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?
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, • Masters degrees
geography, financially • selective entry
challenged • full fee
• access to services with some limits
• on-campus quality, form differs
• expensive to provide
MOOCs • educational R&D with peers • Bachelor entry level
• reaching anyone with internet • open to all
who is interested in learning (cf • no fees
LLL at trad univs) • very limited services
• reputation • no award – ‘certificate of
• fun!! completion’
• not free to provide
6 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

?
http://star.arm.ac.uk/
 On the media

 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?

http://universitypost.dk
18 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