basically, MOOCs are a form of online learning that share some common features: open access using the Internet, free of charge, asynchronous, interactive user forums, and the opportunity to receive a certificate upon successful completion (EDUCAUSE, 2011). Student Üçüncü nesil uzaktan e¤itim kapsam›nda kitlesel aç›k eriflim çevrimiçi dersler (massive open online courses, MOOC'lar) sayesinde yüksek ö¤renimde herkes is-tedi¤i yerden ücretsiz e¤itim alabilmektedir. Son y›llarda, e¤itimde MO-OC'lar›n yeri üzerine birçok çal›flma yap›lm›flt›r, ancak ö¤rencilerin kazan›m-lar› üzerine olan çal›flmalar s›n›rl›d›r. Bu çal›flmada, aç›k eriflim çevrimiçi derslerin tasarlanmas›na yönelik birtak›m önerileri belirlemek amac›yla, ö¤rencilerin MOOC'lardaki kazan›mlar›na iliflkin literatürü gözden geçirildi. ‹nceleme, bilimsel literatür veritabanlar›n›n sistematik olarak araflt›r›lmas›n›n ard›ndan, 3P (presage [öngörü], process [süreç] ve product [ürün]) ö¤retim ve ö¤renim modelinin temel bileflenlerine yönelik elefltirel bir analizle gerçeklefltirildi (Biggs, 2003). 56 yay›n›n bulgular› sentezlenerek, ö¤rencilerin kat›l›m›n› ve akademik baflar›y› gelifltirmek ve terk etme oranlar›n› düflürmek amac›yla 13 ders tasar›-m› önerisi gelifltirildi. Gerek ileriki araflt›rmalarda incelenmek üzere gerek ise de MOOC'lar›n mevcut içeri¤ini gelifltirerek ve zenginlefltirerek ö¤renim ka-zan›mlar›n› en iyi hale getirmek için baz› uygulama önerileri sunuldu.

WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, 2014

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a new addition to the open educational provision. They are offered mainly by prestigious universities on various commercial and non-commercial MOOC platforms allowing anyone who is interested to experience the world class teaching practiced in these universities. MOOCs have attracted wide interest from around the world. However, learner demographics in MOOCs suggest that some demographic groups are underrepresented. At present MOOCs seem to be better serving the continuous professional development sector.

Advances in higher education and professional development book series, 2015

Book Favorite Full-Book Download In recent years, technological advancements have enabled higher-learning institutions to offer millions of independent learners the opportunity to participate in open-access online courses. As this practice expands, drawing considerable media attention, questions continue to arise regarding pedagogical methodology and the long-term viability of open learning. Furthering Higher Education Possibilities through Massive Open Online Courses seeks to provide a space for discussion of MOOCs: what they mean for the learning process, how they are redefining the concept of a classroom, and what effects they may have on the role of teachers. Featuring emerging research on a variety of topics relating to distance education, informal learning, as well as educational costs and funding, this book is aimed at teachers, administrators, business professionals, and designers of both curricular resources and e-classroom technology.

The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning

Very little research has been conducted about what it is like to teach a MOOC. Given this, a mixed methods study, involving a survey of 186 MOOC instructors and 15 follow-up interviews, was conducted to explore the motivation, experiences, and perceptions of instructors who have taught massive open online courses. Findings indicate that instructors were motivated to teach MOOCs for three main reasons: (1) interest and passion, (2) publicity and marketing, or (3) benefits and incentives. Most instructors had little online teaching experience prior to teaching their first MOOC, but were satisfied with the experience. The majority believed their own MOOC provided a high quality learning experience but thought that MOOCs overall might not be as good as face-to-face courses. Concerns were raised about the future of MOOCs for online learning.

Danish medical journal, 2014

The CanMEDS framework describes seven roles in postgraduate training, but training and courses relevant to these roles can be limited. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) - free online courses in which anyone can participate, anywhere - may improve course participation. This study investigates the relevance of MOOCs for postgraduate medical training within the CanMEDS framework. We extracted a list of all courses posted by the two largest MOOC providers, Coursera and EdX, and reviewed all course descriptions and categorised each course into one of three categories--"relevant," "possibly relevant" or "not relevant"--reflecting the degree of relevance to each of the seven CanMEDS roles. We also noted course workload, duration and the name of the educational institution. We agreed the most on the role of health advocate (Cronbach's α = 0.85) and the least on the role of collaborator (Cronbach's α = 0.46). After a consensus-building process, 165 cou...