The Power of Community:
MOOC > Digital Textbook
Ronen Plesser
Duke University
LWMOOCs 2014, Cambridge MA
1
What’s in a MOOC?
• A set of video lectures?
“Lecturing is that mysterious process by means of which the contents
of the note-book of the professor are transferred through the
instrument of the fountain pen to the note-book of the student
without passing through the mind of either.”
• Video lecture can be stopped, rewound, etc
• Incorporate animations, demonstrations
• In-video quiz questions verify progress,
promote thinking
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There’s More?
• Learning is hard work. How to get students
invested?
When I signed up for this course I believe I took a brief survey in which I indicated that I planned to spend
about 2 to 3 hours per week on the material. Boy was I wrong! I haven't done this much math and physics
in 15 years! My wife wasn't too please but I loved the challenge and am somewhat sad that it is coming to
a close. Thanks to the professor and his intern and to those contributors on the discussion forums that kept
me from going insane. Any plans for a sequel?
So, I'm not yhe only one whose wife hasn't been particularly happy
about the time I spend with our quizzes and lectures... ;)
no you are not - you can count mine too ;-P
3
Ditto.
MOOC > Book
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In a MOOC a community of students tackle a course synchronously
Community interaction is an essential component of learning
Students bond with instructors and peers through shared experience
Controlled anonymity lowers barriers to asking questions!
A MOOC is a social and emotional as well as intellectual learning
experience
This course brought back to life my love of knowledge, and has left me with a growing desire to learn
more, and for that I will be forever grateful! This isn't my first online course, but without question it’s
the best one! This 9 weeks flew by and I find myself kind of sad that its come to an end. Big thanks to
everyone that put their work and effort into creating this course, thank you to all my fellow
classmates for creating such wonderful discussions and giving their support in our journey to
understanding the amazing universe we live in. …Good luck to you all, I'll miss this course!
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How?
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Challenging assignments encouraged collaboration
Instructor Participation – 1900+ forum posts
Personalized Interaction via Google+ Hangouts
Design of Social Interaction is essential part of MOOC
The forums made the students and professor connect in a way that one would
not think possible for an online class. Thank you all! I hope we can enroll in the
future in another class as good as this one!
5
It was a great experience for me getting together with people from all over the world an take on a
subject in this manner. I do not remember a course/study-module in which I enjoyed myself so much.
I got to do many fairly amazing things, not the least of which was "hangout". If the goal is to
make high quality educational materials available to everyone with an interest in them I would
say you've done this and a lot more. The students took up the lectures and the questions and
through their hard work created something amazing as well. It was a joy to be part of it
This weeks together, all of us around the world and you (and your staff), have formed an
special bond. Yes, you were talking to us, your students, not to a laptop. You were in our homes
and offices. And so much part of our lives.
Plus it fosters an international community of eager-to-learn, eager-to-teach, and loyal cosmos
fans. I have learned a lot from my fellow classmates, especially when I was stuck with the
homework (and it happened frequently).
Must say that this course made me feel worthwhile again. I am not able to attend school
because I am disabled. I truly felt connected to the instructor, the class and most of the time
the data. Thank you for giving me back a functional identity.
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