Hello wizards, scholars, and indubitably cool individuals. MOOC is an acronym for a massive open online course. Our MOOC team has created a digital learning tool. The learning objectives are to define MOOC capabilities and re-imagine their future possibilities. In our resource, we utilize MOOC strategies such as gamification, interaction, and certification incentives while teaching and experimenting with MOOCs.Review our site to learn more. To learn all the necessary information, please review all the tabs on the site.
NOTE: Graduation Certificates Are Being Posted After Competition Of The Quizlet Activity!
Thanks!
Emma, Marlis, Philip & Michael
https://etec533onlinetele.weebly.com
Excellent work! Nice use of interactivity, and the game at the end was pretty cool!
Right now, I think the MOOCs that fascinate me most (and I think I’ve probably mentioned them in another comment elsewhere in the course) is the MasterClass series. Maybe it’s the incredibly slick and compelling advertising or maybe it’s the roster of celebrity “masters” or maybe I just want to learn design from Frank Gehry, but I find their emphasis on perceived mastery and (presumed) technical quality, rather than on educational validity interesting. Clearly someone asked themself “besides being inexpensive and simple, what would make people want to sign up? What if people could learn from their heroes?”
That said, a question for anyone to ponder: we have and have had MOOCs for a while now, people seem to like them, they’re surely cost-effective to develop if they are massive, and they solve a whole bunch of educational, logistical and administrative problems for learners and teachers alike, so why aren’t they more popular? Why aren’t there more of them? Are they like video telephones, which we all wanted for decades until we could have them, and then we didn’t really care for them any more?
Hi Sean, thank you for your comments.
You have some very good questions – about why MOOCs aren’t more popular. One of the major concerns with MOOCs is the low completion and engagement rates. People will often sign up and then give up on them (I confess that I am guilty of this). There are several reasons for this including lack of personal engagement with the professor and other students, and the low cost – meaning low risk/consequence for non-completion. In other words, people sign up for a MOOC, become busy with other commitments and then fail to keep up with the course. The fact that they are free or cheap means that there isn’t any real loss if someone drops out unlike a traditional university course which bears a heavier financial sting if not completed. The universities have developed several ways to address this issue – by gamification (offering badges for checking in to the course), integrating more peer interaction and collaboration (virtually) and increasing the variety and credibility of courses offered. One can now get bachelors and master’s level degrees through a MOOC.
During Covid, MOOCs actually became much more popular as people used their free time to upgrade skills and pursue interests.
https://theconversation.com/massive-online-open-courses-see-exponential-growth-during-covid-19-pandemic-141859
The variety of MOOCs is increasing all the time. Here is a site that shows their growth over the past few years
https://www.classcentral.com/report/mooc-stats-2020/#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20360%20new%20microcredentials,microcredentials%20of%2013%20different%20types.
I think that MOOCs will just continue to become more popular especially as technology allows for more variety of delivery methods, and as busy people look for more options to improve their skills at their convenience.
Hi Week 07 Team,
I loved reading your OER on MOOC. Very informative, engaging and interactive especially the gamification part. The MOOC by embracing adaptive and emerging technologies is no doubt contributing significantly in the collaborative learning.
Thank you for sharing your OER with us.
Thanks for including the option to actually experience a MOOC in this informative and humorous adventure! Upon going through the course, I realized that I have done other learning that might be classified as MOOC and just didn’t realize it (e.g. Google Analytics online course). I suppose that courses don’t have to identify themselves as a “MOOC” in order to fit the definition. This has helped broaden my understanding of MOOC’s, as I have associated them exclusively with post-secondary institutions and not as freely available online learning from a variety of sources for interest, upskilling, or professional development.
I really appreciate efforts to gamify your OER. The certificate is like one of those badges that we all obsessively play a game for. Highly motivating.
Thank you Ying, glad you enjoyed it. Your certificate is now posted on the graduation page.
Just a note to everyone that if you completed the Quizzizz, your ‘Graduation Certificates’ should be posted on the Graduation Auditorium page (third last page of our site).
There were some weird glitches with Weebly (some certificates got duplicated, others deleted), so hopefully it’s all fixed now. Please check to see if your name is up there, and if not, please let me know. I will update the page until Tuesday of next week.
