Ann H. Taylor, Director

John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences,The Pennsylvania State University

A Tale of Two MOOCs

In 2013, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University launched two

MOOCs: “Maps and the Geospatial Revolution” and “Energy, the Environment, and Our Future.”

These MOOCs were developed with the support of the John A. Dutton e-Education Institute. This learning

design unit, established in 2000, has developed more than 120 online courses and educational resources,

comprising 14 certificate and degree programs.

Double the MOOCs

• Wanted to demonstrate the power of "low-tech" course delivery

• Relied on text and graphics to teach core competencies

• Content designed to stand alone without requiring one to view the video lectures

• Eager to bring our rich experience in online teaching and learning to the MOOC scene

• Interested in testing a large-scale delivery platform to learn more about how to scale online delivery at our own institution

MOOC Similarities

Team size depends on the faculty’s availability and passion for MOOC model

All LMS’ are not the same – be prepared for a learning curve

Learner expectations need to be set from the beginning

Multimedia is a “nice to have,” but not necessary for student success

Neutralizing negativity is not easy, but it is extremely important

ALL course components need to scale

Regular communication is key, both within support team and with students

Things will break – be ready to fix them quickly

Response time matters

Instructor-student engagement is hard, but rewarding!

Instructor posts draw a lot of (good or bad) attention to issues

MOOCs are a great way to raise online program visibility!

Double the Fun?! Lessons Learned

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Maps and the Geospatial Revolution

5 weeks

6 members

<1000 hours

48,448

36,384 active

95,945 posts & comments

3,064 passed the course (8.4%)

Energy, the Environment, & Our Future

8 weeks

14 members

~3100 hours

34,447

22,085 active

67,905 posts & comments

2,165 passed the course (9.8%)

Key Differences

MOOC

DURATION

TEAM SIZE

TEAM EFFORT

REGISTRANTS

PARTICIPANTS

INTERACTION

“GRADUATES”

Maps and the Geospatial Revolution Energy, the Environment, & Our Future

MOOCs as Traffic Drivers

Offering

1ST

Site Referrals

25,728Requests forInformation

113

Offering(Announced)

2ND

Site Referrals

2,551Requests forInformation

12

ProgramLink

ESPSite Referrals

3,890Requests forInformation

58

ProgramLink

RESSSite Referrals

380Requests forInformation

16