Teaching and Learning through MOOC

Frontiers of Language and Teaching …...…………………………………………….… Volume 3 (2012)

Teaching and Learning through MOOC Revathi Viswanathan B.S.Abdur Rahman University, Chennai, India Email: [email protected] Abstract Teachers of this digital era have plenty of scope for updating their knowledge of various subjects of their interests and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offer learning opportunities to teachers across the globe. Teachers receive lot of inputs on varied topics, participate in webinars, share views with other participants and more importantly get motivated to play the role of an online tutor. Furthermore, the flexibility of these courses paves the way for collaborating with the online teaching community. With the experience of having attended a MOOC, the author highlights the way that the course has widened her knowledge of digital learning and discusses the relevance of the online courses to teacher development, in her article. Keywords: Emerging technology, Open Online Course, Flipping Classrooms, Connected learning Introduction Teachers develop their professional skills by involving in various activities like attending teacher training programs, seminars, conferences and short term summer courses. In this digital era, teachers are passionate about participating in online forums and particularly joining Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Massive Open Online Courses are offered online for candidates across the globe. There are courses exclusively meant for teachers, which provide input on teaching methods to handle various subjects. This article would throw light on the significance of participation in MOOC through the author’s discussion of a study. Online teaching through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) is one of the emerging technologies in the field of education. Wikipedia (2012) defines emerging technologies as “Contemporary advances and innovation in various fields of technology”(p.1). It goes on to state that emerging technologies indicate technical innovations that highlight progressive developments in a particular field. MOOC, as an emerging technology, is evolving into new pedagogy to benefit teachers and students. What is unique about MOOC? It is offered for free and students of any age group could participate in the program. It works on an open networked learning model. It enables participants to connect outside the traditional learning environment, thereby offering autonomy, openness and emergent knowledge. The growing trend of encouraging connected learning among students reflects the need for teachers to participate in an online course. Connected learning indicates that learning happens outside classrooms and through online networks and exchanges (Kharbach, 2012). According to him, learning can take place informally by taking part in webinars, attending workshops, listening to Podcasts to name a few; formally through elearning modules, being part of virtual world etc.; in social contexts such as interacting through social networks, Blogs and so on. This shows very clearly that a 21st century educator has to be well connected, in order to prepare students for their career. As said before, teachers’ participation in MOOC would help them to encourage their students to effectively use their digital literacy for learning. 32


MOOC fits into the theory of Connectivism. According to Kop and Hill (2008), Connectivism gives importance to two skills that contribute to learning, which are nothing but, “ability to seek out current information and the ability to filter secondary and extraneous information” (p.2). To Siemens (2005), Connectivism stresses the principle of both knowledge and the process of learning. Learning occurs at numerous levels, biological, conceptual and social or external. The theory believes in the inclusion of technology to promote cognition and knowledge. In a Massive Open Online Course participants are well connected with the teacher and other participants on an online platform. The acquisition of knowledge happens not by just listening to the online teacher, but also through interactions with other participants. As Siemens (2005) states, learning takes place with the help of communities of practice, personal networks and through completion of work-related tasks in an environment. It must be stated that online communities have to participate consistently, collaborate with others and maintain interpersonal connectivity. Literature Review The impact of Massive Open Online Courses on teaching and learning process has always been analysed by researchers in various countries. One such case study research was conducted a team of people, DeWaard, Abajian, Gallagher et al (2011), which collected data relating to the six week MobiMOOC course. The survey they did focused on the participants’ involvement, level of familiarity with mobile technology, profession, gender and other demographics. The course was offered for free and the content was made available as Open Source Content. The course lasted for six weeks and each week focused on varied aspects of learning. The coordinator of the course made use of Google group and Wikispaces for informing participants about the latest inputs. Participants could discuss through Google group and view online syllabus on the Wiki, Social Media such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Delicious through which specific contents were shared. Through this course, participants felt that they could empower themselves as they could apply the principles of self-organization and build their own mlearning project. It paved way for emerging knowledge and personalized learning. It was found that the participants had a common interest in learning this educational technology, had the willingness to share ideas and a certain digital literacy to follow the course. Similarly another study had been conducted by Fini (2009) to analyze the impact of MOOC on the users. The framework focused on three perspectives such as, “(a) lifelong learning in relation to open education, with a focus on the effective use of learning tools; (b) the more recent personal knowledge management (PKM) skills approach; and (c) the usability of web-based learning tools”(p.1). The online course on Connectivism and Connective Knowledge was offered formally and informally by the University of Manitoba. The course promoted the use of a variety of technological tools. While some tools were used by the facilitators, a few others were suggested by the participants. The participants used a personal blog, a tool for building concept map and twelve different tools during the course. Similarly, technological environments like Moodle and 3D environments were used for the implementation of the course. The open source survey that was conducted aimed at finding out the participants’ level of proficiency in English, level of technological skills, their opinion about certification, toolset used in the course, frequency of use and their relevance. This survey was announced on Facebook, Linkedin and as a post in the author’s own blog for the participants to view and respond. The results showed that the participants had taken the course based on the 33


