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Learning and teaching with MOOCs John Menzies

Explore the experience of implementing a MOOC, learner feedback, and considerations for engaging in citizen science while studying obesity. Learn the benefits and challenges and understand why a MOOC might or might not be suitable for you. Discover key findings and outcomes from research projects conducted through MOOCs.

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Learning and teaching with MOOCs John Menzies

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  1. Learning and teaching with MOOCs John Menzies

  2. Outline • What we did in our MOOC • Learner feedback • Why should(n’t) you do a MOOC?

  3. Citizen Science is “scientific work undertaken by members of the general public, often in collaboration with, or under the direction of, professional scientists and scientific institutions” In Understanding Obesity “...we [the instructors] will formulate questions, develop hypotheses and design studies to test these hypotheses. We will ask you to predict the outcome of the study then provide data. The MOOC team will collate and analyse this data and draw tentative conclusions which we’ll share and discuss with you”. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_science

  4. Participants were asked to record their BMI and, for each food, asked: “How much would you choose to eat?” 25 kcal 225 kcal 75 kcal 125 kcal 175 kcal chocolate strawberries crisps almonds

  5. The group with the highest BMI chose the largest number of kcal (and from the “unhealthiest” foods) One-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-test

  6. Participation and feedback (first run, 2015) 18,732 participants from 175 countries signed up the course. 7,074 participants visited the course pages. 2,070 participants visited the discussion forums. The films were watched 60,780 times. 14,470 quiz exercises were submitted. 2,292 posts on the discussion forum (~300 by me). 74% of participants rated the course as very good or excellent. 82% said it met or exceeded their expectations.

  7. “I was impressed by everything: all the assessments ingenious as learning exercises in themselves” “Not only did you participate more actively in the forums than any other instructor I've encountered. You also gave us the chance not only to learn, but to participate in the scientific process” “I'm really much impressed with your active participation in the forums. Honestly I do not remember [an]other Professor so active in the forums” Matt Ryell. Cherry-picking in Denmark. (CC BY 2.0)

  8. Why should you do a MOOC? • It might raise your profile in your scientific community. • It lets you engage with the public and stakeholders. • It boosts your academic profile. • It lets you interact with a different cohort of learners. • You can adapt/test new teaching and learning approaches. • You can carry out research projects with a large sample.

  9. Why shouldn’t you do a MOOC? • Effort. • The “hype” is over, interest is waning. • The University doesn’t seem to have a clear strategy. • The pedagogy can be complex.

  10. The Gartner hype cycle for MOOCs 2013 “obsolete before plateau” 2012 2011

  11. “…within a decade or two, all that will remain of hundreds [of] universities will be the building - and a skilled teacher or two who built courses that prospered in online markets”. Ryan Avent, “The Disruption to Come”, The Economist, 2014. www.egotripland.com “A tsunami is coming”. John Hennessy, quoted in “Get Rich U.”, New Yorker, 2012. “[MOOCs are] not the kind of revolutionary thing I think people were hoping for. It’s not a disrupter”. John Hennessy, quoted in “MOOCs can transform education – but not yet”, THES, 2016.

  12. Why shouldn’t you do a MOOC? • Effort. • The “hype” is over, interest is waning. • The University doesn’t seem to have a clear strategy for MOOCs. • The pedagogy can be complex.

  13. http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/moocs/about

  14. www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/moocs_brochure_a5_40pp.pdf

  15. Why shouldn’t you do a MOOC? • Effort. • The “hype” is over, interest is waning. • The University doesn’t seem to have a clear strategy for MOOCs. • The pedagogy can be complex.

  16. “In a MOOC, no-one can hear you scream”  Ann Kirschner, quoted in “California, CUNY and MOOCs”, The Nation, 2013. Yoshihide Nomura. Screaming. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

  17. “In a MOOC, no-one can hear you scream”  Ann Kirschner, quoted in “California, CUNY and MOOCs”, The Nation, 2013. Social aspects • Isolation from instructors and fellow learners, being comfortable with “connectivism”* Active learning • And how to discourage a surface learning approach Assessing and giving feedback • Using peer- or automated assessment, setting flexible deadlines Academic identity • “The charismatic celebrity professor, the co-learner or facilitator, or the automated response”** • “MOOCs do little more than transform the proverbial sage on the stage into a rock star on steroids, awash in the power of being able to say, ‘My class has ten thousand students’”*** All while encouraging course completion…! *Bali, 2014., J Online Learning & Teaching, 10, 44; *Ross et al., 2014. J Online Learning & Teaching, 10, 57; ***Zemsky, 2014. J Gen Educ, 63, 237

  18. Acknowledgements CIP and BMTO: Catherine Hume, Amy Warnock, Jorge Maicas, Celine Caquineau. Learning, Teaching and Web services: Lucy Kendra, Amy Woodgate, Imogen Scott. ACCORD: Sandra Wyllie, Chris Coner, Alex Bailey.

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