Group items tagged

A blog by Geoff Cain on MOOCS and Connectivist Instructional design from October 27, 2012. Very interesting history of how this teacher of health information management used collaborative technologies to teach the class and help the students work online in a multi-model delivery method. See below for implications on any online courses and how OS it feels. There were weekly guest lecturers as well as presentations by the course facilitators. The real heart of the course was the groups of students who would meet virtually, using the collaborative tools of their own choosing, who would discuss the presentations and readings. These groups were self-organized, leaderless, and informal. Yet, there always seemed to be someone in the group who would carry the discussion back into the course to have questions answered by the facilitators. And the facilitators would sometimes participate in the discussions. This experience was highly interactive. There was interaction with the facilitators, the content and between the students. Interestingly enough, the research shows that interaction is one of the primary measures of success and retention in online classes: the higher the degree and opportunity for interaction, the more successful a course will be. This course completely changed how I think of course design.