Group items tagged

Blog post by Mark Athitakis, September 8, 2014 on a statewide association building a MOOC to educate health care workers. "One executive at a state association has taken the lead on educating healthcare workers on a pressing national issue via a MOOC. How do you get more attention for your association? Maybe it's a membership drive. Maybe it's a meeting or an ad campaign. For Jan Grimes, it's meant building a lot of partnerships and putting together a must-attend online course. "

I just signed up for this as it looks really interesting. A Professor at Duke, Cathy N. Davidson has created a MOOC about MOOCs and the future of learning, which also is part of a global initiative to examine this topic. Here's the link to the inside Higher Ed article about it: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/04/duke-u-professor-plans-massive-collaborative-effort-tackle-challenges-facing-higher Davidson is the co-founder of the Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Alliance and Collaborative, or HASTAC. The MOOC will track the origins of what has become accepted features of higher education, from majors and graduate programs to grades and multiple choice tests, and evaluate new forms of teaching and learning. At the same time, students in affiliated face-to-face courses in disciplines as different as African and African-American studies, gender and sexuality studies, and film studies will contribute to a centralized wiki. The end result could be a massive collection of ideas on how to change higher education.

Stephen Downes on what learners need and want in a networked world. Although he does go on in his usual way, this is a really interesting take on current educational models vs. what students want and need, and are beginning to access themselves.

Stephen Downes on what learners need and want in a networked world. Although he does go on in his usual way, this is a really interesting take on current educational models vs. what students want and need, and are beginning to access themselves.

Very interesting articles on how MOOCs and people completing them are building respect for their accomplishment with employers. Also an interesting point by Thrun on '"there are a huge number of willing and eager lifelong learners that are underserved" by higher education.'

essay by George Siemens, 1/31/14, on why MOOCs and the discussion/dialogue they promote are good for higher learning overall.

Beautiful 5 minute video on Personal Learning Networks for educators but I believe this orientation could/should extend to all professionals in their work/personal lives, too. Uploaded by skipvia on June 10, 2010 on YouTube.

For the first time, a reputable institution, the Georgia Institute of Technology, will off a master's degree in computer science through MOOCs for a fraction of the on-campus cost, a first for an elite institution. If it even approaches its goal of drawing thousands of students, it could signal a change to the landscape of higher education.

Interesting NY Times article on a new direction for MOOCs.

Article on Autar Kaw, mechanical engineering professor at USF in Tampa. He won the professor of the year award from Carnegie Foundation in 2012. "As a pioneer in open courseware resources, Kaw is mindful of the impact that massive open online courses (MOOCs)--those in which students participate through the Internet--will have on learning and higher education. According to Kaw, the most effective MOOCs will include thoughtful interaction between students and their instructor. If MOOCs fail to include this component, "we will start losing a lot of students. Many students will get lost in the material and that will be a travesty, especially for students from low-income families." "

Op ed piece by David L. Kirp, a Berkley professor. The business models that are proliferating in educational thinking and assessment does not work, and the greatest determiner of success are the interpersonal relationships of students and teachers, students and students, and teachers and teachers. Adding more and new technology has not been successful because of this. Rewarding "good" schools with merit pay while closing and punishing those in areas of poverty because they are "failing" schools without instituting known programs that engender success is a crime in his view.

Op ed piece by David L. Kirp, a Berkley professor. The business models that are proliferating in educational thinking and assessment does not work, and the greatest determiner of success are the interpersonal relationships of students and teachers, students and students, and teachers and teachers. Adding more and new technology has not been successful because of this. Rewarding "good" schools with merit pay while closing and punishing those in areas of poverty because they are "failing" schools without instituting known programs that engender success is a crime in his view.

MOOCs for remedial education

The New York Times examine the MOOC phenomena.

Interesting blog by Cathy Davidson, HASTAC, 2.7.13 on what MOOCs are really saying about the desirability of college degrees. This excerpt speaks to who chooses MOOCs for learning. "If anything, MOOCs illuminate the terrible economic disparities of higher education (worldwide) by offering a cheap, massive alternative, not to those sitting in the classrooms of tenured professors, but for those who have no opportunity to be in those classes. MOOCs work for those, for example, seeking to retool their learning to prepare for new professions when their own no longer exists, who are seeking a second career, or who want to simply enjoy the benefits of learning but are not able to participate in actual face-to-face classroom learning. To have the time and be in a location where you can actually attend college physically is pretty rare in a world of two-career families, for example. And community colleges (where tenured professors are rare indeed) do a great job but they too require f2f engagement and cannot begin to serve all the students who want to take courses. "

Interesting assessment of MOOCs and push toward MOOLEs on EdTechDev (developing educational technology), early May 2012 Lisa Lane shows up in comments advocating for her SMOOC (small to medium open online course) on pedagogy. Need to check it out. She has a lot of cred with me!

a new MOOC model: uses open source web content as course design. Won't need a traditional instructor or large start-up investment. Known as a mechanical MOOC.

