Distance learning, OER, and MOOCs: some UK experiences

This paper discusses learning at scale from the perspective of two UK Universities engaging in technology enhanced learning. Three case studies are used to illustrate ways in which scale has been achieved. There is diversity in how scale is supported but also common factors. Openness and choice appear as enablers in all cases

Different Aspects of the Emerging OER Discipline

The more recent interpretation of open education is related to open education resources (OER), open education practice (OEP), and open access publishing. Although related to the original, distance education based interpretation, there is a distinct community around these areas. The inception of the OER movement, which can be dated as 2001, can be viewed as the basis for the open education movement. Although still relatively recent, this provides a sufficient timeframe for different sub- communities to develop with a range of priorities and interests. Based upon a content analysis of the OER Knowledge Cloud repository, this article examines the emerging sub-cultures within open education practice. Ten types of research article are identified that represent different approaches and issues for the groups involved

Can New Modes of Digital Learning Help Resolve the Teacher Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Sub-Saharan Africa, more than any other part of the world, is experiencing a crisis in finding sufficiently qualified teachers to meet the needs of expanding school systems. The professional development support provided to serving teachers is also inadequate in most countries. The most recent data on learner outcomes has revealed a worrying picture of significant under-achievement across the region. This paper argues that the teacher education and training structures of the last century will never be able to meet urgent contemporary needs. Given population growth, especially among the young, large-scale expansion of the teaching force and the associated teacher education systems will be the norm through to the middle years of the century and beyond. In this context the paper argues for a significant policy shift to expand quality teacher education and professional support at scale through a more school-based and digitally supported network model of provision. Examples of current digital programmes within the region are considered as well as the new technologies that are emerging with relevance to teacher education. The paper suggests a three-phase process through which national governments might move in making the necessary changes in policy and practice

Motivation in a language MOOC: issues for course designers

Whilst several existing studies on foreign language learning have explored motivation in more traditional settings (Dörnyei, 2003), this paper presents one of the first studies on the motivation of participants in a MOOC. The MOOC, Travailler en français (https://sites.google.com/site/mooctravaillerenfrancais/home), was a 5-week open online course for learners of French at level B1 of the CEFR, and aimed to develop language and employability skills for working in a francophone country. It took place in early 2014 and attracted more than 1000 participants. Intrinsic motivation (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000), is directly linked to one’s enjoyment of accomplishing a task. We conducted a study based on the cognitive variables of the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), and adapted the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory to the context of a MOOC in order to understand the expectancy beliefs and task values of participants engaging with the MOOC. Participants answered a 40 Likert-type questions on enjoyment/ interest (i.e. I will enjoy doing this MOOC very much), perceived competence (i.e. I think I will be able to perform successfully in the MOOC), effort (i.e. I will put a lot of effort in this MOOC), value/usefulness (i.e. I think that doing this MOOC will be useful for developing my skills), felt pressure and tension (i.e. I think I might feel pressured while doing the MOOC) and relatedness (i.e. I think I will feel like I can really trust the other participants). Results highlight significant factors that could directly influence intrinsic motivation for learning in a MOOC environment. The chapter makes recommendations for LMOOC designers based on the emerging profile of MOOC participants, on their motivation and self-determination, as well as on the pressures they might feel, including time pressures. Finally, the extent to which participants relate to each other, and are able to engage in social learning and interaction, is a real challenge for LMOOC designers

Get yourself connected: conceptualising the role of digital technologies in Norwegian career guidance

This report outlines the role of digital technologies in the provision of career guidance. It was commissioned by the c ommittee on career guidance which is advising the Norwegian Government following a review of the countries skills system by the OECD. In this report we argue that career guidance and online career guidance in particular can support the development of Norwa y’s skills system to help meet the economic challenges that it faces.The expert committee advising Norway’s Career Guidance Initiativ