Great job! I really love your humor MOOC and the Quizzizz. It made me review the knowledge about MOOC. I didn’t received my certificate even though I attempted it twice. Thank you.
Hi Shirley – thank you for your comments. I have now posted your certificate on the graduation page – we weren’t able to generate them automatically, so I’ve been writing them and posting them manually as people completed the course. Let me know if you still don’t see it 🙂
I agree with the comment above on your presentation being like reading a comic. This made it different, and personally very enjoyable for me. I could see MOOCs becoming more popular with the suggestion made in the “future and beyond” page”. Overall, a clean (easy to follow) and enjoyable presentation.
Great job Team MOOCs! I thoroughly enjoyed your informative experience, and the lightness of the content made possible by your integrated humour and fun gamified learning experiences. Being a part of the Big Data group, I came across some interesting information about big data and its place in the MOOC world. Specifically, I found the resource “Learning with Big Data – The Future of Education” by Victor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier to deeply connect the ideas of MOOCs and big data. This resource is unfortunately only available in an e-book, but I would highly suggest this book for anyone who would like an informative quick-read into the connected worlds of big data and MOOCs.
https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/learning-with-big-data/9780544355507
Great job on you OER! Your lessons were informative and engaging. I did like the MOOC’s songs and comic book references. I liked that you added a voice file on one of your pages. It’s nice to see that you used the affordance of a mobile device by creating an audio file because some people rather listen than read while on the go. Personally, MOOCs have always been my source for learning additional content in design. Since my area is always evolving I need to aquire new skills – MOOCs is one means of doing that.
However, I did complete all the work and I didn’t get a certificate. ????
Hi Andrea, thank you for your kind comments. MOOCs are definitely a good way to keep current on upgrading skills. Does your job allow you time for your professional development? One concern I see is the requirement for people to upgrade and keep current for their jobs on their own time during off-work hours, and with work/life balance already a concern for some people (especially with working from home due to COVID), this may be an issue. Other than that, you can’t beat the convenience and practicality of keeping current with MOOCs.
I have just updated the certificate page, and your certificate is posted there. Please let me know if you don’t see it. There were a couple of glitches with the Weebly site, so hopefully it’s all good now.
Great job on you OER! Your lessons were informative and engaging. I did like the MOOC’s songs and commic book references. I liked that you added a voice file on of your pages. You used the affordance of mobile device by creating as audio file because some people rather listen than read while on the go. Personally, MOOCs have always been a go to to learn additional content in design. Since my area is always eveloving I need to aquire new skills – MOOCs is one means of doing that.
However, I did complete all the work and I didn’t get a certificate. 🙁
Thanks team for a great OER!! I really appreciated the videos of the page text – I was able to listen to the content while making my kids lunches! (Although I learned in my Digital Garage course on digital well-being that multitasking isn’t the best and I should give full attention to things!).
I have only done one other MOOC – the Teaching Mental Heath one through UBC and it was great! I wonder how many teachers use MOOCs in high school? I’m going to look more into it for sure.
Great job!
Hi Meg, thank you for your comments. I have to confess that I haven’t completed any MOOCS for teaching yet, although I have looked into them, and I get regular emails from Edx, but I haven’t found the time to devote to it yet. Once I am done with MET (which is hopefully by the end of this year), I definitely will be pursuing some MOOC options.
Great infographics and informative video! I find MOOCs to be both exhilarting and intimidating. The onus of following the course is on the student, despite online gamified incentives. It seems to me that one of the questions of joining a MOOCs is in the trade-off from cost to responsibility. As you mention below, this may be a learned behaviour, one that the current (and future) generation of students will be comfortable and proficient in doing.
I am glad that you suggested we try the shorter MOOC. It “only” took an hour, but I found I had to work on my concentration. I am not sure why this is more difficult than my other coursework or even my office work. I would love to hear from others about the mindset it takes to be a successful MOOC student.
Some userX notes:
I enjoyed playing the Quizzizz but had trouble using my powers – I suppose I need to play a few more games or see a tutorial to figure out how to access the buttons!
