1 00:00:02,599 --> 00:00:03,099 What is a MOOC? 2 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:07,439 The Massive Open Online Course 3 00:00:07,439 --> 00:00:08,999 is a response to the challenges 4 00:00:08,999 --> 00:00:11,879 faced by organizations and distributed disciplines 5 00:00:11,879 --> 00:00:14,759 at a time of information overload. 6 00:00:14,759 --> 00:00:16,959 It used to be that when you wanted to know about something 7 00:00:16,959 --> 00:00:18,279 you could do a few things 8 00:00:18,279 --> 00:00:19,359 You could ask someone 9 00:00:19,359 --> 00:00:20,559 You could buy a book 10 00:00:20,559 --> 00:00:22,199 You could try to figure out for yourself 11 00:00:22,199 --> 00:00:24,759 or you could call a school. 12 00:00:24,759 --> 00:00:26,799 If that school offered the course 13 00:00:26,799 --> 00:00:28,239 in a thing that you were trying to figure out 14 00:00:28,239 --> 00:00:29,999 you could go there and take it 15 00:00:29,999 --> 00:00:33,359 you could get access to information about a topic 16 00:00:33,359 --> 00:00:35,639 An instructor would comb through journals and books 17 00:00:35,639 --> 00:00:38,359 to pull the information together from a library 18 00:00:38,359 --> 00:00:39,959 you might even find others 19 00:00:39,959 --> 00:00:42,159 who are also interested in the same things that you are 20 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,159 The Mooc is built for a world 21 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:47,359 where information is everywhere 22 00:00:47,359 --> 00:00:49,839 where a social network obsessed with 23 00:00:49,839 --> 00:00:50,999 the same things as you are 24 00:00:50,999 --> 00:00:51,839 is a click away 25 00:00:51,839 --> 00:00:53,039 a digital world 26 00:00:53,039 --> 00:00:54,599 a world where internet connection 27 00:00:54,599 --> 00:00:55,799 gives you access 28 00:00:55,799 --> 00:00:57,679 to a staggering amount of information 29 00:00:57,679 --> 00:00:59,759 This video will introduce you 30 00:00:59,759 --> 00:01:01,879 to how a Massive Open Online Course 31 00:01:01,879 --> 00:01:05,759 is one way of learning in a networked world. 32 00:01:05,759 --> 00:01:06,959 A MOOC is a course. 33 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:07,759 It's open. 34 00:01:07,759 --> 00:01:09,119 It's participatory 35 00:01:09,119 --> 00:01:10,799 It's distributed 36 00:01:10,799 --> 00:01:14,399 and it supports life-long networked learning. 37 00:01:14,399 --> 00:01:15,319 In one sense 38 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:17,319 Massive Open Online Course is just that. 39 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:18,439 It's a course. 40 00:01:18,439 --> 00:01:20,799 It has facilitators, course materials... 41 00:01:20,799 --> 00:01:22,279 It has a start and an end date. 42 00:01:22,279 --> 00:01:24,279 It has participants. 43 00:01:24,279 --> 00:01:26,239 But the MOOC is not a school. 44 00:01:26,239 --> 00:01:29,239 It's not JUST an online course. 45 00:01:29,239 --> 00:01:31,119 It's a way to connect and collaborate 46 00:01:31,119 --> 00:01:32,679 while developing digital skills. 47 00:01:32,679 --> 00:01:34,719 It's a way of engaging in the learning process 48 00:01:34,719 --> 00:01:37,559 that engages what it means to be a student. 49 00:01:37,559 --> 00:01:41,119 It is maybe most importantly, 50 00:01:41,119 --> 00:01:41,919 an event, 51 00:01:41,919 --> 00:01:43,639 around which people who care about a topic 52 00:01:43,639 --> 00:01:45,199 can get together and work and talk about it 53 00:01:45,199 --> 00:01:48,519 in a structured way. 54 00:01:48,519 --> 00:01:50,039 The course is open. 55 00:01:50,039 --> 00:01:51,479 All of the work gets done 56 00:01:51,479 --> 00:01:52,479 in areas accessible for people 57 00:01:52,479 --> 00:01:54,759 to read and reflect and comment on. 58 00:01:54,759 --> 00:01:56,719 The course is open in the sense that 59 00:01:56,719 --> 00:01:57,599 you can go ahead 60 00:01:57,599 --> 00:02:00,039 and take the course without paying for it. 61 00:02:00,039 --> 00:02:02,559 You might pay to get the credits through an institution 62 00:02:02,559 --> 00:02:06,359 but you are not paying for participating in the course. 