Journey to MOOC

Created by Kabir Bankole on Mar 5, 2015 8:24 AM

Actions for 'Journey to MOOC'
Subscribed
Previous Next
The journey to my first experience with Moocs brings me to class central website and a course called
Leading the digital learning transition: Creating Future Ready Schools. In the openness of MOOc, I was
interested in these following aspects: registration, the design of the class, the participants, the
discussions, the stakeholders. I was also curious about the barriers of the openness.
1) Registration
Here I am the first day of the class (scheduled from March 2 to April 26) try to register. I did it with
easiness. i just have to provide some basic information: name, e-mail address, and check the consent
agreement.
2) Design
Then, I can watch a video given the general aspect of the class

The Go the class button brings me to the first page of the class where the course outline, the goals of
participants, the DLT team, the MOOc- ed Learning experience, the expectations of participants, and the
frequently asked questions can be accessed.

When I click the DLT team, it tells me that the 2 instructors are program directors : Glenn Kleiman and
Mary Ann Wolf. The design was not far different from the design of the DETC 630 class I am now taking
at the UMUC with the only difference that there are more videos in the introduction of the class. Since the
confection of videos cost money, it brings me to try to find who are the people who fund this MOOC.

3) The stakeholders

If the MOOC is financed by three institutions: the Friday institute for educational innovation, NC state
university, and the Alliance for excellent education, the people who have interested in this session of
MOOC are all participants: superintendents, principals, curriculum directors, to name some contributors to
education. The students also have a stake at it since the MOOC aims at improving their condition.
3) Barriers to openness
When I read the goals of the class it has three objectifs: understand the potential of digital learning in K12 schools, Assess progress and set future goals for your schools or district; and begin to develop a plan
to achieve your digital learning goals ( Alliance for Excellent Innovation, Friday Institute, & NC state, 2014,
p. 1). Further down it is said that
The DLT MOOC-Ed is designed for school and district leaders, such as superintendents, principals,
curriculum directors, technology directors, financial officers, instructional coaches, library media

specialists, and lead teachers, as well as university faculty, consultants, parents and any others involved
in planning and implementing K-12 digital learning initiatives. Everyone involved in digital learning (also
known as blended learning, e-learning and instructional technology) in a K-12 school or district is
welcome to join the course. (Alliance For Excellent Innovation, Friday Institute, & NC State University,
2014, p.1)
Note that it said in the last sentence that it is opened to everyone involved in digital learning in a K-12
school or district. Some lines down the participants profile is restricted
We recommend, when possible, participation by teams from schools, districts or other organizations,
since having local colleagues work together to relate the lessons from the DLT MOOC-Ed to their own
context makes the course even more valuable. If a team is not available, individuals are welcome to
participate on their own. (Alliance For Excellent Innovation, Friday Institute, & NC State University, 2014,
p.1)
The following lines follow :This MOOC-Ed is not intended for individual classroom teachers who are
focused on learning how to use technology in their own classrooms, but we offer other MOOC-Ed courses
that focus on classroom teaching. (Alliance For Excellent Innovation, Friday Institute, & NC State
University, 2014, p.1).
Conclusion: The MOOCs is not really opened to everyone as for everyone it comes to, in writing,
exclude individuals classroom teachers.
4) The participants
First I want to check the origin of the participants to see how geographically global is the MOOC. These
four following windows of the participants introducing themselves give an idea of the professional
backgrounds and geographical origins of the participants

5) The Discussions

Let us catch the discussion. The theme of the discussion that day is about key frameworks for digital
learning and the question asked is the following: How will you use one or more of the frameworks? What
suggestions about using them can you provide for others? What questions do you have about them?
Lets look at the participants answers and specifically the one from Krystal Debbie Dupree

In her answer he explains the type of technology she used and refer to the post of another participant

