Massive Open Online Courses MOOCs: Where next? Professor Jeff Haywood, University of Edinburgh, UK Vice Principal, CIO & Librarian jeff.haywood@ed.ac.uk 1 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 MOOCs….. are open to anyone – no mandatory qualifications have no fees for study have enrolments at start >>> learners at end have learners who are not students of universities are fully online are very lightly tutored & supported do offer assessment (in various forms) have low study hours per week, on modules not degree programs offer ‘certificates of completion’ rather than credits (but…) are a different business model to trad HE 2 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 Online education @ Edinburgh Online & on-campus = ‘e-learning’ Online & off-campus = online distance learning ‘ODL’ Online and no-campus = MOOCs, OER, informal learning, ≡ LLL? We apply the same rigorous approval and quality assurance processes to all 3 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 4 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 Why is University of Edinburgh doing this? Reputation – early adopter of educational technology Exploration of a new pedagogical ‘space’ to inform practice Wish to reach as widely as we can with our courses Sharing experiences with peer universities Fun! 5 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 Why 3 modes? 6 Mode Reasons Context E-learning • 21st century curricula • B, M & D degrees • learners bring their own ed tech • selective entry • flexing the curricula • full fee • full services • expensive to provide ODL • reaching those who are time, geography, financially challenged • • • • • • MOOCs • educational R&D with peers • reaching anyone with internet who is interested in learning (cf LLL at trad univs) • reputation • fun!! • • • • • Masters degrees selective entry full fee access to services with some limits on-campus quality, form differs expensive to provide Bachelor entry level open to all no fees very limited services no award – ‘certificate of completion’ • not free to provide MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 But, MOOCs are part of a wider exploration… Open Educational Practices – beyond OER & Open CourseWare Unbundling of the elements of course design, delivery, assessment & award of credit – individual universities don’t have to all the parts together Scenarios of unbundling – assessment & credentialling are the tough bits You can find out more about unbundled and open educational practices such as MOOCs at one of my joint European research projects – OERtest – www.oer-europe.net 7 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 … lots of the features of typical online courses 8 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 ..online spaces for learners to self-support + light touch oversight 9 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 …lots of short videos & presentations 10 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 …interactive tools online 11 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 …timed assignments throughout the course 12 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 …automated assessment – computer-marks tests 13 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 …required readings, in the MOOC + externally 14 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 Credits for MOOCs is arriving…. MOOCs for credit 15 MOOCs – what is their impact, now & longer term? On presidents/SMTs of universities On governments/agencies On faculty On students On student funders, incl parents On the media ? http://star.arm.ac.uk/ Varied by region: US∙UK∙Europe∙Oz∙NZ / SE Asia / China / Asia / S & C America NB: This is very subjective – there are 1000s of universities in the world!! 16 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 MOOCs – where next? Fade away – bubble bursts Hold steady – case for expansion not clear to universities Expand & diversify Emergence of specialised MOOCs – unique areas o Targeted on recruitment o Targeted on reputation boost o Explore pedagogy http://www.csmonitor.com 17 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013 MOOCs – where next? Offer MOOC credits – for external use / for internal use Accept MOOC credits Partnerships – MOOC virtual student exchange / virtual Erasmus Explore ‘higher’ learning outcomes/year-of-study/degree level Integrate MOOCs into core first degree curriculum – fast-track/fee reduction/3rd semester Bring community-supported learning (‘light teaching’) into core curriculum to reduce teaching load/costs BUT Economics of Higher Education – do we understand our cost vs price relationships? 18 http://universitypost.dk MOOCs, British Council , UCLA – Feb 2013 Should universities (& colleges & schools?) enter this new educational ‘space’? Know your reasons for being in or staying out!! They are free to take but not free to provide, and publicity is everything for reaching Massive (or even big) If ‘In’, then choose one or both of: Offer MOOCs Part of curriculum; entry route; general marketing; profile; income; R&D;… Use others’ MOOCs Part of curriculum; high reputation courses; internal economies; overcome lack of capacity/capability; tasters; profile; … 19 MOOCs, RUGIT Edinburgh – Feb 2013