Massive open mobile and social learning

Mike Sharples

Academic Lead, FutureLearn

MASSIVE

OPEN

ONLINE

COURSE

WHAT IS A MOOC?

2 to 6 HOURS

per week

1,000 to 100,000

LEARNERS

OPEN to ALL

No prior qualifications

6 to 10 WEEKS

duration

SOCIAL INTERACTION

throughout

EXTENDING EDUCATION

• Not competing with universities for degree courses

• Offering learning for leisure, introduction to higher learning,

pathways into universities

• Celebrating success, not forcing completion

• Flexible indicators of progress and outcomes: profiles, certificates,

exams

• Becoming a ‘FutureLearner’: learning for life

EXTENDING EDUCATION

250 million views per year

9 million active learners

7 million course learners

5 million OU registered learners

We have excellent

university partners…

We’re proud to count 26 world class universities amongst our partners…

PARTNERS

And world-leading

content partners…

... plus three world famous cultural institutions

PARTNERS

BRITISH LIBRARY BRITISH COUNCIL BRITISH MUSEUM

... offering free courses worldwide

… on multiple devices

DESIGNED FOR MOBILE, TABLET & DESKTOP

FutureLearn is designed for the learner to enjoy the experience whatever the location

FUTURELEARN PRODUCT

13 Page

Built around social-

constructivist learning

Designed through an

agile process, with explicit

input from education

experts and learning

technologists

All new features are

determined with respect

to appropriate and

effective support for

learning

FUTURELEARN PRODUCT

14 Page

Draws on findings from research on effective learning, such as:

We are not simply adopting

methods from previous

platforms such as Moodle.

We have to rethink

for massive scale

a wide variety of learners

with different abilities

self-motivation rather than

learning for credit

multiple platforms MASTERY LEARNING

SELF-PREDICTION OF PERFORMANCE

& PROFILES OF PROGRESSION

SOCIAL LEARNING

IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK

VISIBLE LEARNING

PEDAGOGY OF THE MASSIVE

17 Page

Teaching, learning and assessment appropriate to massive scale learning:

FOLLOWING

Learners follow others,

and being followed

within and across

courses

MENTORING

Support for large

groups of learners by

mentors during a

course

ACTIVITY GROUPS

Small groups of

learners engaged in a

shared activity for a

short time

PEER REVIEW

AND PEER ASSESSMENT

All these, and other pedagogies, are being implemented in a distinctively FutureLearn way

Assessment for learning

Telling stories

Provoking conversation

Celebrating progress

Inspiring learning for life through

Learning for life