Stephen Downes, in my view, is the most prolific writer on the Web. He is well known for his website named OLDaily (http://www.downes.ca/ ) and his blog page called Half an Hour (http://halfanhour.blogspot.ca/ ). If you have any interest in current issues relating to open online education, I strongly advise you to sign up for Stephen’s website and blog. According to Wikipedia, Downes has been a prominent promoter of online learning and technologies since 1995 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Downes ). The very first MOOC (CCK08) was created by Downes and George Siemens in 2008. To say he is qualified to speak on MOOCS, OER’s (Open Educational Resources) and the future of online education, is an understatement. It is no wonder our OLTD cohort was anxiously awaiting Stephen’s arrival to our virtual classroom (http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/2013-05-25-couros-course2013).
Downes began his presentation by defining the four terms that make up a MOOC: Massive Open Online Course. Being specific with the definitions of these individual terms and how they are combined to define exactly what a MOOC is was extremely beneficial. I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked, “What exactly is a MOOC?” My reply is always what the acronym stands for and I leave it at that, knowing very well the answer did not define the quality or uniqueness of a MOOC.
The following are Stephen Downes’ definitions of the terms that make up a MOOC:
Massive: Not defined by merely numbers, but by the design element that can support a large number of people who are able to interact with each other on a one-to-one basis. As Downes puts it, "It is this interaction that is the most significant in learning, but also often the most important, and for a course to be truly massive, it must enable, and even encourage, hundreds or even thousands of these small interpersonal interactions." ( http://halfanhour.blogspot.ca/ )
Open: Something (a resource, a course, an education) is free and open if and only if:
- the resource may be read, run, consumed or played without cost or obligation
- there are reasonable ways to share the resource or to reuse the resource, and especially to translate or format-shift the resource (http://halfanhour.blogspot.ca/ )
Online: For a MOOC to be ‘online’ entails that no required element of the course is required to take place at any particular physical location. (http://halfanhour.blogspot.ca/ )
Course: A course is an event which is:
- bounded by a start date and an end date
- cohered by some common theme or domain of discourse
- a progression of ordered events related to that domain (http://halfanhour.blogspot.ca/ )
Thanks to Stephen’s clearly stated definitions, I can now answer that familiar question, “What exactly is a MOOC?” with a specific answer that does not merely rely on the automatic response to read out the acronym. A MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course: it is massive in that has a design element built-in to support and encourage hundreds and up to thousands of one-on-one interpersonal relations; it is open in that it is run without cost or obligation with ways to share and reuse resources; it is Online meaning no particular part of the course is required at any particular physical location; and it is defined as a course by having a start and end date with a common theme set up by a progression of ordered events.
The most intriguing elements of a MOOC for me are the opportunities for unforeseen discoveries and connections made with others that occur when ideas, concepts and content are remixed and shared through the MOOC community. As Downes explains, “From the perspective of the course, what it means is that the process of taking the course is itself much more important than the content participants may happen to learn in the course.” (http://halfanhour.blogspot.ca/ )
The active participation through reflection and connections is more valuable to learning than memorizing content.
My inquiry-based teaching methods rely on interactions and learning that occur when students share and build on ideas, concepts and interests that stem out of a larger themed question in the course. Inquiry-based learning compliments the idea of a connectivist course that Downes describes as a course where “a learner is immersed within a community of practitioners and introduced to ways of doing the sorts of things practitioners do, and through that practice, becomes more similar in act, thought and values to members of that community”. (http://halfanhour.blogspot.ca/ ) Stephen uses the example “To learn physics, in other words, you join a community of physicists, practice physics, and thereby become like a physicist.” Hence, to learn photography, you immerse yourself in a community of photographers and practice to become a skilled at photography.
The question I posed to Stephen Downes after his presentation in OLTD505 centered on whether he knew of any high school students taking a MOOC course along with their teacher. Would you see a classroom in high school all taking a MOOC together along with the teacher as plausible idea? Would this experiment possibly increase student engagement and motivation to learn because it is not assessed, there is no obligation to finish and the only object is to inspire learning through an exchange of ideas? (Something I am trying to instil in my students who are so used to information handed to them without any critical thinking involved.)
My next step is to begin a search of MOOCs appropriate for high school students. I would be looking for courses that inspire creativity within an informal learning format. Whether or not my students will voluntarily sign up is an unknown, but I certainly feel it will be an experience that would be valuable and, hopefully, one that will promote a deeper form of learning than they are exposed to in a closed classroom.
Any responses to the idea of high school students entering the world of MOOCs are most welcome!