This type of answer is important for me because it helps me know which type of MOOc I am watching. As
Rodriguez (2013) differentiates it, they are two types of MOOCs. One is c-Mooc format and the other one
is x-MOOC format. In the c-MOOc where c stands for connectivity MOOC, participants share information
that can be used for both of the participants such as in this response where the Debbie Dupree shares
her experience about what she uses as technology. Siemens (as quoted in Rodrigez (2013) states that
In c-MOOCs the learners autonomy, peer-to-peer learning and social networking are emphasized (p. 5)
while x-MOOCs are based on a tutor-centric model that establishes a one-to-many relationship to reach
massive numbers (p.5).The x-MOOC looks more like type quizzes, tests relation between the instructor
and the participants.
Conclusion: The MOOC I choose to watch is a c-type MOOC format
My first journey to a MOOC class has been very instructive since it has helped me to better know the
functionality and characteristic of a MOOC class

References:
Alliance for Excellent Innovation, Friday Institute for educational innovation, & NC State University (2014).
Leading the digital learning transition: creating future ready schools. MOOC-Ed . Retrieved from:
https://courses.mooc-ed.org/dlt4/course
Rodriguez, 0. ( 2013, January-March). The concept of openness behind c and x-MOOC (Massive Online
Course). Open Praxis 5(1), p. 67- 73. Retrieved from: file:///home/chronos/u9ff3c2c8a9a0cfd66eb3977e6010d84f2e9fcaed/Downloads/42-151-4-PB%20(4).pdf
Filter by:Filter by:

Unread
Flagged

Show:
Threaded
Newest First
Oldest First
Author First Name A-Z
Author First Name Z-A
Author Last Name A-Z
Author Last Name Z-A
Subject A-Z
Subject Z-A
Attachments First

View profile card for Graeme Wilson

Graeme Wilson

Mar5 atHi
8:56
Kabir
AM

How
surprised
I am
to see Wilson
the same MOOC I joined. I saw your post come up as

Actions for reply by

Graeme
I was busy putting the final touches to mine. I will be very interesting to see the responses
we get for our two posts.
Good post.
Graeme
View profile card for Kabir Bankole

Kabir Bankole
Mar5 atHi
9:28
AM
Graeme,

Really?
to Bankole
see two perspectives.

Actions forCurious
reply byalso
Kabir
Thanks,
View profile card for Carolyn Cuff

Carolyn Cuff

Mar8 atHello
11:51Kabir,
AM
Actions
The MOOC
you
sounds

for reply
byjoined
Carolyn
Cuff very interesting. I think you make a very good
selection. Also you did a good job of explaining your stakeholders.
Carolyn
View profile card for Karla Langhus

Karla Langhus

Mar8 atKabir
12:44 PM

I
am so
out the differences between MOOC's C and X.

Actions
forglad
replyyou
by pointed
Karla Langhus
I believe that now there is some distinction between them that courses should be
categorized or tags with them being either C or X. Sort of the graduate courses are
different than undergraduate courses. Not that one needs to take MOOCs X before taking
MOOC -C, but to make a distinction. Some learners may prefer to take MOOC -x ,

because that is what they are used to , while other may prefer to take MOOC- C because
they like the connectiveness?
Just a thought :)
karla

<<< Replied to post below >>>

Authored by: Kabir Bankole
Authored on: Mar 5, 2015 8:24 AM
Subject: Journey to MOOC
The journey to my first experience with Moocs brings me to class central website
and a course called Leading the digital learning transition: Creating Future Ready
Schools. In the openness of MOOc, I was interested in these following aspects:
registration, the design of the class, the participants, the discussions, the stakeholders. I
was also curious about the barriers of the openness.
1) Registration
Here I am the first day of the class (scheduled from March 2 to April 26) try to
register. I did it with easiness. i just have to provide some basic information: name, e-mail
address, and check the consent agreement.
2) Design
Then, I can watch a video given the general aspect of the class

The Go the class button brings me to the first page of the class where the
course outline, the goals of participants, the DLT team, the MOOc- ed Learning
experience, the expectations of participants, and the frequently asked questions can be
accessed.


