4 Your Development
Professional development ideas from Learning 4 Learning Professionals
April 2013
IN THIS EDITION:
The scoop on MOOCs…
You’ve no doubt seen some of the headlines announcing
the advent of MOOCs – massive open online courses, and
you may have wondered whether you should tune into the
coverage or ignore it as hype.
According to a 2011 Corporate University Exchange survey,
71% of corporate L&D folks are interested in MOOCs.
Follow-up discussions revealed that learning leaders are
considering whether to encourage their employees to enroll
in MOOCs, and some are considering whether there might
be advantages to building their own massive courses to
scale to a large number of employees at the same time.
In this issue of 4YD, you’ll get the scoop on MOOCs.
Distinguishing Characteristics
of MOOCS
Massive – enrolls thousands, if not
upwards of 100,000 students
Open – allows anyone with a connection
to join in; there are no entry requirements
aside from an interest in the subject
Online – runs entirely through internet
technologies using both asynchronous and
synchronous methods
Course – addresses a defined topic and
offers a specific schedule of activities;
begins and ends for all learners at once
Teaching and learning in a MOOC…
There are several approaches to delivering learning in a MOOC format:
xMOOCs are formal courses structured similarly to traditional academic courses. A series of modules is
offered over a defined time period with specific learning resources, assignments, and assessment
activities. Learning resources generally include videotaped lectures, reading materials, and discussion
boards. Learners engage with each other and with course instructors on a discussion board inside the
course platform. Assignments are “graded” through automated assessment tools (tests) or by organizing
peer-to-peer review using a checklist or criteria sheet.
This is the type of MOOC that has gotten all the recent press. With platforms like Coursera and edX,
many universities are making core courses publicly available. Students might actually earn credit for
these courses as universities work out ways to minimize cheating (e.g. by having students pay a small
fee to take proctored tests).
cMOOCs are a more informal approach, characterized by offering a large sample of resource materials
and possible activities on a specific topic, allowing learners themselves to decide what might be most of
interest to them or useful for what they want to learn. Learners determine their own objectives, engage
with one another through a variety of public channels (e.g. blog posts, Twitter feeds, discussion boards,
Google hangouts, etc.), and feed their reflections about what they are learning back into the group. The
“c” refers to connectivism, a learning theory that describes how learning is occurring in networks of
people and accessible resources.
A cMOOC is a fabulous way to bring together a variety of interested individuals to study and discuss an
emerging topic. Organizers curate reference material and invite knowledgeable speakers for the MOOC
cohort, and learners connect with like-minded people to deepen their own understanding and envision
implications for their work.
Resources for more info:
A fantastic series of short videos by Dave Cormier: What is a MOOC? - Success in
a MOOC - Knowledge in a MOOC (Dr. Cormier is a cMOOC advocate, researcher,
and Manager of Web Communications and Innovations at the University of Prince
Edward Island in Canada.)
The pros and cons…
4 Your Development
As with any learning and teaching strategy, MOOCs have advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages:
 MOOCs help learners gain a global perspective. Enrollees are frequently from all over the world, and
have widely varying backgrounds and viewpoints.
 MOOCs bring together a large number of people interested in the same topic; they can be used as a
means of creating and advancing knowledge, not just transmitting it.
© Catherine Lombardozzi, Ed.D. Page 1 of 2
is authored by Catherine Lombardozzi.
Contact me at 302-994-0451
or clombardozzi@L4LP.com
Subscribe at www.L4LP.com
Blog: www.learningjournal.wordpress.com
On Twitter @L4LP
PO Box 6431, Wilmington, DE 190804
4 Your Development
Professional development ideas from Learning 4 Learning Professionals
April 2013
 MOOCs provide a structured approach to learning about a topic informally. By “lurking” or only
partially participating in a MOOC (reviewing resources and others’ contributions without actually
engaging in activities), learners can get an organized, high level overview of a topic from experts.
