Lessons Learned about Ensuring
Quality of Course Materials in a
MOOC
Bernard Robin, PhD
Erwin Handoko, MD, MEd
George Zhao, MEd
University of Houston, Main
College of Education | Learning, Design & Technology Program
What is a MOOC?
MOOC Stands for:
MASSIVE: refers to the large size of a MOOC. Typical MOOCs
have thousands of students.
OPEN: anyone can participate, usually for free. Also, much of the
content is open, or sharable.
ONLINE: content is delivered over the Internet.
COURSE: students explore content, complete assignments,
receive feedback, get grades.
Largest MOOC Providers
More than 12.6 million registered users
Offered 1,028 courses
Partnered with 119 institutions around the world
September 2015
Why Are MOOCs Important?
Advantages of MOOCs for Students
Exposure to free educational content for
potentially huge numbers of students who cannot
afford college.
Opportunity to learn new content from world’s
best educators.
May gain skills that can enhance job prospects.
Can interact with learners from around the world.
Advantages of MOOCs for Faculty
Expand your reputation as an educator.
Opportunity to try new teaching styles and
methods.
Forces re-evaluation and improvement of current
course content.
Feedback from a global community of students.
Advantages of MOOCs for Universities
Extend the university brand.
Publicize a university’s faculty, courses and programs to
prospective students.
Demonstrate a commitment to innovative teaching.
A growing number of MOOC students are paying for
verified certificates of completion (~$49 per MOOC).
A smaller number of MOOC students may decided to
enroll in online degree programs and pay tuition.
Disadvantages of MOOCs
Extremely high dropout rate/Very low completion rate –less than
10%.
Most MOOCs do not offer credit toward a degree.
Time consuming for faculty – to plan, create, and teach a MOOC.
Video lectures and quizzes do not necessarily equal high quality
teaching.
Giving away intellectual property is not a sustainable business
model.
Little new revenue generated (yet).
One of the Biggest Disadvantages of MOOCs
http://mfeldstein.com/emerging_student_patterns_in_moocs_graphical_view/
Many Questions about MOOCs Remain
Are MOOCs just a fad? probably not
Are MOOCs over-hyped? yes
Will MOOCs destroy traditional higher
education? probably not
Will MOOCs disrupt traditional higher
education? probably so
Should faculty develop MOOCs?
What do you think?
Why are MOOCs Important to UH?
Outreach to the public, including the Houston
community and beyond.
Showcase high quality faculty and programs.
Provides a global learning laboratory – spur
innovations in teaching and learning.
Can supplement existing courses.
Potential source of new revenue.
Digital Storytelling
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/
A Brief Introduction to Digital Storytelling
Combines the art of telling
stories with a mixture of:
• digital graphics
• text
• recorded audio narration
• video
• music
Presents information on a
specific topic or theme.
Often contains a particular
point of view.
Digital stories are typically
just a few minutes long.
Types of Digital Stories
Personal Narratives
Instructional Content
• 1st person accounts based on
meaningful events.
• What we do
• Where we live
• Overcoming challenges
•
•
•
•
Historical Themes and
Events
• Can be used to connect past
events to our current
understanding of the world.
Math
Science
Health
Technology, and more
A Brief Introduction to Digital Storytelling
Sample Digital Stories
My Fulbright Journey
Erwin Handoko
The Paw
George Zhao
Robin’s Market
Bernard Robin
Sample Digital Stories
My Fulbright Journey
Erwin Handoko
The Paw
George Zhao
Robin’s Market
Bernard Robin
Sample Digital Stories
My Fulbright Journey
Erwin Handoko
The Paw
George Zhao
Robin’s Market
Bernard Robin
See the full versions of these videos and many more at:
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/
Digital Storytelling MOOC
https://www.coursera.org/course/digitalstorytelling
Digital Storytelling TOPICS
Week 1: Choosing a Topic and
Defining Your Purpose.
Week 2: Writing an Effective Script
and Creating a Storyboard.
Week 3: Recording Audio Narration.
September
2014
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1
2
3 4
5 6 7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30
Week 4: Using Technology Tools
to Build a Digital Story.
Week 5: Revising Your Digital Story and Final Course Reflection.
DS MOOC Video Lectures
Quizzes
Quizzes
Example Quiz
Evaluation: Peer and Self-Assessments
Evaluation: Peer and Self-Assessments
Evaluation: Peer and Self-Assessments
Student Participation
Student Participation
Student Participation
Lessons Learned about Ensuring Quality of
Course Materials in a MOOC
Content Planning and Development
1.
2.
3.
4.
Convert traditional course material to a MOOC.
Create a MOOC team.
Develop a timeline for MOOC planning.
Use an instructional strategy to compress the content:
15 weeks  5 weeks.