When I click the DLT team, it tells me that the 2 instructors are program
directors : Glenn Kleiman and Mary Ann Wolf. The design was not far different from the
design of the DETC 630 class I am now taking at the UMUC with the only difference that
there are more videos in the introduction of the class. Since the confection of videos cost
money, it brings me to try to find who are the people who fund this MOOC.

3) The stakeholders

If the MOOC is financed by three institutions: the Friday institute for educational
innovation, NC state university, and the Alliance for excellent education, the people who
have interested in this session of MOOC are all participants: superintendents, principals,
curriculum directors, to name some contributors to education. The students also have a
stake at it since the MOOC aims at improving their condition.
3) Barriers to openness
When I read the goals of the class it has three objectifs: understand the potential
of digital learning in K-12 schools, Assess progress and set future goals for your schools
or district; and begin to develop a plan to achieve your digital learning goals ( Alliance for
Excellent Innovation, Friday Institute, & NC state, 2014, p. 1). Further down it is said that
The DLT MOOC-Ed is designed for school and district leaders, such as
superintendents, principals, curriculum directors, technology directors, financial officers,
instructional coaches, library media specialists, and lead teachers, as well as university
faculty, consultants, parents and any others involved in planning and implementing K-12
digital learning initiatives. Everyone involved in digital learning (also known as blended
learning, e-learning and instructional technology) in a K-12 school or district is welcome to
join the course. (Alliance For Excellent Innovation, Friday Institute, & NC State
University, 2014, p.1)
Note that it said in the last sentence that it is opened to everyone involved in
digital learning in a K-12 school or district. Some lines down the participants profile is
restricted
We recommend, when possible, participation by teams from schools, districts or
other organizations, since having local colleagues work together to relate the lessons
from the DLT MOOC-Ed to their own context makes the course even more valuable. If a
team is not available, individuals are welcome to participate on their own. (Alliance For
Excellent Innovation, Friday Institute, & NC State University, 2014, p.1)
The following lines follow :This MOOC-Ed is not intended for individual
classroom teachers who are focused on learning how to use technology in their own
classrooms, but we offer other MOOC-Ed courses that focus on classroom teaching.
(Alliance For Excellent Innovation, Friday Institute, & NC State University, 2014, p.1).
Conclusion: The MOOCs is not really opened to everyone as for everyone it
comes to, in writing, exclude individuals classroom teachers.
4) The participants
First I want to check the origin of the participants to see how geographically
global is the MOOC. These four following windows of the participants introducing
themselves give an idea of the professional backgrounds and geographical origins of the
participants

5) The Discussions

 Let us catch the discussion. The theme of the discussion that day is about key
frameworks for digital learning and the question asked is the following: How will you use
one or more of the frameworks? What suggestions about using them can you provide for
others? What questions do you have about them?
Lets look at the participants answers and specifically the one from Krystal
Debbie Dupree

In her answer he explains the type of technology she used and refer to the post
of another participant

This type of answer is important for me because it helps me know which type of
MOOc I am watching. As Rodriguez (2013) differentiates it, they are two types of
MOOCs. One is c-Mooc format and the other one is x-MOOC format. In the c-MOOc
where c stands for connectivity MOOC, participants share information that can be used
for both of the participants such as in this response where the Debbie Dupree shares her
experience about what she uses as technology. Siemens (as quoted in Rodrigez (2013)
states that In c-MOOCs the learners autonomy, peer-to-peer learning and social
networking are emphasized (p. 5) while x-MOOCs are based on a tutor-centric model
that establishes a one-to-many relationship to reach massive numbers (p.5).The x-MOOC
looks more like type quizzes, tests relation between the instructor and the participants.
Conclusion: The MOOC I choose to watch is a c-type MOOC format
My first journey to a MOOC class has been very instructive since it has helped
me to better know the functionality and characteristic of a MOOC class

References:
Alliance for Excellent Innovation, Friday Institute for educational innovation, & NC
State University (2014). Leading the digital learning transition: creating future ready
schools. MOOC-Ed . Retrieved from: https://courses.mooc-ed.org/dlt4/course
Rodriguez, 0. ( 2013, January-March). The concept of openness behind c and xMOOC (Massive Online Course). Open Praxis 5(1), p. 67- 73. Retrieved from:
file:///home/chronos/u-9ff3c2c8a9a0cfd66eb3977e6010d84f2e9fcaed/Downloads/42-1514-PB%20(4).pdf
View profile card for Kabir Bankole