The only way to enter a comment on your site was to login – I prefered to post here so as to keep my info from being shared. This may be a backlash on my part as I am currently reading up on internet privacy! Along the same lines, great avatars in your About Us section.
Thanks for opening my educational horizons on MOOCs!
I really enjoyed the entertainment factor in the site (though I should have got perfect on the quiz, I entered my answers in lower case and did not get it correct 🙁 ). My experience with MOOCs and their growth and usage seems to be limited by a recognized credentialling body (like a University or College) pulling together diverse MOOCs into a credential or certification that is recognized everywhere. I would be interested to hear if the group looked into the rise of microcredentialling at institutions of higher education and what role that might have on the future of MOOCs. (https://news.ok.ubc.ca/2021/02/25/ubc-okanagan-launches-micro-credential-programs/)
Hi Stephen
So sorry about your missed question. One of the disadvantages of an online quiz is the necessity to enter your answers exactly as the answer key has it. For written answers, it is virtually impossible to enter all possible variations and permutations… but we’ll take your score as perfect anyway 😉
I haven’t personally looked into the micro-credentials of higher ed institutions yet, but I can imagine that with MOOCs gaining popularity and credibility there will be a need for universities and colleges to find ways to remain relevant and present viable options for expanding one’s education. Not everyone has the time or money to invest in a full Bachelor’s or Master’s program, so micro-credentials seems to be an effective option.
MOOCs with digital badge delivery is in a growing experimental phase and is really interesting to participate in. Ryerson University in Toronto Ontario created a few courses on web accessibility using Canvas: https://www.classcentral.com/university/ryerson. I completed “Professional Web Accessibility Auditing Made Easy: Essential Skills for Web Developers, Content Creators, and Designers” and shortly afterwards the MOOC was redesigned as an open ebook delivered through Pressbooks: https://pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca/pwaa/. A digital badge was offered via Credly upon the completion of the course and could be shared in your favourite social sharing platform.
I found this site to be quite amusing. The game you created is really interactive, though it shows that I am not very good with my MOOC knowledge. Perhaps I will need to look at it again. I want to get a higher score XD. Nice job Group 7.
While in my undergrad at the University of Alberta, I was able to take a MOOC as one of my open options for credit and it was one of my favourite classes in my last semester (and also the most content-heavy!) I believe the course was called “Mountains 101” and I really liked how I could take this course remotely and on my own time and pace. I have since taken several other MOOCs offered through the U of A after graduating on topics such as climate and early marine reptiles. I enjoyed these courses but found it difficult to find motivation to finish them when they are not for credits.
Hey week 7,
Great job on your OER! I really liked the structured guidance of this OER and how it ends with the game and a certificate – very cool idea! I have had some experiences with MOOCS prior, as do recall enrolling in some courses from a university in Australia (Sydney or Brisbane I believe) while working at TELUS which would have dated it to 2009 so I guess I kinda got in at the beginning. This is what I found interesting about your OER, because I hadn’t really looked at MOOCS since 2013 or so (which is funny because I read up a bit more about the topic just now and apparently people were getting “MOOC’ed out” by 2013 so it checks out lol). So this provided a good opportunity for me to get caught up, thanks for the learning experience!
Good job team MOOC! I really liked the interactive activities and how your site was laid out. Truthfully your infographic shocked me a little. I had no idea how quickly MOOC’s had grown in popularity and how the evolution of institutions offering credentials went. I think from now on, if someone asks me what affordable programs they should apply for, I will tell them to check EDX first!
Here is a link to a course on Coursera, taught by the university of Alberta. U of A requires the completion of this course for entrance into some of their masters programs (ie physiotherapy), which I think is great. The course is free to take or you can choose to pay a fee for the certificate.
https://www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada
Hi Jennifer – thank you for the course link. It looks very interesting and definitely relevant. I may look into it once my MET courses are done.
Yes, MOOCs have grown very quickly over the past 12 years, and will continue to evolve as technology advances, and interest/need grows. When I first found out about MOOCs, I was absolutely astonished at the number of big name universities that were offering courses, and the variety of courses available. I will probably be looking into some courses just for interest sake once my MET is done.
