Group items tagged

online learning insights blog

Networked Learning Conference 2010. "This paper explores the perspectives of some of the participants on their learning experiences in the course, in relation to the characteristics of connectivism outlined by Downes, i.e. autonomy, diversity, openness and connectedness/interactivity. The findings are based on an online survey which was emailed to all active participants and email interview data from self-selected interviewees."

"The toolkit links to additional resources for information on blended and digital learning, and suggests using social media to stay updated on the latest information and to connect with others who are discussing the topic. "

A lengthy but good overview of MOOCs, with a close look at xMOOCS - Coursera, Udacity, edX that have taken advantage of scalability but tend to reinforce a traditional teacher-student model, and cMOOCS - knowledge building/networking, flexible tools, self directed, chaotic learning. Siemens goes on to share lessons learned from cMOOCs he has been involved with and provides 9 Steps How to Plan/Create a MOOC [approx 58:00] Around 18:00 he makes a provocative statement that because of the expertise available in xMOOCs, he would throw out all of his content, tell his students to take one of these courses, interact with them around the content themes and then assess their work. Other interesting ideas include: the need for regional MOOCs to diversify and fully explore potential innovation [export vs import]; the concern that mid-range universities stand to loose to the 'superstar' professors in the xMOOC model; & the notion of teaching globally, accrediting locally [e.g. Udacity -Pearson testing option for credit]

A balanced commentary on the pros of the 'instructivist' xMOOC - useful for introductory level learning - and, as argued here, where most current xMOOCs live, and the constructivist cMOOC - ideal for more higher order social learning

""Personal" is emergent from engagement with other learners and experts, something which consists of an assembly of resources from various sources. "Personalized" is about a top-down, designed or tailored approach which modifies an existing tool (e.g. a search engine, or a quiz)."

"Critical thinking is an expected learning outcome of higher education along with mastery of a studied discipline. Yet several studies including one outlined in Academically Adrift, suggests that a significant percentage of students are graduating after four years of college with little intellectual growth; critical thinking gains barely budging from the 'before' to 'after' assessment."

"In this paper, we use Bain's (2004) book What the Best College Teachers Do to discuss some of the major ways that the practices of effective teaching in general can be applied to online teaching in particular. "

JALN Volume 8, Issue 2 - April 2004

"Mooc.ca is provided by Stephen Downes (books, newsletter) and George Siemens as a place to host MOOC news and information."

The author recounts how he came to choose the Univ of Edinburgh's eLearning & Digital Cultures EDCMOOC, and provides a good analysis of the mooc's design as well as the pros and cons of the experience

Critical Thinking in Asynchronous Discussion