Writer, philosopher, educator, journalist. Specialist in online learning and new media technologies. Moncton's most prominent cyber-citizen. See also my main website at http://www.downes.ca
In this presentation Stephen Downes addresses the question of how massive open online courses (MOOCs) will impact the future of distance education. The presentation considers in some detail the nature and purpose of a MOOC in contrast with traditional distance education. He argues that MOOCs represent the resurgence of community-based learning and will describe how distance education institutions will share MOOCs with each other and will supplement online interaction with community-based resources and services. The phenomenon of 'wrapped MOOCs' will be described, and Downes will outline several examples of local support for global MOOCs. The implications for the French-speaking world of distance education will be considered, and Downes will outline strategies and examples of the use of MOOCs to promote linguistic diversity.
What is a MOOC?
Thank you, it is a pleasure to be able to be here today. [slide 1 – MOOC Wordle]
My objective in this talk is to address how the massive open online course (MOOC) will impact the future of distance education, and in particular, strategies and examples of the use of MOOCs to promote cultural and linguistic diversity.
The proposition I will offer is that MOOCs give us a new way to understand learning, and hence, a new way to understand certain types of learning, such as for example learning that supports diversity in language and culture.
To be clear, my expertise is in the field of open online learning, and not in the field of cultural and linguistic diversity. So my talk can only carry the discussion a certain distance. My hope is to offer a starting point for this discussion.
And I want to be clear that when I talk about a MOOC, I am talking about a different kind of learning. Most of you will be familiar with the traditional online course, which is based on the presentation of content and information, and based on a clear curriculum which is to be learned.
And the MOOCs you may have read about in the newspaper, the online courses offered though American universities such as Harvard and Stanford and MIT, these MOOCs are also examples of traditional online learning, with content and curriculum.
My understanding of the term ‘MOOC’ is a bit different; it is derived from a theory of learning based on engagement and interaction within a community of practitioners, without predetermined outcomes, and without a body of knowledge that we can simply ‘transfer’ to the learner.
And my understanding of the term ‘MOOC’ is based on five years of experience developing and offering MOOCs, from the very first MOOC, “CCK08”, created by George Siemens and myself in 2008, and run a total of four time in the years following, to MOOCs in personal learning envrionemnts, critical literacies, and more.
So, first I will talk about what I mean by a MOOC and expand a bit on MOOC pedagogy. Then I will talk about the outcomes of a MOOC and the purpose of offering or taking a MOOC. Then I will address the relation between MOOC and community, and finally I will make some observations and offer some examples showing how MOOCs can promote cultural and linguistic diversity.
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