Supporting professional learning in a massive open online course

Professional learning, combining formal and on the job learning, is important for the development and maintenance of expertise in the modern workplace. To integrate formal and informal learning, professionals have to have good self-regulatory ability. Formal learning opportunities are opening up through massive open online courses (MOOCs), providing free and flexible access to formal education for millions of learners worldwide. MOOCs present a potentially useful mechanism for supporting and enabling professional learning, allowing opportunities to link formal and informal learning. However, there is limited understanding of their effectiveness as professional learning environments. Using self-regulated learning as a theoretical base, this study investigated the learning behaviours of health professionals within Fundamentals of Clinical Trials, a MOOC offered by edX. Thirty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed to explore how the design of this MOOC supported professional learning to occur. The study highlights a mismatch between learning intentions and learning behaviour of professional learners in this course. While the learners are motivated to participate by specific role challenges, their learning effort is ultimately focused on completing course tasks and assignments. The study found little evidence of professional learners routinely relating the course content to their job role or work tasks, and little impact of the course on practice. This study adds to the overall understanding of learning in MOOCs and provides additional empirical data to a nascent research field. The findings provide an insight into how professional learning could be integrated with formal, online learning

Investigación en MOOC: tendencias y metodologías

The MOOC phenomenon has generated huge interest in the field of education from the outset, giving rise to a significant number of research studies. In this paper we will take a look at previous research into MOOCs and we believe the relevant research trends from the education perspective will focus on new developments in hybrid MOOCs, both in their technological and pedagogical aspects, and in placing students’ learning and academic results at the forefront of research. The use of more sophisticated research designs is also recommended, paying greater attention to causal factors that promote student learning.El interés despertado por el fenómeno MOOC en la educación ha generado casi desde sus comienzos un buen número de estudios de investigación. En este trabajo, repasamos la investigación precedente en MOOC y consideramos que las tendencias de investigación relevantes desde la educación se centrarán en los nuevos desarrollos de MOOC híbridos, tanto en sus aspectos tecnológicos como pedagógicos, y en situar el aprendizaje y el resultado académico de los estudiantes como punto central de la investigación. Se recomienda igualmente la utilización de diseños de investigación más sofisticados que presenten atención a factores causales que promuevan el aprendizaje de los estudiantes

Collaborative pedagogy and digital scholarship: a case study of 'Media Culture 2020'

This paper presents an educational case study of ‘Media Culture 2020’, an EU Erasmus Intensive Programme that utilised a range social media platforms and computer software to create open, virtual spaces where students from different countries and fields could explore and learn together. The multi-disciplinary project featured five universities from across Europe and was designed to develop new pedagogical frameworks to encourage collaborative approaches to teaching and learning in the arts. The main objective of the project was to break down classroom and campus walls by creating digital learning environments that facilitated new forms of production, transmission and representation of knowledge. Media Culture 2020 was designed to pilot a novel mode of ‘blended learning’, demonstrating a number of ways in which ‘Web 2.0’ networked technologies might be adopted by academics to encourage open and collaborative modes of practice. The project utilised a number of social media platforms (including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Google Hangout, Google Docs and Blogger) to enhance the learning experiences of a diverse set of students from different cultural and international contexts. In doing so, Media Culture 2020 enabled participants with a diverse range skills and cultural experiences to develop new working practices that respond to the convergence of digital media and art, as well as the internationalisation of media production and business, through the use of open, interactive software

Pedagogical strategies and technologies for peer assessment in Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

Peer assessment has been mooted as an effective strategy for scaling­-up higher education and its core values to the proportions envisaged in the idea of Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs). If this is to become reality, what role will academic technologies play? What technologies will we need to provide? What learning design strategies and patterns will those technologies need to enable? This paper aims to explore the potential role of peer assessment in MOOCs, so as to get an informed sense of technology requirements. However, as will be seen, three of the four elements in the title “pedagogical strategies and technologies for peer assessment in MOOCs” vary radically for both practical and philosophical reasons, with significant implications for technology requirements. Worse still, the picture is evolving in non­linear relation to new technologies and MOOC initiatives. An overview of the various trends and differences is useful, but not conclusive. At points in the text learning design strategies, patterns and technologies are mentioned as possible ways in which peer assessment in MOOCs of various kinds might be implemented. These cases are highlighted in bold so as to stand out. They are also, in some cases, developed into simple design patterns, described in Appendix A. It should be noted, however, that they should be read within the wider pedagogical contexts within which they appear in the main body of the text