5. Develop a checklist of tasks and responsibilities.
6. Determine a process for creating video lectures.
7. Be consistent in naming and filing documents.
8. Use a common storage location for MOOC content.
9. Deal with copyright issues.
10. Proofread your work!
Creating and Teaching a MOOC is a Team Effort
Development Timeline
MOOC
exploration
begins
MOOC teams
review
materials and
proposes
revisions
MOOC teams
finalize first
two weeks of
content and
instructors
upload in
Coursera
August 2013
January 2014
Spring 2014
Students
develop
instructional
materials for
two MOOCS
SeptemberDecember
2013
MOOC teams
continue to
develop
materials,
revise scripts,
create videos
January-March
2014
MOOC teams
finalize content
for DS MOOC
(Fall 2014) and
Web 2.0 Tools
MOOC
(Spring 2015)
Converting a Traditional Course to a MOOC
DS MOOC
CUIN 7358: Educational Uses of
Digital Storytelling
Use an Instructional Strategy
• Identify the instructional goal.
• Conduct instructional analysis.
• Analyze learners and contexts.
• Write performance objectives.
• Develop assessment instruments.
The Systematic Design of Instruction
Dick & Carey
Develop a
Checklist
http://tinyurl.com/MOOC-checklist
Creating Video Lectures: The Equipment
High Quality USB
Microphone
Webcam
(Optional)
Digital Camera
(Optional)
Techsmith
Snagit
Techsmith
Camtasia
www.screencast-o-matic.com
Screen Capture
Software
Audio Editing
Software
Audacity (Free)
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Most video editors also have basic
audio editing functions built in.
Adobe
Premiere Elements 12
Video Editing
Software
Techsmith
Camtasia
WeVideo - web-based Editor
(Free option available)
https://www.wevideo.com/
Microsoft
PowerPoint 13
Sparkol
VideoScribe
Converting Course Content to Video Lectures
•
•
•
•
•
Length: around 5 minutes each.
Does not need to be professional.
Record in an informal setting.
Use personal speaking style.
Audio quality more important that
video quality.
• Videos should have consistent look
and feel.
• Speak a little faster than normal.
High Quality USB
Microphone
Creating Video Lectures: The Process
Access
Record
Edit
Open your
lecture
material.
Record your
narration/
Screencast.
Edit the
audio and
video.
Final
Check
Upload
Revise as
needed.
• Upload to
Coursera
• Create Icon
Updating Video Materials
Creating content is ongoing.
There is always room for improvement.
Feedback from students identified areas that need
improvement.
Have consistency between videos.
Improve visual attractiveness.
Creating Video Using VideoScribe
http://www.videoscribe.co/
Record Narration
Insert Music
Insert Chart
Insert Text
Insert Animated
Images
Practical Lessons Learned
Learn the Coursera Platform
Explore other universities' MOOCs:
• To become familiar with the Coursera
interface, and
• To get ideas for your own MOOC.
Submit course materials on Coursera early
before making them visible to students.
Make friends with the Coursera support team.
Other Issues to Keep in Mind
Assume that many students will know relatively little
(or nothing) about the content.
Instructional materials should start with the basics.
The amount of content must be scaled back.
Not all students will have access to the same
technology.
Many students will speak English as a second
language.
Course Assignments and Evaluation
Not possible to grade all assignments, but even occasional
instructor presence is helpful.
Give feedback to selected students which can seen by
everyone.
Peer feedback ranges in quality from excellent to poor.
Some students felt that the assignments were too difficult.
• However, among students who earned a certificate of
completion, many stated that the assignments challenged
them to improve their work and complete the MOOC.
Be Consistent in Naming
Files and Folders
Week1_video1_instructor_welcome.mp4
Week1_video2_introduction_to_ds.mp4
Video
Lectures
Week1_video3_ds_process.mp4
Week 1
Week1_assignment1_quiz.docx
Week1_assignment2_peer_assessment.docx
Assignments
Week1_assignment3_self_evalutation.docx
Week1_announcements1_welcome.docx
Week1_announcements2_update1.docx
Announcements
Use a Common Storage Location
(Online and Offline Backup)
My Passport
Ultra
2TB
Acknowledge Copyright Issues
MOOC content should be free of copyright
restrictions.
Non-profit educational fair
use is not universally
recognized around the
world.
Creative Commons licenses
are encouraged.
Proofread!
All MOOC content should be reviewed by
more than one person.
Copy text content into Word to check spelling
and grammar.
Or use an online spell checker such as:
http://www.spellcheck.net/
Student Evaluations
Based on question responses from on average 341 learners.
Estimates accurate to ± 5 percentage points.
Student Evaluations
Student Evaluations
Student Evaluations
Student Evaluations
Advantages of MOOCs for UH
•
•
Extend the university brand.
Publicize a university’s faculty, courses and programs to
prospective students.