Kabir Bankole
Mar8 atHi
2:29
PM
Karla,

I
do
not
MOOC-c
is a perequisite to MOOC-x. There are just types of

Actions forthink
replythat
by Kabir
Bankole
MOOC. It just happened that the MOOC I was taking was a interactive MOOC, so c. They
may be some MOOc that classmates took that were x-type; this is, quizzes version.

Thanks,
Kabir
View profile card for Andrew King

Andrew King
Mar9 atHi
12:07
AM
Kibar,

I
think
the
cMOOC
is a completly

Actions for reply

by Andrew
King different beast to the xMOOC. Essentially the
cMOOC is based on a connectivist idea that students/tachers as a group should lead the
enquiry in whatever direction they would like.
My guess is that if there are videos explainig content then it is proably an
xMOOC. A cMOOC may have videos, but they would be focused on the process of
learning, but not actually providing content. Bit like our DETC630, involves us interacting,
but it is not Connectivist.
The cMOOCs I have actually heard about are the onesSiemen's did - and that
was a MOOC on the concept of conectivism. i have never seen one but from my
understanding and the Rodriguez (2013) article the idea is less a directed study toward a
set of learning outcomes, but a group activity in exploring the meaning of something.
Interesting if you got the impression fro the MOOC you were in that the learners
were directing the subject matter and learning activities.
James
Rodriguez, O. (2013). The concept of openness behind c and x-MOOCs
(Massive Open Online Courses). Open Praxis, 5(1), 67-73.
doi:10.5944/openpraxis.5.1.42
View profile card for Kabir Bankole

Kabir Bankole
Mar9 atHi
4:50
James,
AM

Thanks
yourbyperspective
on Rodriguez article. I may have misread it; I will

Actions forfor
reply
Kabir Bankole
take another look at it. About what I see as exclusion ot teachers, I did specify that it is
more in writing than a real obstruction to openness. It does not preventing schools
teachers to access the MOOc.A school teacher who read that part, will say:i"t just not for
me"
Thanks,
Kabir
View profile card for Andrew King

Andrew King
Mar9 atAs
6:58
I said
AM I have ever seen one - seemed like a very strage flight the cMOOC.
One
of
my
lectures
did by
it and
pulled
out in confusion.

Actions for reply

Andrew
King
Cheers,
James
View profile card for Stella Porto

Stella Porto
Mar9 atThe
10:08
PM
differences
between cMOOCs and xMOOCS is dramatic. Completely
different.
What
you
all
are
experimenting
are xMOOCs. Here are a description of the

Actions for reply by Stella

Porto
differences: http://www.tonybates.ca/2014/10/13/comparing-xmoocs-and-cmoocsphilosophy-and-practice/
These are completely different pedagogical approaches. As I mentioned in
another post, cMOOCs is way more like a community of practice going through a course
together, while xMOOCs are a very structured environment with little oversight where
students completely diverse and nothing in common are trying to learn something.
Best,
Stella
View profile card for Kabir Bankole


Kabir Bankole
Mar9 atHi
10:24
PM
Stella,
Actions
Thanks
the by
link.
It clarifies
the different types of MOOc. I did I bad reading of

forfor
reply
Kabir
Bankole
the previous article I based on.
Thanks,
Kabir
View profile card for Andrew King

Andrew King

Mar8 atHi
11:49
PM
Kabir,

You
read
the part
about not
being for existing teachers as excusionary. My read it

Actions for reply

by Andrew
King
was just specifiing who it would be of value to, it is focused on technology issus at a
higher level in organisations and therefore would not be helpful to a classroom teacher.
Not sure that specifing who it would be useful to is removing openness - I only
have what you wrote so i could be I am seeing something that was not there,
James
Previous Page /1Next Page