MOOCSZannerie

1. What is a MOOC?

2. Why offer a MOOC?

3. Pros and Cons

4. Different courses

5. My interests

6. References

1. WHAT IS A MOOC?

M-

O-

O-

C-

Massive (number of participant can be 100 000+)

Open (anyone can study any course, anywhere, any time)

Online (no attendance necessary - all online)

Course (learning units in an academic subject)

MOOC is a course that is open, shared, widely spread, and connects students interested in the same topic, to a digital world .

It provides a massive network of tools and people for students and educators to build their technology skills and professional networks for learning.

A MOOC may be simulated on a college or university course or may be less structured. Although MOOCs don't always offer academic credits, they provide education that may enable certification, employment or further studies (Daniel, 2012)

The word MOOC was coined in 2008 by Dave Cormier, from the University of Prince Edward Island for a course offered by the University of Manitoba, "Connectivism and Connective Knowledge." There were 25 tuition-paying students from university and 2,300 non-paying students from the general public who took the course online. (Cormier, 2008)

Today Udacity, Coursera, and Edx are now offering hundreds of MOOC’s to millions of people.

2. WHY OFFER MOOC? Removes limitations posed by

geographical/space constraints Leverage technology to transform how

education is delivered MOOCs can flip a classroom and help

instructors to act more of a mentor By their mere massive and open nature,

MOOCs have the potential to promote diversity, openness, interactivity and autonomy, empowering students as explorers and creators to follow their passion in diverse directions.

3. PRO’S AND CON’S OF MOOC1. Few PRO’S of MOOC (Mackness et al,

2010) include: MOOC’s are free. Provides a solution for overcrowding. Forces professors to improve their lectures. Creates a dynamic archive. Are designed to ensure that students keep up. Bring people together from all over the world. Offers interesting business opportunities. Outreach, service to the community and

public. Those already in possession of tertiary

degrees can extend their learning.

2. Some Con’s of MOOC (Mackness et al, 2010) include:

Could cause teachers to become nothing more than teaching assistants.

Make discussion a problem. Less interactive. Grading papers are impossible. Make it easier for students to drop out.  Less one on one contact with instructor. Although certificates are available for some

courses, no degrees are granted. May lead to an education that is not adapted or

lacks relevance to many students’ experiences. Intellectual property and financial details are

issues. Will shrink faculties, eventually eliminating

them.

4. DIFFERENT COURSESThere are about over 800 different courses offered

with different fields of studies. This include but is not limited to the following:

Biology Demography Designs Economic Film Food Geography History Journalism

Languages Law Literature Media studies Music & Performing arts Philosophy Religion Sociology Astronomy Business Chemistry Computer Science Engineering Environment & Natural Resources

5. MY INTERESTS My Learning Area is Life Sciences. I have a

passion for nature, how the human body works, animals and plants and doing experiments.

Another passion of mine is sports which involve the subject Human Movement Studies.

Geography also interests me, learning about the environment and the people in them.

MOOC’s I would be interested in doing are: Anatomy & Physiology Diet and Nutrition Environmental Health Sciences General Biology General Human Anatomy Growing Up in the Universe Food and the Environment  Genomics & Computational Biology Introduction to Human Nutrition Principles of Human Nutrition Replaceable You: Stem Cells and Tissue

Engineering

Sadly I couldn’t find any MOOC for sports.

6. REFERENCES Cormier, D. (2008). The CCK08 MOOC –

Connectivism Course, 1/4 Way. Dave’s Educational Blog. http://davecormier.com/edblog/2008/10/02/the-cck08-mooc-connectivism-course-14-way/ (Accessed 18 February 2014)

Daniel, J. (2012). Making Sense of MOOCs :Musings in a Maze of Myth , Paradox and Possibility. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, SpringIss (December), 1–21. http://jime.open.ac.uk/2012/18 (Accessed 18 February 2014)

Mackness, J., Sui Fai, J. M., & Williams, R. (2010, January 01). The ideals and reality of participating in a mooc. Retrieved fromhttp://www.academia.edu/701923/The_ideals_and_reality_of_participating_in_a_MOOC

Matt, S., & Fernandez, L. 2013. Before moocs, 'colleges of the air'. ://chronicle.com/blogs/conversation/2013/04/23/before-moocs-colleges-of-the-air/? (Accessed 18 February 2014)

"MOOC Interrupted: Top 10 Reasons Our Readers Didn’t Finish a Massive Open Online Course"www.openculture.com. (n.d.). ://www.openculture.com/2013/04/10_reasons_you_didnt_complete_a_mooc.html (Accessed 18 February 2014)