MOOCS: What Can We Learn from Them,Will They Replace Instructors?

S034 Thursday 10:20 - 11:10Rob Eby

ACCCESS Cohort 2Blinn College – Bryan CampusWebsite provided at the end

What is a MOOC?• Massively Open Online Course• Coursera, edX, and Udacity are the biggest.• Coursera has offered the most, around 325 by

March of this year.• September mooc.org launched as an open

source platform for others to use on their own

Why are MOOCs Offered?• Daphne Koller, Stanford prof behind

Coursera, gave a much-viewed TED talk.• Her evaluation been challenged by Jon

Beasley-Murray of the University of British Columbia.

• focusing on access to higher ed in the developing world when one-third of student loan borrowers in the United States never even finish college simply boggles the mind.

Why are MOOCs Offered?

$ Brand

YES!They will replace instructors.

Profs Are About to Get an Online Education• 2011 only 7.9% of 11th graders in Chicago "college

ready." • 23,290 teachers = $1.75 B : city's $5.11 B budget.• Issue a tablet to all 404,151 students? • “There will always be a place for real, live teachers

in classrooms, perhaps more as tutors ….The smart teachers, would be well-advised to embrace the change.”

• If a goal is a $10,000 four year degree….• Low level courses can be replaced at big schools

Americans' Views of Online Courses• A majority : it’s at least as good in terms of a

good value, individual instruction, success

• ? rigor, and whether employers will accept it• Accredited in February Pre-Calc, Calc and

Algebra• starting in 2009, alongside GPA, Linn State

began reporting a Job Readiness score for each course. punctuality, interpersonal skills, work habits, trust, and citizenship.

Math My Way• Foothill College (Los Altos Hills, CA 94022)• “a hands-on series of self-paced math learning

modules that combine … with a group of students who have similar math skill levels.”

• Students who participated last fall in earned a minimum grade of B+ the following quarter.

• Math My Way is made up of two classes: MATH 230 and MATH 231. These courses meet Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon during Fall Quarter. To participate, register for both classes.

They will NOT replace instructors.Dry video lectures and multiple choice quizzes do not suddenly become magical when 10,000 students or more are involved.

NO!

Who is Taking a MOOC course?

• To date, the primary audience for MOOCs has consisted of working adults who already hold degrees. • Many completers are highly motivated

autodidacts, or those who would be successful using any means to learn, from textbooks to television.

Historical Precedent?• Radio classes?!?!• When television came along and began to

broadcast college football games, Thelin said colleges worried fans would stop coming to games

• a worry similar to the concern that MOOCs could end on-campus education.

• John Thelin, a UK professor who studies the history of higher education.

San Jose State's online college course experiment reveals hidden costs

• some low-income didn't have computers and high-speed Internet at home. • Many needed personal attention• streaming video lectures on [a low cost

plan], you reach the cap after 3 hours: then $15 per gigabyte.• 15 video hours a month around $50-$70

Potential Problems• Identification of students• Intellectual property• Ship jumping

• in the Udacity statistics class • 51 percent achieved a C pass rate • 74 percent in the face-to-face

What Can We Learn?LOTS!

They Are Sitting At Our Feet

• If we don’t learn from MOOCs, we are out of a job.• We must model how an expert thinks about

problems. • Don’t just do examples, talk through them, what

you are thinking and why you are doing what you are doing.

• the operative issue is how online learning can produce comparable or superior student outcomes to traditional on ground programs.

• Ryan Craig wiredacademic.com

What are Universities For?• Forty-five percent of students made no significant

improvement in their critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills during the first two years of college

• After four years, 36 percent showed no significant gains in these thinking skills.

• students devoted less than a fifth of their time each week to academic pursuits.

• By contrast, 51 percent of their time — or 85 hours a week — socializing or in extracurricular activities

This is how MOOCs end• “Ultimately, universities and MOOC providers are

both in the education business. They have convenience. We have quality.”– Jonathan Rees History at CSU

• If all we offer are lectures in person instead of in video we have no quality.

• We MUST help students learn how to learn. • We MUST help students develop critical thinking

skills.• Self grade with rubric?

From “Revitalizing SmallColleges with MOOC Hybrids”

“On the instructional side, however, a hybrid model …. will encourage instructors to provide unique learning experiences for the students they work with so closely.”“however, if institutions do not take advantage of potential opportunities MOOCs bring to the table, there will be nobody to blame but themselves for their obsolescence.”Who has money for new buildings now?

Lessons to learn• Have a communications strategy• Help students assess readiness• Provide avenues for remediation and

help• Involve the learners in the process• Work with an instructional designer

Why We are Not Ready for Online

• No Experience in Producing Online Content• No clear teaching or evaluation model.• No clear business model• No access to social networks• Clarity and organization are key. Plan your course• Professors are the stars. Learning relationships!• Text still matters. note taking or guided notes• Passion matters most If you don’t want to be

there, they won’t either.

Rob Eby•http://tinyurl.com/k5mheyl

ACCCESS Cohort 2Blinn College – Bryan Campus

jeby @ blinn.edu@robebymathdude