lessons learned about ensuring quality of course materials ...lessons learned about ensuring quality...
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Lessons Learned about Ensuring Quality of Course Materials in a
MOOC
University of Houston, MainCollege of Education | Learning, Design & Technology Program
Bernard Robin, PhDErwin Handoko, MD, MEd
George Zhao, MEd
MOOC Stands for:
MASSIVE: refers to the large size of a MOOC. Typical MOOCs have thousands of students.
OPEN: anyone can participate, usually for free. Also, much of the content is open, or sharable.
ONLINE: content is delivered over the Internet.
COURSE: students explore content, complete assignments, receive feedback, get grades.
More than 12.6 million registered users
Offered 1,028 courses
Partnered with 119 institutions around the world
Advantages of MOOCs for Students
Exposure to free educational content for potentially huge numbers of students who cannot afford college.
Opportunity to learn new content from world’s best educators.
May gain skills that can enhance job prospects.
Can interact with learners from around the world.
Advantages of MOOCs for Faculty
Expand your reputation as an educator.
Opportunity to try new teaching styles and methods.
Forces re-evaluation and improvement of current course content.
Feedback from a global community of students.
Advantages of MOOCs for Universities
Extend the university brand.
Publicize a university’s faculty, courses and programs to prospective students.
Demonstrate a commitment to innovative teaching.
A growing number of MOOC students are paying for verified certificates of completion (~$49 per MOOC).
A smaller number of MOOC students may decided to enroll in online degree programs and pay tuition.
Disadvantages of MOOCs
Extremely high dropout rate/Very low completion rate –less than 10%.
Most MOOCs do not offer credit toward a degree.
Time consuming for faculty – to plan, create, and teach a MOOC.
Video lectures and quizzes do not necessarily equal high quality teaching.
Giving away intellectual property is not a sustainable business model.
Little new revenue generated (yet).
http://mfeldstein.com/emerging_student_patterns_in_moocs_graphical_view/
One of the Biggest Disadvantages of MOOCs
Many Questions about MOOCs Remain
Are MOOCs just a fad? Are MOOCs over-hyped? Will MOOCs destroy traditional higher education?Will MOOCs disrupt traditional higher education?
Should faculty develop MOOCs?
probably notyes
probably not
probably so
What do you think?
Why are MOOCs Important to UH?
Outreach to the public, including the Houston community and beyond.
Showcase high quality faculty and programs.
Provides a global learning laboratory – spur innovations in teaching and learning.
Can supplement existing courses.
Potential source of new revenue.
A Brief Introduction to Digital Storytelling
Combines the art of telling stories with a mixture of:
• digital graphics
• text
• recorded audio narration
• video
• music
Presents information on a specific topic or theme.
Often contains a particular point of view.
Digital stories are typically just a few minutes long.
Types of Digital Stories
Personal Narratives• 1st person accounts based on
meaningful events.• What we do
• Where we live
• Overcoming challenges
Historical Themes and Events• Can be used to connect past
events to our current understanding of the world.
Instructional Content• Math• Science
• Health
• Technology, and more
Sample Digital Stories
Robin’s Market
Bernard Robin
My Fulbright Journey
Erwin HandokoThe Paw
George Zhao
Sample Digital Stories
Robin’s Market
Bernard Robin
My Fulbright Journey
Erwin HandokoThe Paw
George Zhao
Sample Digital Stories
Robin’s Market
Bernard Robin
My Fulbright Journey
Erwin HandokoThe Paw
George Zhao
Digital Storytelling TOPICSWeek 1: Choosing a Topic and
Defining Your Purpose.
Week 2: Writing an Effective Scriptand Creating a Storyboard.
Week 3: Recording Audio Narration.
Week 4: Using Technology Toolsto Build a Digital Story.
Week 5: Revising Your Digital Story and Final Course Reflection.
