Below is my response to Tony’s post on more reflection on MOOC and MITx
Here is my previous post where I shared my views on MOOC. Here Dave has also elaborated on what we could learn through the lens of rhizomatic learning and MOOC based on Cynefin Model.
What is the value of MOOC, especially to HE? I think there is already a trend towards learning with the affordance of technology, tools, social media and different COPs and networks by both educators and learners in HE. Would we need to gain a better understanding of what these mean and what the impacts are on HE?
MOOC provides an environment upon which learning with complex learning ecology is experimented and explored, so as to inform learners, technologists, educators and administrators (k-12, HE) and managers, engineers and learners from various businesses on the pros and cons of learning using various platforms or spaces in a complex digital landscape. That is the reality of what “authentic learning” means, and how it could be structured in a typical (future online) classroom environment, with networkers interaction with the networks, other people in the world, and a global environment. This would also help people to develop creative, innovative (though sometimes disruptive) solutions and practices in response to changing environment and demands, and to wicked problems. This would unearth the often good and best practices in simple and complicated cases, as experienced by each others in our institutions, and to refine the ideas for emergent learning, through interaction, participation and engagement in the networks and communities.
These networked learning environment (MOOC) would provide more opportunities for experts, educators and facilitators, knowledgeable others and novices to share and learn together, without the hindrance and silo effect that is typical in a formal organizational setting. The communities that emerged from the MOOC would also form the basis of networked learning, as I have shared in my previous posts here, here and here.
Staying as a lurker may also be a good way to learn too, for some people, as these lurkers have the opportunity to see how “experts”, “knowledgeable others” and active participants facilitate, interact and share with both similar or dissimilar views or opinions, and thus gain a better understanding on how these would impact on HE, K-12 education, the economy, etc. There are certain assumptions that I have made here. Without a MOOC as a precursor, I reckon we may just be looking forward to some networks, networkers, or opinion leaders, without any places (such as blogs) to share and discuss facts, opinions with dialectic discourse among us.
I will continue to explore and share other aspects of MOOC and its impact on HE in future posts.
Images: Google
John
Learner Weblog 
I found this related post of interest http://homonym.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/ed-tech-you-need-to-try-harder-innovators-keynotes-connected-learning-and-connectivism/ and this one by George
Another related interesting post http://cor-ar.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/moocs-and-ai-course-vast-lurker-and-no.html
Pingback: #Change11 #CCK12 Value of MOOC | E-Learning-Inclusivo (Mashup) | Scoop.it
Pingback: #Change11 #CCK12 Value of MOOC « juandon. Innovación y conocimiento
How are you conducting your study of HE, John? Are you conducting a survey? How are you selecting your informants? What is your sample size? What are the delimitations of such a study? I think it would be difficult to discern how members of a MOOC, such as the AI courses out of Stanford, intend to use the knowledge they gain or create within a radically different context. John, I am sure that you have read this piece by Anderson and Dron, but you may want to reread it. http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/890/1663) Three Generations of e-learning Pedagogy. It gets at some of the reasons why collaborating in knowledge construction (and conducting research) in a course that is using connectivist principles might be challenging. Randy Garrison, who is cited within the article, also makes some valid points regarding learner-motives in “Implications of Online Learning for the Conceptual Development and Practice of Distance Education” http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/471/889. Who has written about the experience of lurkers? I remember there was a survey conducted years ago, but I don’t remember what came of that.
Thanks Marh for your comments.
I am still thinking about this from Anderson and Dron’s paper: “Cognitive-behaviourist models are most notably theories of teaching and social–constructivist models are more notably theories of learning, but both still translate well into methods and processes for teaching. Connectivist models are more distinctly theories of knowledge, which makes them hard to translate into ways to learn and harder still to translate into ways to teach. Indeed, the notion of a teacher is almost foreign to the connectivist worldview, except perhaps as a role model and fellow node (perhaps one more heavily weighted or connected) in a network.” That could be the heart of the “problem” as most teachers trained or educated in a behaviorist-cognitivist or social constructivist theory and pedagogy would find it hard to apply the connectivist model in the classroom environment (closed space, with defined learning goals and objectives, and disciplines and constraints to ensure “effectiveness in learning” in classes). This is also where the current debates about MOOC – by comparing Stanford AI, Machine Learning, Khan Academy (cognitive-behaviourist model) with other MOOCs (MobileMOOC, eduMOOC, DS106) (constructivist/connectivist?) and (CCKs, PLENK2010, Change 11 and LAK12) (connectivist) approaches, in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and success.
I am interested in researching in that direction, but this would require a different research approach than the survey only, as these courses are designed and delivered with different epistemology and pedagogy. If the participants of a course have decided to learn a particular set of skills (like the AI/Machine Learning), then surely a more structured approach would be a more effective and efficient way of presenting for the instructors and might be easier for the learners to learn. As those courses are testing the skills and knowledge through MCs and examinations with “known correct answers”, then these would more easily be aligned with the learning outcomes, if the learners are tested and assessed using those tools. The limitations with such approach are: when learners are confronted with problems with unknown answers, and that require multiple answers in order to solve the problems, i.e. in case of complex problems, would this approach be good enough? For example, what are the impact and risks involved in the application of AI and Machine Learning for a community (especially those developing countries)? From our past experience, once people got the skills in a particular area, they may be looking for jobs in the community. Is the community able to offer jobs for them? What happens if these skilled people couldn’t find a job? They would look elsewhere. Due to the demand-supply problems, skilled people who couldn’t get jobs in their local community would likely apply jobs in other communities, or even migrate to other countries. In some instances, this led to a brain-drain problem for the local community, or a country. How to solve this type of problem? I won’t go into details.
So, solving a problem with educational solutions could also “create” another set of problems (challenges and opportunities) in the community or country. What I am interested in would not just be on how learning occurs in the networks, or how knowledge is “acquired, transferred, or constructed” personally, but how these would be translated into the notion of solving individual and social problems, and how solving these problems would inform us on what we could learn. This also applies to the research itself.
In response to your questions, I am still exploring the different options of research.
John
Pingback: #Change11 #CCK12 The significance and impact of MOOC on learning and education | Learner Weblog
Pingback: #Change11 #CCK12 Is MOOC the solution to future learning? | Learner Weblog
Pingback: Future of Education and MOOCs | Learner Weblog
Pingback: MOOC and its value | Learner Weblog