63 00:02:06,359 --> 00:02:09,559 It's also open in the sense that the work done in the course 64 00:02:09,559 --> 00:02:12,079 is shared among all the people taking it. 65 00:02:12,079 --> 00:02:14,879 The material put together by the facilitators 66 00:02:14,879 --> 00:02:16,399 the work done by the participants 67 00:02:16,399 --> 00:02:19,199 it's all negotiated in the open. 68 00:02:19,199 --> 00:02:20,439 You get to keep your work 69 00:02:20,439 --> 00:02:22,799 and everyone gets to learn from it. 70 00:02:22,799 --> 00:02:25,839 The course is participatory 71 00:02:25,839 --> 00:02:27,559 you really become part of the course 72 00:02:27,559 --> 00:02:30,039 by engaging with other people's work 73 00:02:30,039 --> 00:02:31,639 Participants are not asked 74 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:33,079 to complete specific assignments 75 00:02:33,079 --> 00:02:34,919 but rather to engage with the material 76 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:36,039 with each other 77 00:02:36,039 --> 00:02:39,159 and with other material that they may find on the Web. 78 00:02:39,159 --> 00:02:41,159 You make connections between ideas 79 00:02:41,159 --> 00:02:42,759 and between you and other people. 80 00:02:42,759 --> 00:02:43,719 You network. 81 00:02:43,719 --> 00:02:45,199 One of the outcomes 82 00:02:45,199 --> 00:02:46,839 that people get from the course 83 00:02:46,839 --> 00:02:47,719 are the networked connections 84 00:02:47,719 --> 00:02:49,799 they build up through engaging with each other. 85 00:02:49,799 --> 00:02:51,799 The course is distributed 86 00:02:51,799 --> 00:02:54,039 and all these blog posts and discussions posts, 87 00:02:54,039 --> 00:02:56,119 video responses, articles, tweets and tags 88 00:02:56,119 --> 00:02:59,959 all knit together to create a networked course 89 00:02:59,959 --> 00:03:03,199 They're mostly not found at one central location 90 00:03:03,199 --> 00:03:04,759 but rather all over the Internet 91 00:03:04,759 --> 00:03:06,319 in different pockets and clusters 92 00:03:06,319 --> 00:03:09,199 There's no right way to do the course 93 00:03:09,199 --> 00:03:11,399 No single path from the 1st week to the last 94 00:03:11,399 --> 00:03:13,879 this allows for new ideas to develop 95 00:03:13,879 --> 00:03:16,039 and for different points of view to co-exist 96 00:03:16,039 --> 00:03:19,759 it also means that one of the side effects of a MOOC 97 00:03:19,759 --> 00:03:22,679 is the building of a distributed knowledge base on the Net 98 00:03:22,679 --> 00:03:26,559 The course is a step on the road 99 00:03:26,559 --> 00:03:27,119 to life-long learning 100 00:03:27,119 --> 00:03:29,279 MOOCs promote independence among learners 101 00:03:29,279 --> 00:03:31,879 They encourage participants to work in their own spaces 102 00:03:31,879 --> 00:03:34,199 and create authentic networks 103 00:03:34,199 --> 00:03:36,559 they can easily maintain after the course finishes 104 00:03:36,559 --> 00:03:39,599 A MOOC can promote the kind of network creation 105 00:03:39,599 --> 00:03:41,199 that life-long learning is all about. 106 00:03:41,199 --> 00:03:43,039 The course part is just the beginning 107 00:03:43,039 --> 00:03:45,879 How can you go about finding one of these? 108 00:03:45,879 --> 00:03:48,279 Well, news that a MOOC will be offered 109 00:03:48,279 --> 00:03:50,159 usually spreads on online networks 110 00:03:50,159 --> 00:03:52,999 people who have reputations for interesting skills 111 00:03:52,999 --> 00:03:54,639 or innovative thinking on a topic 112 00:03:54,639 --> 00:03:55,759 decide to collaborate 113 00:03:55,759 --> 00:03:58,359 by offering an open online course 114 00:03:58,359 --> 00:03:59,759 covering their topic. 115 00:03:59,759 --> 00:04:02,359 Anyone who wants to join in, CAN 116 00:04:02,359 --> 00:04:05,079 In a MOOC you can choose what YOU do 117 00:04:05,079 --> 00:04:06,119 how you participate 118 00:04:06,119 --> 00:04:07,879 and only you can tell 119 00:04:07,879 --> 00:04:08,599 in the end 120 00:04:08,599 --> 00:04:10,599 if you have been successful 121 00:04:10,599 --> 00:04:12,119 just like in real life.