The World Class MOOCs

I won’t be writing for a while. Here is my past post on MOOCs, for sharing and your comments.

What sort of MOOCs would emerge in the coming future?

Thanks jenny for sharing her views and experience in her post here on OLDSMOOC.  I am interested in knowing the OLDSMOOC though won’t be working on a project.  I think we have now come up with a gap in between c and x MOOCs as it seems that they are coming from two different universes. The prescribed and emergent learning in any course could be charted out, as this footprints of emergence have delineated. The reality is that there isn’t enough connection (or conduit) in between the two sort of MOOCs, leading to “island” of technology automation (where one is teacher-centred, and the other more inclined to be learner-centred).  The reason that I bring this out is that this could be confusing for the participants of the MOOC, in particular the educators if they don’t have a thorough understanding of the pedagogy and curriculum design of the MOOCs.

Currently, it seems obvious that most, if not all xMOOCs (i.e. Coursera, edX, Udacity) are based on an instructivist approach, whilst cMOOCs are based on a connectivist approach.  There are certain MOOCs which seem to be based on an instructivist/constructivist approach.

The cMOOCs:

The xMOOCs

The challenge is: we don’t seem to be guided by a thorough research paradigm which is empirically based, when developing these MOOCs along those lines, as I have suggested in my research proposal here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am re-posting here for reference.

My suggested assumptions in MOOC include:

• people would learn in a self-directed manner
• Knowledge is distributed
• Knowledge is negotiated
• Knowledge is emergent
• Knowledge is rhizomatic (thanks to Dave’s video posted – refer to How to be successful in MOOC?)
• Learning is capacity to construct, navigate and traverse across networks
• personal learning networks would be a far better way for people to learn
• people like to learn via social networks
• people know how to connect (people have the communication, literacy and critical literacy skills)
• people know how to use the technology to connect
• people are self motivated (intrinsic motivation)
• people like to accept challenges, chaos and complexity is just part of the learning process
• people don’t need to follow a course or qualification for learning to be effective
• Learning is emergent, and is based on connections, engagement and interactions
• Learning is open
• Identity in networked learning is based on individual’s “participation, interaction” in the networks, and is reflective of ones involvement in the media, it’s dynamic, adaptive
• Individual and social learning is emphasised – cooperation
• Sensemaking and wayfinding are important

whereas on the other hand, the more formal or traditional education/learning approach or even the online approach of:

• people need to learn in a structured manner, in a course (face to face or online), with teacher’s instruction (zpd) zone of proximal development,
• people construct knowledge via a constructivist pedagogy – with an expert.
• Knowledge is acquired
• Learning is about acquisition of knowledge, skills and experience
• people like to learn with Learning Management Systems (LMS)
• people prefer to learn independently (in a closed environment) (behind the walls in schools) or learn collaboratively in a group or team
• people don’t have enough skills, knowledge and experience to use technology to connect,formal training/education is the solution
• people don’t want chaos, complexity – don’t want to be overwhelmed with information or knowledge
• people need to be motivated with rewards (extrinsic motivation)
• people need to follow a course or qualification for learning to be effective
• Learning is based on instruction by the teachers
• Learning is closed (in a closed classroom or closed online network)
• Identity is based on the association of oneself as a student or that of the group – it’s static
• Group learning is emphasised – collaboration
• Teaching and close mentoring are important

I need to think more about the above, whether my assumptions about both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation will affect how people face challenges, technology and connecting / relating to others.

The above statements are just set to be a “polarised” one, and these are just my first thoughts.  I need to draw a mind map to show the relationship at a later stage, once I have re-visited our research papers on Blogs and Forums as Communication and Learning Tools in a MOOC and The Ideals and Reality of Participating in a MOOC.

If you felt comfortable with idea, it may be fun to collaborate together using a shared workspace for mind / concept map or drawing tool.

Besides, there are many other factors and concepts on learning that need to be included in this research.

I think it could be interesting to conduct research on PLENK2010 based on our experience and involvement in CCK08/CCK09/edfutures/CritLit2010.

I am not sure if we could thresh out some research questions, as a follow up study of CCK08.

