Archive for the ‘MOOCs’ Category

Learning from decades of online distance education: MOOCs and the Community of Inquiry framework

Despite their growing popularity, there are many contradictory arguments between supporters and detractors of MOOCs. Nevertheless, the advent of mass-scale online courses is increasingly credited to have the potential to reshape higher education significantly over time, and recent research analyses how and in which ways such a potential can be leveraged. Aim of this conceptual […]

Could Georgia Tech Use Online to Shave Time Off Bachelor’s Degrees?

University uses model from closely observed master’s in computer science on undergraduates for first time, finds notable success and sees path to shaving a year or more off in-person instruction. Inside Higher Ed

Open, Online, and Blended: Transactional Interactions with MOOC Content by Learners in Three Different Course Formats

During the 2013-14 academic year, Harvard University piloted the use of MOOCs as tools for blended learning in select undergraduate and graduate residential and online courses. One of these courses, The Ancient Greek Hero, combined for—credit (Harvard College and Harvard Extension School) and open online (HarvardX) groups into a single online unit, marking the first […]

Open, Online, and Blended: Transactional Interactions with MOOC Content by Learners in Three Different Course Formats

During the 2013-14 academic year, Harvard University piloted the use of MOOCs as tools for blended learning in select undergraduate and graduate residential and online courses. One of these courses, The Ancient Greek Hero, combined for—credit (Harvard College and Harvard Extension School) and open online (HarvardX) groups into a single online unit, marking the first […]

MOOCs and open education: Possible roles, pedagogical practices, personalization, and pending trends.

In this article, Professors Curtis J. Bonk, Mimi Miyoung Lee, Thomas C. Reeves, and Thomas H. Reynolds discuss the events that led to their recently edited book on “MOOCs and Open Education Around the World” as well as a special journal issue on this same topic. They reflect on the role of MOOCs and open […]

Approaches Reflected in Academic Writing MOOCs

Since it was first introduced in 2008, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been attracting a lot of interest. Since then, MOOCs have emerged as powerful platforms for teaching and learning academic writing. However, there has been no detailed investigation of academic writing MOOCs. As a result, much uncertainty still exists about the differences of […]

Understanding Learners’ Motivation and Learning Strategies in MOOCs

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have changed the way in which OER (Open Educational Resources) are bundled by teachers and consumed by learners. MOOCs represent an evolution towards the production and offering of structured quality OER. Many institutions that were initially reluctant to providing OER have, however, joined the MOOC wave. Nevertheless, MOOCs detractors strongly […]

A Team of Instructors’ Use of Social Presence, Teaching Presence, and Attitudinal Dissonance Strategies: An Animal Behaviour and Welfare MOOC

This case study examined a team of instructors’ use of social presence, teaching presence, and attitudinal dissonance in a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on Animal Behaviour and Welfare (ABW), designed to facilitate attitudinal learning. The study reviewed a team of six instructors’ use of social presence and teaching presence by applying the Community of […]

Examining MOOCs: A Comparative Study among Educational Technology Experts in Traditional and Open Universities

The proliferation of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in recent years has generated much debate. MOOCs have been presented as technology-based educational practices, but many researchers question if this kind of open courses really respects some of the consolidated principles behind the education offered at universities. In light of this situation, consulting the teachers most […]

The Effects of Lecture Diversity on Germane Load

An important aspect of MOOCs is the way students interact with video lectures. Instruction provided through video lectures should focus on ways to increase germane cognitive load, which directly contributes to learning. One approach that may lead to an increase of germane load may be to use video lectures with diverse forms of media, including […]