MOOC Call 2015
Context
MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) provide a new space for Universities to
engage with a wide range of learners. The University recently partnered with
Futurelearn (www.futurelearn.com) and has now successfully run three MOOCs.
Our experience indicates that MOOCs have the potential to support the strategic
aims of the University in the following areas:
 Widening participation – up to 30% of learners recorded their maximum
achievement as school level
 Conversions – MOOCs participants can and do go on to studying on feepaying courses. This is an area being explored by Futurelearn
 Reputation – the high numbers and global access provide opportunity for
raising the profile of the University, subject areas, and individual staff
profiles
 Collaboration – Futurelearn partners include most of the researchintensive UK universities and a number of key overseas universities.
 Partnerships – potential access to the collections of Futurelearn content
partners, which include the British Library, the British Council, and the
BBC. The Glasgow mini-MOOC created as part of the BBC WW1 series
facilitated access to archive BBC content.
 GTA work experience – the use of GTAs to support the development and
delivery provide valuable opportunities for them
 Research data - MOOCs attract significant audiences giving rise to the
potential of crowdsourcing in support of research interest.
 Research dissemination – MOOCs are starting to be seen as a useful
method of disseminating research outputs to a wide audience
 Paid CPD provision – delivery of bespoke professional CPD
The University has now successfully run three MOOCs of different lengths and
our experience indicates that “mini-MOOCs” are the most effective and efficient
model for Glasgow. The Senior Management Group have agreed to support
further development of MOOCs and funding is now available. There is a total of
£20,000 available and it is expected that at least four mini-MOOCs will be funded
from this fund.
Bids
We are now inviting bids for the development and delivery of new MOOCs.
Bids are specifically invited to develop and run “mini-MOOCs” of between 2-4
weeks duration. Bids for full 8-10 week MOOCs will also be considered where
development and delivery costs can be substantially offset by funding from other
sources.
Funding will be made available to enable course development and initial delivery
and may cover:
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Costs of additional staffing to provide cover for academics developing the
MOOCs
Costs of staffing to run the MOOCs, such as GTA costs
Costs associated with providing online resources such as copyright
clearances
Additional support for MOOC development will be provided by the Learning &
Teaching Centre:
 The Learning Technology Unit will provide advice on MOOC development
and delivery
 The Media Production Unit will provide support for the creation of video
resources
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It may be that some costs are covered through other funding streams such as
College/School funds or research grants. Bids which leverage the central
funding in this way will be particularly welcome.
Bids which are not successful in securing funding under this Call, but which can
demonstrate significant potential positive impact for the University, may still be
taken forward if they can be resourced either externally or locally through
School, Research Institute or College support. In such cases, the Learning &
Teaching Centre will provide advice and guidance on MOOC development,
delivery, and evaluation and liaison support with Futurelearn.
Preparation of Bids
All bids should be submitted using the pro-forma.
Potential bidders are strongly recommended to discuss their bid with Mr Kerr
Gardiner, (Kerr.Gardiner@glasgow.ac.uk), Head of Learning Technology & Media
Production before submission.
MOOCs are expected to run up to three times and the time and resources
required for the re-runs should be factored into the bid.
Potential bidders are strongly recommended to gain some experience of MOOCs
by looking at and participating in MOOCs (and in particular Futurelearn MOOCs
www.futurelearn.com) before submission of bid. This will provide potential
bidders with knowledge of platform capabilities.
The University is also looking to partner with another MOOC platform, for
example Coursera. If this is of interest then please contact Mr Kerr Gardiner,
(Kerr.Gardiner@glasgow.ac.uk), Head of Learning Technology & Media
Production.
Futurelearn would particularly welcome MOOCs in the following areas although
selection from this Call will be based on benefit to the University rather than the
priorities of Futurelearn:
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New and interesting perspectives on key world figures, historical or
current.
Courses reflecting areas, events, and people local to the University (for
example Newcastle produced a MOOC on Hadrian’s Wall)
Business skills - focus on globally applicable business skills and
knowledge such as management, business development,
entrepreneurship, sales etc.
STEM 101 – aimed at potential UG students
Research outputs – highlighting key and interesting research activity
Process & Timescales
Submission Deadline: Friday 13th March 2015
Bids should be submitted on the pro-forma to Mr Kerr Gardiner,
(Kerr.Gardiner@glasgow.ac.uk), Head of Learning Technology & Media
Production.
The University Senior Management Group will decide on the bids to be funded
taking into account feedback from RIO and Futurelearn.
Notification: by 24th March 2015
Successful bids will then have discussions regarding development and delivery
dates, and detailed budgets will be drawn up.