September 2014 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30
Content Planning and Development
1. Convert traditional course material to a MOOC. 2. Create a MOOC team.3. Develop a timeline for MOOC planning.4. Use an instructional strategy to compress the content:
15 weeks 5 weeks.5. Develop a checklist of tasks and responsibilities.6. Determine a process for creating video lectures.7. Be consistent in naming and filing documents.8. Use a common storage location for MOOC content.9. Deal with copyright issues.10. Proofread your work!
Development Timeline
MOOC exploration
begins
August 2013
Students develop
instructional materials for two MOOCS
September-December
2013
MOOC teams review
materials and proposes revisions
January 2014
MOOC teams finalize first
two weeks of content and instructors upload in Coursera
Spring 2014
MOOC teams continue to
develop materials,
revise scripts, create videos
January-March 2014
MOOC teams finalize content for DS MOOC
(Fall 2014) and Web 2.0 Tools
MOOC
(Spring 2015)
Converting a Traditional Course to a MOOC
CUIN 7358: Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling
DS MOOC
Use an Instructional Strategy
• Identify the instructional goal.
• Conduct instructional analysis.
• Analyze learners and contexts.
• Write performance objectives.
• Develop assessment instruments.
The Systematic Design of InstructionDick & Carey
Creating Video Lectures: The Equipment
Digital Camera(Optional)
Webcam (Optional)
High Quality USBMicrophone
High Quality USBMicrophone
Audio EditingSoftware
Audacity (Free)http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Most video editors also have basic audio editing functions built in.
Adobe Premiere Elements 12
TechsmithCamtasia
Microsoft PowerPoint 13
Video Editing Software
WeVideo - web-based Editor(Free option available)https://www.wevideo.com/
SparkolVideoScribe
Converting Course Content to Video Lectures
• Length: around 5 minutes each.
• Does not need to be professional.
• Record in an informal setting.
• Use personal speaking style.
• Audio quality more important that video quality.
• Videos should have consistent look and feel.
• Speak a little faster than normal.High Quality USB
Microphone
Creating Video Lectures: The Process
Access Record EditFinal Check
Upload
Open your lecture material.
Record your narration/Screencast.
Edit the audio and video.
Revise as needed.
•Upload to Coursera
• Create Icon
Updating Video Materials
Creating content is ongoing.
There is always room for improvement.
Feedback from students identified areas that need improvement.
Have consistency between videos.
Improve visual attractiveness.
Learn the Coursera Platform
Explore other universities' MOOCs:• To become familiar with the Coursera
interface, and• To get ideas for your own MOOC.
Submit course materials on Coursera early before making them visible to students.
Make friends with the Coursera support team.
Other Issues to Keep in Mind
Assume that many students will know relatively little (or nothing) about the content.
Instructional materials should start with the basics.
The amount of content must be scaled back.
Not all students will have access to the same technology.
Many students will speak English as a second language.
Course Assignments and Evaluation
Not possible to grade all assignments, but even occasional instructor presence is helpful.
Give feedback to selected students which can seen by everyone.
Peer feedback ranges in quality from excellent to poor.
Some students felt that the assignments were too difficult.
•However, among students who earned a certificate of completion, many stated that the assignments challenged them to improve their work and complete the MOOC.
Be Consistent in NamingFiles and Folders
Week 1
Video Lectures
Week1_video1_instructor_welcome.mp4
Week1_video2_introduction_to_ds.mp4
Week1_video3_ds_process.mp4
Assignments
Announcements
Week1_assignment2_peer_assessment.docx
Week1_assignment1_quiz.docx
Week1_assignment3_self_evalutation.docx
Week1_announcements1_welcome.docx
Week1_announcements2_update1.docx
Acknowledge Copyright Issues
Non-profit educational fair use is not universally recognized around the world.
Creative Commons licenses are encouraged.
MOOC content should be free of copyright restrictions.
Proofread!
All MOOC content should be reviewed by more than one person.
Copy text content into Word to check spelling and grammar.
Or use an online spell checker such as: http://www.spellcheck.net/
Student Evaluations
Based on question responses from on average 341 learners.
Estimates accurate to ± 5 percentage points.