What was the MOOC?

I chose to do a 1-4 week course from Coursera called “Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects”. Although I only did 2 out of the 4 weeks as it was quite long and I just wanted to try it out. The course provided you with videos, assignments and readings each week as well organizes the 4 weeks for you. 1 assignment was mandatory and a honours assignment was also available. It is important to note this course can provide you with a certificate but it was not free to do so. The required videos were no longer than 10 mins and everything was organized in the order you should watch them. You were assessed by the graded quizzes with selected due dates each week.

How Did the Course Compare to Traditional Courses?

I was surprised that the course was not to different compared to my paid online university courses. The course is taught by 2 professors, Barbara Oakley from Oakland University and Dr Terrence Sejnowski from Salk Institution for biological studies. The way I did the course was just for interest, the course was not free if you wanted a certificate but it was only $6.99. The assessments were based off of quizzes with questions from the past week, to pass the course all assignments must be handed in on time and you must have a passing grade as well just like a traditional course. As well, some assignments required you to peer-grade them meaning others taking the course will grade your assignment and you will grade someones. This is also very traditional as peer-reviewing is very common within university courses. Personally I would say the learning that was achieved was mainly skills I can use in my own life. However I did not complete the course as I did not have 4 weeks to do so.

xMOOC vs cMOOC

I believe this course was a xMOOC because it is provided by two legitimate professors as well as it is research based content. The content is specific and controlled as well all course information is posted online and it may provide a certificate. In the book “MOOCs: A Learning Journey” by Becky Smith and Min Eng they state that an xMOOC also provides peer-review and instructor reviewed assignments. As I mentioned above all assignments were done by either a peer or an instructor.

Is the MOOC open?

I would say this MOOC was open. In the journal “Attributes of Open Pedagogy: A Model for Using Open Educational Resources,” written by Bronwyn Hegarty it notes that collaboration and connection are two factors of an open education practice.

 

Closing Notes

I chose this activity mainly because it seemed intriguing and fun! These online courses have unlimited options and everything was so interesting to me that I felt as though I had to choose this activity. I was interested in learning more about the term MOOC as well because other than the readings provided I had never heard of it before. This activity gave me the opportunity to learn multiple new things as well as have a bit of fun.

Smith, B., & Eng, M. (2013). MOOCs: A Learning Journey: Two Continuing Education Practitioners Investigate and Compare cMOOC and xMOOC Learning Models and Experiences. In Cheung, K. S, Fong, J., Fong, W., Wang, F. L., & Kwok, L. F. (Eds.) Hybrid Learning and Continuing Education (pp. 244–255). Berlin: Springer. Access through UVIC libraries: https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-39750-9_23