learning styles, personal objectives and time availability. They had selected the tools depending upon their needs, purposes and self-organizational skills. They felt that the use of generic social networks was unnecessary as they could network with each other through Moodle, while attending sessions in Elluminate and sharing with the help of blogs. The participants highly supported the idea of integrating technology with learning. However, the respondents were apprehensive of the feasibility of integrating tools while teaching students at all levels. Their responses on the whole raised an important aspect of teachers’ interest towards offering an online course to their students. Method Teachers of this digital era need to be connected educators and have to equip themselves with the knowledge of the use of advanced technologies beyond the classroom. Those who attend MOOC would be able to realize the impact of the course offered, after active participation and in this section the author presents her selfreflection on the participation in a MOOC Course by discussing the study. According to McAuley, Stewart, Siemens and Cormier (2010), in Massive Open Online Courses learners can have high control over the modes and places of interaction. Learners have lot of autonomy to select learning resources and level of participation. DeWaard et al (2011) state that, “MOOC surpasses time and space as all the class resources are centralized in the cloud, accessible to people who are technologically sound” (n.d). It is worthwhile to mention that the above mentioned features presented in the research studies on MOOC motivated the author to attend virtual classes on ‘Mobile Learning’. The objectives of joining this course were  To learn the concept of promoting mobile learning in a classroom.  To gain knowledge about new software that could be used in mobile devices.  To know about the ways to integrate social media like Podcasts and YouTube.  To get inputs on new teaching methods. The course was conducted for five weeks and the participants belonged to various countries. There were teachers at K-12 level and college level, with whom the tutorials for the course were shared as reading materials and power points with the help of Adobe Flash Player. It helped the participants to get an idea about the classes. The course focused on providing inputs related to Podcasting, Screencasting, ePub, Flipping classrooms and Mastery Learning. The classes were conducted by Dr.Mark Winegar besides a few guest speakers supplementing his talks. The guest speaker provided inputs through social media such as Podcasts and YouTube. The talks focused on creating awareness relating to using the mobile device for taking and uploading videos, recording audio files either directly on the mobile device or transferring the stored (in the computer) files to the mobile device. The instructor demonstrated the use of software, Camtasia for video recording and the way to create an imovie with the help of this software. While mastery learning reinforced the need to check students’ mastery learning, flipping classrooms dealt with a new teaching concept. It must be stated that the concept of Flipping classrooms emphasize the need to minimize lecture hours and make students familiarize themselves with the content before discussing about it in groups. Moreover, in Flipped classrooms students are exposed to the use of technological tools for accessing information. All that the teacher needs to do is to direct students to gather information relating to the topic from various resources like a video, podcasts, magazines, lecture (given by the teacher), websites, case studies and so on. 34


Having attended the MOOC, the author analysed the effect of the course on the participants by conducting an introspective study. The main objective of her study was to analyze the impact of MOOC on teachers and learners. Findings McAuley, Stewart, Siemens and Cormier (2010) in their project on ‘The MOOC Model for Digital Practice’ have posed individual questions to which they have offered their responses in order to design the model. The question strands aimed to find out a. The extent with which MOOC reflect effective practices within digital economy. b. Their implications for knowledge-making. c. The economic opportunities and challenges faced while participating in open model of learning. d. The opportunities provided by MOOC for using digital skills for learning from discourses and use prior knowledge. e. The limitations encountered by participants and f. The extent to which MOOC model could help to develop citizenry. (p.29-30) The author made use of the contents of the strands to prepare a set of feedback questions, which facilitated self-reflection on her participation in Mobile learning course. The aspects covered were, Learners’ application of digital literacy in MOOC, its implications for Knowledge-Building, opportunities offered, challenges of MOOC and the effectiveness of the course. The course offered a wide exposure to mobile learning and the ways to use the devices in teaching. The following Pie chart would give details about the extent to which the author, as a learner, could apply her digital literacy in MOOC.

Figure 1: Learner’s Application of Digital Literacy in MOOC

The effectiveness of the course could be determined by the opportunities given for participants during the course. As a learner, the author could share her ideas (23%) 35


relating to audio recording software, update her previous knowledge of mobile learning (31%), collaborate (15%) with others to clarify some concepts of mastery learning and flipping classrooms, interact (15%) with others during sessions and learn regarding the use of software for making videos. Furthermore, the digital skills of the author enhanced the possibility to explore more (16%) about mobile learning. Considering the implications of the course for knowledge-making, the author could find the following scope in the teaching and learning process.

Figure 2: Implications for Knowledge-Building According to the rating scale, the scope for using the information in the classroom and the facility to apply the knowledge gained, in real life situation are minimal (2 points each). While the former reflects the limited scope in using mobile devices within a traditional classroom, the latter reflects the limitations in the Learning Management System in the University where the author is currently working. However, the opportunity provided to update information on mobile learning and learn new teaching styles by integrating technology (4 points each) show the possibility of encouraging students to use the devices beyond the classroom, probably to work on minor projects. In addition to this, it must be acknowledged that it motivates practicing teachers to offer MOOCs for their students as a supplement to their classroom teaching. The next chart would provide details about the effectiveness of the course offered.