Suggested title:

Essential critical success factors in the design and delivery of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

Note: based on PLENK2010/CCK09 experience

Research questions:

1. What are the design factors in an open online course?  (Consider the connectivist principles)

2. What are the delivery factors in an open online course?

3. How would educators and participants evaluate an open online course (PLENK2010)?

Based on the various reports and blog postings on xMOOCs, I could come up with the following features for typical xMOOCs:

more formal or traditional education/learning approach or even the online approach of:

• people need to learn in a structured manner, in a course (face to face or online), with teacher’s instruction (zpd) zone of proximal development,
• people construct knowledge via a constructivist pedagogy – with an expert.
• Knowledge is acquired
• Learning is about acquisition of knowledge, skills and experience
• people like to learn with Learning Management Systems (LMS)
• people prefer to learn independently (in a closed environment) (behind the walls in schools) or learn collaboratively in a group or team
• people don’t have enough skills, knowledge and experience to use technology to connect, formal training/education is the solution
• people don’t want chaos, complexity – don’t want to be overwhelmed with information or knowledge
• people need to be motivated with rewards (extrinsic motivation) – this is achieved through the award of a “certificate”
• people need to follow a course or qualification for learning to be effective
• Learning is based on instruction by the teachers (short videos, quizzes, discussion boards facilitated by professors/teaching assistants)
• Learning is closed (in a closed classroom or closed online network) (though it could be open when groups are established in certain social media platforms – FB groups, twitter etc.)
• Identity is based on the association of oneself as a student or that of the group – it’s static ( this is evidenced only in some cases, as it seems that participants are associated with the course, or the xMOOC providers, and particular groups formed based on certain languages, or countries)
• Group learning is emphasised – collaboration

I think the future MOOCs would likely be based on connected MOOCs, with some common features of both x and c MOOCs in order to thrive, though we have an urgent need to conduct further research to validate those hypothesis and assumptions.

Complex Learning Theories

Here is my first post in 2013.  Happy New Year.

There is an interesting post followed with a conversation on the Guide to 4 complex learning theories on FB, referred by Grainne Conole.

My comments:

Interesting guide. I have difficulties in interpreting some of the content of the infographic though:

1. Is the learning theorists for George Siemens with a basis include Vygotsky, Papert Clark and Social Constructivism? I found some similarities and differences between Connectivism and Social Constructivism, as I shared in my blog posts here and here.

2. On How learning occurs -distributed within a network, social, technologically enhanced, recognizing and interpreting patterns. My interpretation is: Network formations and connections – neural, conceptual, and external (people, information sources). This actually embraces all of the behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, and social constructivism, situated learning, and COP as the levels of networks is not only socially situated and appropriated, but also conceptually (cognitively) recognised, interpreted, but also neurologically connected (formed, and reformed). I have summarised it here https://suifaijohnmak.wordpress.com/

3. Influencing factors – diversity of network. How about the strengths, types (openness), technological impact, and uniqueness (autonomy) of networks?

4. How transfer occurs – connecting to (adding nodes). There are many ways of connecting, and disconnecting (including filtering unwanted noise or distractions), and re-connecting, and the concept of connection could be at a micro and macro level.

5. Type of learning best explained – complex learning, rapid changing core, diverse knowledge sources. Upon closer examination, the type of learning would be based on the assumptions of learning. What is “best” explained? What sort of assumptions are made in classifying certain scenarios as complex learning? Here we might have to note whether we are referring to open or closed learning environment. Even in the case of closed learning environment, there could be complex learning when learners and agents interact and form connections in complex manners.

Hi Martyn Cooper, I think the Laurillard Conversational model is very useful in the case of “formal learning scenario”, especially under a “closed educational learning environment” where a teacher-student transactional model is defined. I have quoted that in my blog post too.

What would happen if the student becomes a teacher, and interacts with different sources (i.e. agents, information sources, and networks) and posts and shares his/her knowledge with others in the public and open space. He or she may be playing the role of both a teacher and student (a dual role), and could be internalizing the knowledge (the tacit knowledge) in particular, when reflecting on certain experiences.

So, the Conversational model could be both socially oriented (with an external agent, a teacher or peer), and also internally initiated (with oneself, or with an artifact, such as writings or pictures, etc.).

There are again certain assumptions here on learning, where I have briefly summarised under the Assumptions Theory. In summary, I am not sure if Laurillard Conversational model could be extended to include the internal conversation, as it seems to relate mainly to the social constructivist model of learning. What do you think Grainne Conole and Martyn Cooper?