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MOOCs and the Death of Teaching. What is a MOOC?. http://youtu.be/KqQNvmQH_YM. George Siemens. George Siemens of Athabaska University in Alberta, originated Connectivism, a theory which asserts that learning has to do with the relationship between work experience, learning and knowledge
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What is a MOOC? • http://youtu.be/KqQNvmQH_YM
George Siemens • George Siemens of Athabaska University in Alberta, originated Connectivism, a theory which asserts that learning has to do with the relationship between work experience, learning and knowledge • He & some colleagues started an early MOOC in 2008
Who Are the MOOCs? • Biggest MOOCs: • Coursera: founded at Stanford • edX: founded by MIT & Harvard • Udacity: founded by Sebastian Thrun, a Stanford computer science professor
Baumol's Cost Disease In 1967, William Baumol proposed that service economies should stagnate, as growth in services productivity is slow: he gave the example of a Mozart string quartet Yet in the 90s, as productivity in services grew because of the use of technology, employment skyrocketed. Except in education, where productivity growth has been negative: costs (pay) rose, while output (students per teacher) fell. Technology has been stagnant for 150 years – lectures & blackboards.
Curing Baumol: MOOCs MOOCs can enable a single teacher to reach thousands of students. Enrollments vary from thousands to over 300,000 per course. That could massively increase productivity of (remaining) teachers if you can certify student learning.
How Do Teachers Offer That MOOCs Cannot? Teachers can help students with difficult concepts. Teachers can help students learn how to solve problems. Teachers can evaluate written work. Teachers can help students apply classroom learning to the real world. Teachers can do high-quality assessment, feedback, & individual attention – disseminating information will be the job of technology.
What can you do? 3. Think about “flipping” a class – using textbook & online video for information; using class time for individual attention & assessment 1. Get involved in online education 2. Improve your assessment & feedback skills
Major References Barry Bosworth, 2005. Productivity in Education & the Growing Gap with Service Industries. Published in M. Devlin, et al, ed: The Internet and the University. Accessed at net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ffpiu044.pdf Kyle Peck, Aug 16, 2013. The Evolving Role of “Teacher” in a MOOCs and Badges World. http://www.evolllution.com/opinions/role-teacher-moocs-badges-world/