Somewhat pessimistic view of formal educational systems failing to embrace the learning potential supported by new social technologies. Aviram says that culture determines learning boundaries and the use of 2.0 technology. Scandinavia and Holland are open in their learning attitudes; most of the rest of Europe and the United States are not.

19 minute presentation by Dave White, University of Oxford, on differences between internet visitors and residents, 2009. TALL blog Digital residents see web as social space; visitors see web as a collection of resources. Visitors are more goal oriented and ROI is a bigger issue for them in learning new technology which they are capable of doing when they want to do it than being on the net is for residents. Visitors do not value social aspect of learning in same way as residents do. A visitor needs content, will to learn, and expert. A visitor probably not wish to learn or value Twitter because it is a residential platform that is understood and appreciated only when used repeatedly. Similarly, we never got some educators to appreciate our conversation platform because they were in and out asap. They never got a sense of the place. White says that culture and motivation are biggest factors in people becoming more residentially inclined on the internet, not age or skills attainment. Interesting dichotomy that works better for me than the digital natives and immigrants model by Prensky in 2001

Blog by John Sui Fai Mak on #Change 11 where he refers to an article by Zimmerman. I believe this excerpt is important for eCH schools teaching their students because of the increasing reliance on online classes. Excerpt: "Traditional teaching methodology designed to educate through the assumptions of the past is no longer viable for more recent generations. The development of learning strategies, time management, goal setting, self-evaluation, self efficacy and intrinsic beliefs are key processes in promoting more self-regulated individuals who are capable of succeeding in the school context and in life (Zimmerman, 2002). Self regulatory processes as part of strategic learning that fosters reflection are teachable and are regarded as responsible for the increase of students' level of motivational performance (Zimmerman, 2002)."

A blog titled "Inside the Ivory Tower" about teaching musings. This blog brings up the issue of cost in teaching and learning, i.e., the online courses that this professor designs and teaches are often shared by students with non-enrolled learners. The nonenrollees get the materials but not the camaraderie in the online classroom or credential or tutoring that completing this class at the instituion under the teacher's guidance provides enrolled students. The professor would like to share his/her knowledge with the world but his/her reimbursement package is based solely on the # of enrolled students. He is still paying for his own higher education and that of two children, and soon, a third child. What is fair use in this situation when the teacher is just getting by economically himself/herself? It begs the question: How can open learning initiatives that have started at MIT, Carnegie Mellon, etc. be emulated at state universities or other less well endowed settings? Further, how can professional associations offer MOOCs or COOLS when they are not capitalized to do so?

Preview of Google PLus's value to HE Excerpt: "Facebook does allow some selective sharing, but doing so is difficult to master. As a result, many professors have decided to reserve Facebook for personal communications rather than use it for teaching and research. "I don't friend my students, because the ability to share is so clunky on Facebook," says Jeremy Littau, an assistant professor of journalism at Lehigh University. "This gives us ways to connect with people that we can't do on Facebook." In Google Plus, users can assign each new contact to a "circle" and can create as many circles as they like. Each time they post an update, they can easily select which circles get to see it. B.J. Fogg, director of Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab and a consulting faculty member for computer science, says he plans to use Google Plus to collaborate on research projects: "Probably every project in my lab will have its own circle." Mr. Littau is even more enthusiastic. He posted an item to his blog on Thursday titled: "Why Lehigh (and every other) University needs to be on GPlus. Now." "I want to start using this in my class next term," he says, adding that he aims to expose his students to the latest communication technologies in all of his classes. He plans to try the video-chat feature of Google Plus, called "hangouts," to hold office hours online. The new system allows up to 10 people to join in a video chat. Mr. Littau may also hold optional review sessions for exams using the technology. "I can host chats a few nights a week," he says."

The state of Minnesota offers an efolio for each state resident to 'showcase' their education, career, and personal achievements. It doesn't go quite far enough as a developmental PKM tool but is still very cool!