This is an informative and manageable project, and I enjoyed the various approaches you took to engaging your audience. I had no previous experience with MOOCs so I enjoyed exploring and taking the opportunity to find out about some of the MOOCs that are available out there. Your Quizzizz demonstrated well the advantages of game elements in an online course – nice move! I’m hopeful for a time when MOOCs have gained better credibility in the world of education and qualifications – do you see this as a realistic possibility?
Hi Wendy
I think MOOCs are already gaining quite a bit of credibility as one can now get a full Bachelor’s or Master’s degree through a MOOC – there isn’t a lot offered yet, but it is definitely a growing field. People have busy schedules with work and family commitments and one appeal of a MOOC is that one can work on it on their own time and not have to make the effort to find childcare and drive out to a class at a specific time every week. That was one of the attractions of this Master’s course – that I could work on it after hours and on weekends when I have time. People are already looking to MOOCs to upgrade their skills and advance their careers, as well as pursue courses just for the sheer interest and fun of it. MOOCs encapsulate the whole concept of ‘Life-long learner’ and I think they will only grow in popularity.
Great answer, Marlis.
But I can’t help but wonder if simply being able to earn a Master’s or Bachelor’s degree through a MOOC means that degree will be valued the same way as others…
How do you think MOOC’s will fare as traditional higher education institutions improve their online programs? If fully online programs like UBC’s MET, what will the role of MOOCs be? And how will that affect their road to credibility in the eyes of a potential employer?
I’m completely indebted to online learning for most of my higher education and strongly believe in educational technology’s power to address many important social inequities. But, I wonder, if MOOCs no longer have sole claim to online flexibility and they rely on simply accessibility to maintain enrolment, will it take longer for the professional and academic worlds at large to see MOOC-earned degrees as credible?
I have used Coursea (https://www.coursera.org/) for several courses in the past and I can speak from experience that they are worth the time for professional development. You definitely have to do some searching for quality! I would recommend anything attached to a museum as they are in the business of enlightening minds with less focus on giving away certificates and more on enriching knowledge for the curious. Also, Coursea works very well on mobile devices (ex: tablets, smart phones, laptops)
Here are a few free Coursea courses I recommend for anyone interested (I acknowledge that these are slightly biased choices from a biology teacher):
Dino 101
https://www.coursera.org/learn/dino101
University of Alberta
An introductory course on dinosaur biology! Great fun for adults and older kids (10 and up). Very well presented by industry professionals and will definitely help you “bone” up on your dinosaur knowledge, a great resource in a teacher’s toolbox!
Dynamic Earth: A Course for Educators
https://www.coursera.org/learn/earth-amnh
American Museum of Natural History
A crash course to develop your geological knowledge that is specifically targeted for educators.
Evolution: A Course for Educators
https://www.coursera.org/learn/teaching-evolution
American Museum of Natural History
An excellent course on evolution (a very sensitive topic for teacher’s to discuss depending on the school community) that is specifically targeted for educators.
Genetics and Society: A Course for Educators
American Museum of Natural History
https://www.coursera.org/learn/genetics-society
An eye-opening course focused on not just genetics but also societal views. They touch on genetically modified foods, cloning, resurrecting extinct organisms and much more! Yet another course that is made for educators but really informative for anyone (especially if you only buy “organic” and non-GMO foods at the super market).
I have not participated on any courses through Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/) and would be curious to know if anyone here had any experiences to share.
Hi Neill – thank you for the suggestions, they sound very interesting. I am particularly interested in the Genetics course since I teach that unit in grade 10 science, and would love to learn more about the societal and ethical aspects. The great thing about MOOCs is the vast learning buffet that is available.
“Here a MOOC, there a MOOC”…I really enjoyed the humour you put into the site and the fun activities. (My super-competitive nature made me go back and redo the Quizzizz because I got a few wrong and didn’t use my ‘eraser’) As someone who really didn’t know much about MOOCs before joining MET, I also have had no interest in adding to my learning load by trying one, but now I think I’d like to investigate more when MET is over for me – what a great way to do professional development, especially if a group of colleagues did a course together. Things I thought really added to your OER were video on the intro page as a way to grab people and help them avoid text-fatigue, and the audio later on for the same reasons. I really like listening to someone reading as I read along. As well, I thought your infographic on the History page really brought things into focus and summed up the info nicely.
