This is a new MOOC which is being delivered by Oxford Brookes University and is a pilot funded by HEA and JISC. It is a short course that will run between 21 May and 22 June 2012.
Being involved in this new MOOC was in my mind an opportunity not to be missed. Although I have recently completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and as a result gained Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, that course was taught face to face. The students were all colleagues from across the university I work for. Don't get me wrong it was a great experience and I learnt much from it and from my peers. The reason I want to be involved in this online course is to experience first hand what it feels like to learn with others new to teaching from all over the world. Another reason is that I will find it useful seeing how others use the online environment in learning and teaching which in this case will be Blackboard Collaborate and how participants will engage with Twitter using the course hashtag #fslt12.
My inner voice is asking me "how will you fit this in on top of everything else???". Already engaged with part-time study on the MSc in Technology Enhanced Learning, Innovation and Change (which is how this blog came about - to record my reflections and things I have learnt along the way) as well an online short course on the Introduction to Cooperation Theory led by Howard Rheingold, I am busy! What is so refreshing about this and other MOOCs is that it so open and free of the rigid rules and regulations we come to associate with formal learning. The sessions are recorded and if I miss a webinar I can go back to it and watch at another time. Yes I will miss the interaction of being there in real time, but at least I don't miss it all. I and anyone else who wants to be involved is warmly and openly welcomed to join in any part of the course and the multiple modes to engage. Topics to be covered are below.
Given other commitments I have I know that it is highly likely I will be engaging outside of the live sessions, but having already listened to George Roberts and Rhona Sharpe's first session I know it is still a valuable experience for me. I should also add that I won't be committing to the assessment, mainly because I have to prioritise my other commitments but I would have liked to experience this online approach to compare with my face to face experience in the PgC in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.
You might be now wondering what a MOOC is. Well it stands for Massive Online Open Courses.
A MOOC is by itself a “non-defined pedagogical format to organize learning/teaching/training on a specific topic in a more informal collaborative way”
The principles of a MOOC are:
autonomy, diversity, openness and interaction/connectedness.
The principle activities of a MOOC are:
Aggregation, Remixing, Re-purposing, Feeding forward.
For more information on MOOCs there is a useful guide that Educause have put together called 7 Things you should know about MOOCs. (one of the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative's (ELI's) 7 Things You Should Know
About... series provides concise information on emerging learning
technologies and related practices).
This an opportunity to engage in open learning of academic practice - to participate, to share, to connect, to reflect and along the journey I will undoubtedly learn and extend my personal learning network.