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Figure 3: Effectiveness of the course Rating the effectiveness of the course offered, the syllabus and the updates of every tutorial were promptly shared with the participants. Similarly the content was readily available for the participants. The social media such as Podcasts and YouTube were effectively used by the tutor and the guest speaker. Hence all the above mentioned aspects have been given five points in the rating scale. With regard to the tutor’s input, though the participants could learn about new software, Camtasia, it was felt that the feasibility of students making imovies and the use of software are farfetched in the Indian context. Hence that aspect is given four points. The interaction did not contribute to the learning of the concept of mobile learning besides the inputs received from the tutor and guest speakers. It must be admitted that the participants did not use any social networking sites to discuss topics offered in the tutorials. Thus, only three points have been given to the interaction and the learning outcome. Discussion and Conclusion Learning is promoted when participants share their views with everyone, interact with the reading material and participate during sessions. As Mary (2012) states, one of the positive aspects of MOOCs is that it trains students to take up responsibility for their learning. However, online courses sometimes pose a few challenges. The author, as a participant, found a few challenges such as constraints in sharing information with inadequate knowledge, low internet connectivity and inability to participate in webinars at times. Other challenges include the limitations in the applications of learning inputs in all types of teaching and learning environments. For example, in the mobile learning course the participants were introduced to the new software, Camtasia, which could be used to record audio files, take imovies and access the content in mobile devices. In the Indian context, most of the universities do not use advanced software like Camtasia. Moreover, the concept of mobile learning is yet to be implemented in a large scale in the educational scenario. Similarly, the extent to which MOOC can reach students across the globe and provide individual attention is questionable. 37


However, MOOCs could be offered independently at the university level to enhance students’ performance. It is suggested that  The online courses could be offered to a set of students who require individual attention.  Teachers can promote the use of digital literacy among students by making them actively participate in online discussions during classes, interact with their peers through social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook to name a few. In other words, teachers can perform as connected educators (Dabbs, 2012).  Teachers can work on their professional development by updating their knowledge of specific subjects and offer MOOCs frequently relating to those subjects of specialization. Thus, it is evident from the above –mentioned points that teachers need to supplement their classroom teaching with MOOC sessions, encourage students to actively participate and learn by collaborating with others. Needless to say that these sessions will train students for lifelong learning and at the same time help teachers to develop their professional skills. References Chamberlin, L. & Parish, T. (2011).MOOCs: Massive open online courses or massive and often obtuse courses?.Elearn Magazine. Retrieved from http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=2016017&emailsent=1&CFID=952 58939& Dabbs,L.M.(2012). Five tips for new teachers to become connected educators. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/new-teachersbecoming-connected- educators-lisa-dabbs DeWaard,I., Abajian,S., Gallagher, M.S., Hogue,R., Keskin, N., Koutropoulos, A. &Rodriguez,O.C.(2011). Using mlearning and MOOCs to understand chaos, emergence and complexity in education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1046/2026 (2012) Emerging technologies. Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerging_technologies Fini, A. (2009). The technological dimension of a massive open online course: The case of the CCK08 course tools. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/643/1402 Kharbach,M(2012).Teachers guide to the 21st century learning model : Connected learning. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. Retrieved from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/08/teachers-guide-to-21st-centurylearning.html Kop, R., & Hill, A. (2008). Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 9(3). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/523/1103 Mary (2012).How will MOOCs affect higher education?. The Udacity Blog. Retrieved from http://udacity.blogspot.in/2012/07/how-will-moocs-affect-higher-education.html

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McAuley,A.,Stewart,B., Siemens, G. & Cormier,D.(2010). The MOOC model for digital practice. Massive Open Online Courses. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/MOOC_Final.pdf Siemens (2012).Connectivist Learning Theory. Retrieved from http://p2pfoundation.net/Connectivist_Learning_Theory_-_Siemens

APPENDIX-A Self-Analysis Questionnaire 1. Learner’s Application of Digital Literacy in MOOC Rating 2 4

1

3

5

Updating information Inquiry -Based Learning Interacting in sessions Collaborative learning Sharing of ideas

2. Implications for Knowledge –Building

Rating 1

Learn new teaching styles from the facilitator and guest speakers. Updating knowledge on the subject. Facility to apply knowledge in real life situation. Using information in the classroom.

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2

3

4

5


3. Opportunities offered by MOOC

4. Challenges of MOOC

5. Effectiveness of the course Rating 1 2 3 4 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Plan of Syllabus Content Shared Tutor’s input Interaction with in class Use of social media Learning Outcome

To cite this article: Viswanathan, R. (2012). Teaching and Learning through MOOC. Frontiers of Language and Teaching, Vol. 3, 32-40.

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Teaching and Learning through MOOC

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