What’s with the MOOCs? How MOOC Learning Reaches Students through
TPD
Vance StevensHigher Colleges of Technology, UAE
AAMC / PACE / KBZAC
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
You don’t need to take notes!
All my slides are online• http://slideshare.net/vances
A writeup of this presentation will appear in the next issue of http://tesl-ej.org/ , drafted here:• http://tinyurl.com/tacon2013vance
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
Early MOOCs for ESLMOOCs started with CCK08 in 2008, but …• 1997 http://study.com
(1000’s)• 1998: Writing for
Webheads (100’s)• 2001: Electronic Village
Online EVO (1000’s)• 2002: Webheads in Action (100’s-1000)
From Leigh Blackall’s post: http://www.leighblackall.com/2012/10/a-trueer-history-of-moocs.html
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
MultiMOOC
http://goodbyegutenberg.pbworks.com
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
The spirit of multiMOOC?• Aspires to be– Distributed /
Connectivist– Directed at constructed
knowledge– Unstructured / informal– Negotiated– Self-directed– Self assessed– Directed at deep
learning vs. training
• Follows Cormier’s 5 steps for success in a MOOC– Orient– Declare– Network– Cluster– Focus
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
OK, then, what is a MOOC?
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
What is a MOOC• Massive - about scale
– relies on increased chance of interactions from a critical mass of participants
– curriculum more and more from participants; less from top down• Open - not just free, but
– open access– open syllabus, not necessarily pre-scribed
• Online - – Internet changes equation where the balance is tipped toward abundance– completely different playing field from scarcity
• Course - – Structure– Cohesion based in experience
MePortfolios - Vance Stevens - Aug 2011 8
Connectivism
In this YouTube video, Siemens says at min 1:13http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqL_lsogeNU&feature=youtu.be
"Have you ever thought about how completely irrelevant structured learning is?"
Siemens, G. (2004-5). Connectivism: A Learning theory for the digital age. Elearnspace. Retrieved August 17, 2011 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Siemens’s conclusions can be startling
MePortfolios - Vance Stevens - Aug 2011 9
Siemens on ‘the path to knowledge’
• “I’m not aware of any research actually that says linear structure produces better outcomes than more chaotic meandering structure.
• Our intent, based on our theories of learning is to argue that the experience of learning, making sense of that chaos, is actually the heart of the learning experience,
• but if an instructor makes sense of that chaos for you and gives you all the readings and sets the full path in place for you then to a degree you are eviscerating the learner’s experience because now you’ve made sense of them and all you’ve told them is ‘walk the path that I’ve formed’.
• When it comes to complexity I’m a great fan of letting learner’s hack their way through that path and getting the value of that learning experience and that sense-making process.”
Quotes on this and next slide transcribed fromhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMfipxhT_Co&feature=related.
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
Why MOOCs
Stephen Downes 2012; posted in Alan Levine: http://cogdogblog.com/2012/09/21/just-ds106/
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
OK, then, what is a MOOC?
Lisa Lane : http://lisahistory.net/wordpress/2012/08/three-kinds-of-moocs/
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
xMOOCs and cMOOCsSource: http://mooc13.wordpress.com/kategorien/vergleich-x-und-c/
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
Downside of xMOOCs?
• Throw-back to old models of learning
• Potentially negative impacts on branding
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
What are they good for?
Domains of the Cynefin model: David Snowdenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
What’s in it for language teachers?
• MOOCs must be experienced! (Take one)• Help teachers become master learners• Focus on WHY things happen vs. HOW• Help teachers learn about – Learning strategies and heuristics– Collaborative learning
Picture source: http://www.mtlsd.org/mellon/teams/ironbrigade/bloomsdigitaltaxonomy.asp
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
The Future of MOOCs
“The connectivism model will become the primary model … they have to grow to become cMOOCS ... They will do that over time” - Stephen Downes’s sketch from https://sas.elluminate.com/p.jnlp?psid=2012-09-26.0742.M.9E9FE58134BE68C3B413F24B3586CF.vcr&sid=2008350
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
Prediction
it won’t be long before MOOCs become more mainstream for language learning
and teacher training
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
What else do you want to know?
Almost 500 posts about MOOCs: http://www.downes.ca/mooc_posts.htm http://
advanceducation.blogspot.ae/2012/11/when-is-mooc-not-mooc-what-mooc-means.html #353 of 474 references)
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
Where to find MOOCs?
http://www.openculture.com/free_certificate_courses
http://www.mooc-list.com/
Steve Hargadon’s Classroom 2.0 http://www.mooc.me/
Vance Stevens - TACON Conference Dubai - March 2013
And of course …
All my slides are onlinehttp://slideshare.net/vances
A writeup of this presentation will appear in the next issue of http://tesl-ej.org/ , drafted here:
http://tinyurl.com/tacon2013vance
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