Thanks for your comments, Lori! Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Lori – glad you liked our site. Your certificate is now up on the graduation auditorium page.
Now that I have gotten into the routine of doing classwork and learning, I also am interested in investigating other possibilities just for the fun of learning. The variety of courses offered is amazing.
I agree with the comments so far that your presentation is engaging and presented well. I thought you gave a good overview of MOOCs.
I only completed one module from Google Digital Garage instead of the suggested one hour due to time limits.
In “Future and Beyond” you touched on MOOCs and Mobile. This was a great opportunity to talk about the 5 affordances of mobile, how MOOCs are exemplary of mobile principles or how they need to change to incorporate mobile first principles. I also wanted to learn more about the specific mobile learning potentials for MOOCs, how 5G could create new potential delivery format and content for MOOCs, and how a MOOC is better/worse than the same experience on a desktop or traditional classroom. I wonder how MOOCs might leverage context awareness to individualize the experience?
Hi Toby – great questions!
5G definitely can pave the way for faster and richer content experiences such as virtual/augmented reality and more collaboration with colleagues in the same class. Having a professor demonstrate a lab dissection and being able to watch or participate in it in real-time virtual reality could be an example. This could be delivered through specialized glasses (google glasses or VR headsets). As for desktop vs traditional classroom – the potential for 5G and VR is that the gap between the virtual and real world is decreasing. One possible example would have people set up in groups and virtually participate in discussions or labs just as if in person. The benefits of a MOOC is that they are accessible to a wider group of people. Just as with this class, geography is not a barrier, and with the reduced cost of MOOCs, finances are less of a barrier.
Individualized experiences are already being implemented with learning analytics. Khalil and Ebner talk about how MOOCs gather data on student activity to study factors such as student engagement and completion.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310049259_When_Learning_Analytics_Meets_MOOCs_-_a_Review_on_iMooX_Case_Studies
With increased data collection and development of more powerful analytics, student progress can be analyzed and tracked and material adjusted accordingly.
There is much promise and potential in this vastly growing and developing area.
I really enjoyed your A2 and the interactive features of it. I appreciated that one of the activities was trying one out, but wasn’t limited in what topic we could pick/how long we wanted to work on it. That captures one of the greatest aspects of MOOCs themselves! Also, I had a lot of fun boosting my score on the Quizzizz and the various power-ups you could get. Do any of you have a favourite MOOC that you have personally used?
Hi Dana – thank you for your kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed the Quizzizz – your certificate is now posted in the graduation auditorium 🙂
I have to confess that a couple of years ago, I signed up for a couple of MOOCs from EdX on computer programming and learning theory, but didn’t follow through due to time commitments. I am actually an example of one the major problems with MOOCs which is follow through and low completion numbers. In a case of a course like this one with a hefty financial commitment, there is more incentive to follow through and complete, but with a free (or low cost) MOOC, dropping out is not as painful.
Now that I have gotten into the routine of learning online, I may take up some language courses after my master’s is complete.
I completely understand. When I was first debating whether or not to go back for a master’s degree I began by first taking a few courses on EdX and Udemy. It is far harder to self-motivate and follow through when there are not direct financial stakes or professional growth at play. I hope you do end up taking some language courses– if you do I would love to know what MOOC or program you use as I have also been wanting to take languages courses (French and American Sign Language have piqued my interest).
Hi there!
A very fun and informative site! I noticed that the Padlet embedded in one of the pages doesn’t allow any entries. I think it’s blocked?
Hi Seo-Whi, thank you for letting us know. We’ll get that fixed as soon as we can.
Hi Seo-Whi, thank you for letting us know.The permissions are now updated. And you can make comments on the padlet.
Your MOOC MOOC is impressive and presented attractively. It reminds me of my childhood reading a comic book template. The video helps to engage people and directly explains your objectives. The timeline was my favorite part describing the process that made MOOCs so plural and prevalent globally. I did not know that MOOCs are so young, only thirteen years old. Congratulations!