A collection and reflection on my learning in MOOCs

Would students want to learn using the traditional teaching approach, the current xMOOCs based on behaviorist/cognitive and mastery learning approach, or the connectivist learning approach in x or c MOOCs?  See my wiki here.

David posted here where he says:

The learners who have been successful in formal education have spent years developing expertise in – and perhaps preferences for – the didactic approach to learning. For some of these learners, the pedagogy of the xMOOC may be seen as significantly better than that of the cMOOCs or whatever pedagogically sound approach is imposed by a university. I recognise that there are very different cohorts of learners that will likely have different perspectives. But the argument here is that if Universities are trying to figure out how to respond, then they better have a reasonable idea of what their current students are experiencing.

If we were to conduct surveys with students, then there could be students who prefer the xMOOCs over cMOOCs, at least at the moment, because they could “get” all the information they want “at their finger tips”, without resort to too much efforts. Right?  May be, that is only true if it is based on the survey on xMOOCs university students, graduates, etc.

I doubt if the traditional “xMOOCs” would really challenge the learners and graduates in terms of their talents and intelligence, though most, if not all students are so used to consuming huge amount of information direct from the professors.  Is that a dilemma that both professors and students are facing when delivering an online course solely by “teaching” the students what is to be taught, by covering all the content required to pass the test or examinations?

To learn with the best professors in the world might be one of the aspiration of many students who don’t have access to Higher Education, though there might be lots of students too who prefer to learn in solitude or with their own peers.  Is learning with best professors and teachers always providing the best outcome?  May be not, as this depends on whether the students are able to learn “what is being taught”.

This is why I think each of our students are different, in terms of their needs, and motivation in learning, and that we shouldn’t just assume what “we” want to educate is what they want in their learning.

Could MOOCs save Higher Education?

Clay Shirky says in this how to save college: “MOOCs are a lightning strike on a rotten tree.”

On the other end there were strong views about MOOCs.   The answer seems to be no, MOOCs are not the panacea to HE.

Photo: From Martin Weller’s post

What could we learn through failures (or opportunities) in MOOCs?

Debbie’s posting here about the three takeaways sound interesting and helpful:

1) The instructional model is shifting to be student-centric, away from an institution or instructor-focused model.

2)  Sound instructional design is the key to supporting self-directed learning experiences.

3) Prepare students for the Learning Experience.

Another theme emerged within the discussions around the FOE course, how much responsibility should the learner assume in a MOOC? Does the responsibility not fall upon the student for the success of a course?

Here I have summarised my views and suggestions on the design and delivery of MOOCs – for both x and c MOOCs.

How about my learning out of all these?

Should we argue with reasoning?  May be: do not argue with others, argue with yourself, your own assumptions first, and then all others’ arguments would be viewed in an emergent perspectives.  See this post relating to rhizomatic learning.  How do you see it?  If you think those kinds of learning would help you in learning over networks, or in an online course, then you could surely take your education pathways and chart out your course of learning.  No two pathways are exactly the same, for all of us, though there could be many similar pathways that could lead to similar destinations.

What do students want?

Each of our students want to learn in their own ways, if they have a choice.  That’s why connectivist learning would likely fit into each of their learning, when they make their choice of connections, be it with the teacher, other learners, artifacts and networks, or not to connect at all, if that would help the learners to learn.

Is xMOOCs significantly better than cMOOCs in learning? It really depends on the lens one uses to see learning, and the assumptions one have based upon, in education and learning as I have shared them here.  That’s really a matter of choice!  What assumptions have you made in your learning?