Why is the MOOC environment better than our VLE?

www.le.ac.uk

 ‘Why is the MOOC environment better than our VLE?’ and other Open Educational challenges and benefits to current HE practice

From OERs to MOOCs:HEA CLL Event 31 March 2014Terese BirdLearning Technologist andSCORE Research FellowInstitute of Learning Innovation

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What will we talk about?

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• Who is Open Education for?

• The disappointment of MOOCs

• How MOOCs benefit current

students

• How can we encourage benefits?

• Benefits of open educational practice

MOOC platforms are attractive because:

• Simple 

•Mobile-friendly

• No Turnitin 

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Image by James Cridland

Who is open education for?100 million adults can’t afford university (UNESCO)

The disappointment of MOOCs

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The disappointment of MOOCs

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• Privileged, educated

• Recruitment

Who studied the FutureLearn RIII MOOC?N=2285 or 22% of enrollees

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• 69% Females over 45 years old

• UK 76%

• USA 9%

• Australia 2%

• Canada 2%

Who studied the FutureLearn RIII MOOC?

• 52% already studied the topic or working in the topic (history, archaeology)

• 35% had studied an online course previously

• Of the above, 50% uni course for credit, 32% other MOOCs

Learner participation in RIII MOOC• 74% visited the course a few times a week or

more

• 83% spent at least 30 minutes on the course each visit

• Average of 8 comments total in discussion

• 30% thought it was a bit or much too easy

Learner completion in RIII MOOC

In the final week:

• 42% unique visitors visited that week’s materials

• 28% marked an activity as complete

• 5-10% average completion rate for MOOCs internationally

How MOOCs benefit current students:MOOC platforms are attractive because:• Simple 

•Mobile-friendly

• No Turnitin 

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“Why can’t we use the MOOC platform instead of our regular VLE for actual teaching?”

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Why are we so willing to spend this money on potential students but not on enrolled students?

– LeicesterUni app gets more attention than Bbd Mobile

– iTunes U for outsiders but no iTunes for students– False advertising with ‘taster’ MOOCs

Do MOOCs benefit students? Evaluation of FutureLearn MOOC• Why did students sign up for MOOC?

– To try out new things 85%– To try FutureLearn or a MOOC 53%– To try out learning online 46%

• Did the course meet your expectations?– Yes, met my expectations 49%– Exceeded my expectations 42%

From our evaluation:MOOCs benefit students and the institution• By giving students a

chance to try online learning for the first time

• By allowing students to consider online learning as an option in their own studies

Open Education practices benefit students:

• MOOCs can benefit currently enrolled students: Northampton– University of Northampton Skills MOOC to benefit current

and prospective students– Skills/A-Level-Type MOOC planned at University of

Leicester – recruitment plus current students– University of Nottingham

• By making online learning more acceptable

• By showcasing innovations we actually achieve with online learning

Open Education practices benefit students:• By making good learning materials more accessible (don’t

have to go to library)

• Good materials can go on mobile devices for offline viewing– iPad app for Security, Conflict, and International

Development Masters – needs CC-licensed material– One-iPad-per-Medical-Student

Open Education practices benefit students:• Students can do more with open access materials

– English/Linguistics assignment needed open-access articles or CC learning materials

– Museum Studies students creating exhibits wanted CC-licensed material

Photo by Terese Bird CC-BY

How can we encourage more benefits?

New OER Advice for Instructors

Copyright advice encourages CC use

• Flickr CC search

• Google CC search

• University of Leicester Copyright for Academic Instructors – some taken from London South Bank University, reused, repurposed, made available CC: http://www2.le.ac.uk/library/downloads/copyright/UoL_Library_Copyright_For_Academic_Modules_Booklet_Mar_2011_v2.01.pdf