Comments on: What is the theory that underpins our moocs?

By: gsiemens

gsiemens — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:31:23 +0000

@Paul – you capture it perfectly! With our moocs, the model has been many to many in terms of interconnectedness. This presents its own problems, particularly when we have clear educational outcomes that we want to achieve and learners always feel that they are missing some part of the conversation somewhere (which is true!)

By: gsiemens

gsiemens — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:29:57 +0000

@Dawn – we haven’t given much thought to credentialing. In the last open course we did Change11, students received credit in two possible graduate programs – Georgia Tech and Athbasca U. This wasn’t open credentialing, however. Students that received credit were already enrolled in those programs.

By: gsiemens

gsiemens — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:27:50 +0000

@Frances – I fully agree. moocs and the theory that informs them are emergent. Coursera has gone so far as to articulate the research that guides their courses…but after a few offerings of their courses, I’m sure they develop new views and theories on how to better design and teach. Both practice and theory are very much in flux.

By: gsiemens

gsiemens — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:26:02 +0000

@Matt – good points re: diversity of learning preferences. Personally, I find that my preferences change from topic to topic. I personally don’t mind a good lecture. Often, I prefer it over collaboration. Context, learner confidence, and familiarity with subject matter make a difference. As you noted, at minimum, learners should be familiar with the range of options available.

By: gsiemens

gsiemens — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:23:56 +0000

@Jeffrey – the mooc conversation has taken interesting turns over the past 4 years. It was largely dormant until last fall when things absolutely exploded with Stanford’s AI course. Now that we have universities such as MIT working on improving the software of open online courses, we should see a few exciting years of innovation…

By: gsiemens

gsiemens — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:21:20 +0000

Hi Jon – thanks for a very thoughtful post. I imagine it’s a bit frustrating sometimes to see others walking paths you’ve walked a decade or two ago . I’m quite happy to have you ramble on for hours on this topic .

There is something, I think, to be explored around resonance/synchronicity in relation to MOOCs. Your interest in how people find the right thing in the mess of stuff is quite important. I’ve used the terms sensemaking and wayfinding to describe the process, but I’m not convinced those capture the breadth of what we are looking at.

By: Jeffrey Keefer

Jeffrey Keefer — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 11:24:50 +0000

One of the things that I find so interesting about this post (and indeed in this entire area of discussion and practice) is that it shows how MOOCS, still a relatively new modality / theory of learning, have continued to develop in several different ways while continuing to offer numerous opportunities for future directions. I think this is helpful, as it shows that MOOCS and connectivism may (or may not) be linked in ways that may (or may not) privilege any specific learning theory (at least now). With development and consideration on many different fronts, I find now a time of great opportunity for moving learning options forward, and having seen some of this move since the first CCK08 (something I still struggle to articulate and implement in learning practice), I think it has come a long way since now the discussion and players have expanded. Of course, this may be somewhat problematic from a theoretical perspective, as diversity in learning so often leads to diversity of the frames upon which the learning is designed and developed and supported. I wonder what the next 5 years will bring, especially whose voices (and the unspoken notions of cost and revenue that cannot be far away) will help to continue shaping this space.

By: Matt Crosslin

Matt Crosslin — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:56:24 +0000

I have spent some time in India, too – and it is pretty amazing the enthusiasm they have for learning. But I also saw how ultimately damaging it was when it all came from a traditional model – so many people (at least that I talked to) were held back in life because they only learned from the traditional model where knowledge was handed to them – they couldn’t think for themselves on many levels or initiate their own learning. So in the short term, many people in India might be happy for access to free knowledge that they might not have had access to before, but in the long run they will end up like so many college graduates there: stuck with a menial job, without any tools to break out the academic rut they are in.

I also think of this in another way – when I meet people and they find out I work in online education, I always get to hear their opinion on education in general. There are many people that tell me that they prefer to sit in a lecture than take a class online. I hear stories about how traditional “sit and soak” courses are changing people lives all the time. Its not that these people’s stories make the model all of a sudden valid. It is really just a case of them not knowing how stunted their education really was. They are happy with a Big Mac even though they have access to a fancy steak.

We don’t need to tell people that their criticism of the Big Mac rings hollow just because there are people out there that are happy with it. We need to get people to know that a much better option exists and they need to quit settling for less.

By: Frances Bell

Frances Bell — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 20:40:09 +0000

(continued) and refined via these activities and subsequent research projects.So not only are MOOCs emergent forms, but also is the theory that informs them. Apologies for punctuated comments #smartphonechallenges

By: Frances Bell

Frances Bell — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 20:24:59 +0000

(continued) and explications of theory such as Snowden’s conceptualisation of complexity and Cormier’s of rhizomatic learning. However MOOCs may also be regarded as emergent forms from which theories may be enriched (as part of the connectivist activitues)and rdfined