 MOOCs enable free access to in-depth education for those who could not access or afford it any
other way. They require no tuition, and there are no consequences for not completing the course.
Disadvantages:
 MOOCs limit the personal touch points with expert instructors. While leaners benefit from the
expert’s contributions to the MOOC (lectures, reading selections, etc.), the professors cannot
monitor the involvement or contributions of every student.
 MOOCs require learners to be very diligent about their own participation. Learners must organize
themselves, find discussion partners, and monitor schedules and deadlines. It may be very easy to
miss what might be considered critical content.
 MOOCs’ testing and evaluation strategies are still emerging. It may be difficult to ascertain how
much learners have gained from the course.
 MOOCs may change learner expectations. Learners may come to expect all learning to be free and
loosely organized. Formal learning events may become a tough sell when learners get used to
defining their own goals and choosing which learning activities to embrace and which to skip.
(Many would not count this as a disadvantage.)
Implications for learning and development…
A MOOC format provides some interesting options in corporate learning and development.
 Encourage a small group of employees to take a relevant public MOOC at the same time. You can
organize groups so that your learners can have the advantage of the global perspective of the MOOC
population PLUS the local perspective and reflective support of internal peers. Win-win!
 Partner with local university faculty to create a MOOC for a specific purpose for your organization.
Or form a consortium of companies in your area or your industry to create a MOOC to upskill
employees (or potential employees) in emerging skills.
 Educate your entire learner population at the same time. You might envision, for example, bringing a
division or your whole company up to speed on a specific initiative. With the entire audience
engaged at the same time, you may be able to accelerate learning and adoption of new practices.
 Vendors may begin to offer development programs in a MOOC format, opening the possibility for
more employees and leaders to be exposed to an outside perspective. This may also free you from
the challenges of having enough learners to meet course minimums in a timely way.
 Leaners may come to expect this level of freedom in learning: large banks of resources, personal
goal-setting, and online discussion with other learners they choose. (Would that be a bad thing?)
Best sources
for more information…
For a listing of available MOOC
courses, start here.
Major MOOC platforms:
Coursera and edX
Articles of Interest:
Hot Topic: MOOCs – Are they right for
corporate L&D? (ASTD – 1-21-13)
MOOCs and the Corporate e-Learning
Market (e-learning centre – 2/27/13)
Our (Work) Education Crisis: Send in
the MOOCs (Bloomberg Business
Week – 9/18/12)
The Potential for MOOCs in the
Training and Development World
(Evolllution – nd)
The MOOC Model for Digital Practice
(PDF) – a 2010 academic paper by
Alexander McAuley, Bonnie Stewart,
George Siemens and Dave Cormier
 cMOOC resources can be very helpful for learning, even after the course is completed.
>>> L&D professionals, for example, might take a look at these: Connectivism and Connected
Knowledge 2012, Educational Technology and Media MOOC (2013), Learning Design for the 21st
Century Curriculum (2013), and an instructional technology MOOC from 2011-12 called Change.
For Discussion…
Get together with your team or with other L&D colleagues and discuss the possibilities…
 Has anyone participated in a MOOC? What was your experience?
 To what degree do you think MOOC pedagogy and technology can be ported to the L&D realm and
have a positive impact?
 What skill gaps might MOOCs help you to solve?
 Are there MOOCs we might explore together as a team?
If you would like me to lead a discussion or webinar on this topic for your organization,
please contact me at clombardozzi@L4LP.com.
© Catherine Lombardozzi, Ed.D. Page 2 of 2
On MOOCs in Higher Education:
What you need to know about
MOOCs – articles on the higher ed
perspective compiled by the Chronicle
of Higher Education
MOOC HQ – compiled by HASTAC
(Humanities, Arts, Sciences, and
Technology Advanced Collaboratory)
Insightful articles by Cathy Davidson,
cofounder of HASTAC.
> What is a MOOC?
> If MOOCS are the answer, then
what is the question?