Critical Case Study

Tipping Point: A Critical Case Study

ETEC 511

Meagan Strome Heidi Dyck

Dr. Andrea Sator

Nov 20, 2022

UBC/ MET

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

Case Study: How MOOC's have 'Tipped the Scale' in Educational Technology

Traditional Closed Courses

MOOCs

Index

Navigation Instructions

1.

5.

Context

Implementing Change

2.

6.

Course Themes

Tipping Point

7.

3.

Future Implications

Instigating Change

8.

4.

References

Affordances of MOOCs

1.Context

Context

What's A MOOC?

"Knowledge is not a matter of what I know as an individual. It is my capacity to navigate the wide epistemic world at my fingertips; it is my ability to discern critically what is salient and what is not...it is my ability to work with others to create collaborative knowledge where the sum of the knowable is greater than the individual contributions of colleagues..." (Kalantzis & Cope, 2017, p. 12). The purpose of the MOOC is to provide learning opportunities for anyone to engage and participate regardless of previous education, age or experience. The MOOC platform targets anyone eager and willing to participate in new content and knowledge. In Canada, MOOCs allow citizens to learn and create networks to understand the history of our country and indigenous peoples through the storytelling and affordances of the learning network. The importance of the MOOC empowers anyone willing to better themselves, learn from others and bring unity in relationships with our indigenous peoples of Canada. Closed online or in-person courses limit participants and put requirements on who can learn content. Furthermore, they focus on specific, linear materials delivered to students as passive recipients of knowledge. MOOCs remediate our understanding of what it means to share knowledge and aim to open the possibility of learning to anyone willing to engage. The MOOC model emphasizes the importance of connections between ideas, participants and the greater network allowing each participant to create their pathway focusing on the material most relevant or engaging to them. The knowledge participants build within MOOCs is valuable. However, the learning networks created along the way are most important.

"MOOCs are courses designed for large numbers of participants, that can be accessed by anyone anywhere as long as they have an internet connections, are open to everyone without entry qualitifacations, and offer a full/complete course experience online for free" (Storme et al., 2016, p. 310).

Keywords:

MOOC, Connectivism, Constructivism, connectionism Accessibility, e-Learning, Education, Technology, Indigenous

2. Tipping Point

"The underlying thought of OER is that education is a common good and that educational resources should, as such be made public" (Storme et al., 2016, p. 310).

Timeline

2012 Stats

David Cormier coined the term MOOC in 2008 from the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Gradually courses were built and opened up, engaging thousands of participants at a time in their material and into their learning networks. According to New York Times, 2012 was "The year of the MOOC" (Pappano, 2012). Over the previous four years, MOOCs had gained attraction and numbers; however, in 2012, three key companies all pushed out MOOCs over the year. Thrun founded a company called Udacity; two Stanford professors started Coursera and partnered with Universities in preparing and offering MOOCs, and MIT developed the edX platform in partnership with Harvard. As noted by Shah (2020), 2012 was the first year that multiple universities invested and opened up over 200 courses and were able to engage around 2 million learners. The growth of MOOCs hasn't stopped since the hype of 2012. Rather, a steady increase in courses and students utilizing the MOOC platform and network continues to grow.

(Shah, 2020)

3. Instigating Change

Effects of MOOCs for Indigenous People's of Canada

Indigenous Canada MOOC

The MOOC model emphasizes the importance of connections between ideas, participants and the greater MOOC network allowing each participant to create their pathway focusing on the material most relevant or engaging to them. The knowledge participants build within MOOCs is valuable. However, the learning networks created along the way are the most important (Cormier, 2010). Thousands of students in Canada have engaged in MOOCs to learn about Indigenous history. According to the University of Alberta, close to 400 000 people have signed up for their Indigenous History MOOC since 2017 (Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta, 2021). MOOCs that cover crucial issues, such as those facing Indigenous peoples today, open doors, conversations, and stories and support a culture of learning for a better future. As a result of offering free, open learning opportunities through the MOOC platform an incredible space for everyone to learn and better themselves through knowledge, storytelling, and networks is created. This supports a better future for everyone.

Indigenous Canada MOOC University of Alberta, Faculty of Native Studies

Discussion

Catalysts

4. Affordances of MOOCs

The affordances and development of these open learning opportunities has displaced the traditional “closed” online course model.

Play

MOOCs allow anyone to earn credentials, even from “Ivy League” schools and instructors, enabling everyone to share in the prestige of a credential from these sought-after institutions. Often MOOC platforms offer their content for free. “MOOCs can provide thousands of students with access to information and elite professors that have previously been off-limits” (Mathews & Landorf, 2016, p. 4).

While there’s no doubt that MOOCs are a burgeoning trend, this style and method of course offering have transformed technology education. More and more education institutions are employing MOOCs for certain courses and content areas, with the most obvious benefit being the wide-ranging access – e.g.). 30 000+ people in some MOOCs. This allows for stories, messages, and important content to reach a large audience, which can affect change.

5. Implementing Change

MOOCs are still evolving. Instructors and course designers are always looking for ways to enhance the student experience.

MOOC Variants

Change

There are many different considerations regarding how MOOCs have become successful in educational technology. The course design is one important consideration, providing opportunities for students to encounter diverse content and perspectives and constructing spaces for participants to interact with one another. The successful implementation of MOOCs requires conceptual changes in understanding by instructors and students.

6. Course Themes

Unseen / Ghost labour

Mary Gray - Ghost Work

"Crawford (2021) draws attention to the those that perform the repetitive digital tasks that allow AI systems to operate, however, seldom receive recognition or appropriate compensation. “One of the less recognized facts of artificial intelligence is how many underpaid workers are required to help build, maintain, and test AI systems” (Crawford, p. 63).

Digital Labour

A LABOUR OF LOVE A critical examination of the ‘labour icebergs’ of Massive Open Online Courses

Freund et. Al. (2018) assess the complexity of the labour required in the making of MOOCs. Specifically addressing labour that becomes invisible and the consequences of this erasure. Raised are important questions surrounding the true cost of making courses free and open online, and the inequalities faced by those producing and managing MOOCs.

6. Future Implications

From free to fee

“The Big 3 MOOC providers, Coursera, Udacity, and edX are shedding their free and open roots one-by-one and are charging a small fee for certain courses as learners are demanding credit for the work they put into their courses. A move that is slowly redefining MOOCs’ role in the global marketplace of online education” (Deepak, 2017).

Are MOOCs here to stay?

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) continue to be concerned over the threatening and disruptive nature inherent of MOOCs. Challenges exist for institutions current business models, and many curriculum leaders remain loyal to traditional pedagogical practices.

10. References

Bibliographic references

Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta. (2021, October 6). University of Alberta's Indigenous Canada course an important "catalyst for change". CFWE. Retrieved November 12, 2022, from https://www.cfweradio.ca/news/alberta-news/university-of-albertas-indigenous-canada-course-an-important-catalyst-for-change/ Cormier, D. (2010). What is a Mooc? YouTube. Univeristy of Prince Edward Island. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://youtu.be/eW3gMGqcZQc. Crawford, K. (2022). Chapter 2 Labour. In Atlas of AI: Power, politics, and the planetary costs of Artificial Intelligence (pp. 53–88). essay, Yale University Press. Deepak, A. (2022, September 3). How MOOCs are changing the way students learn and education is delivered! ScooNews. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://scoonews.com/news/news-how-moocs-are-changing-the-way-students-learn-and-education-is-delivered-1764/ Digital Future Society. (2019, December 4). A walk with Mary Gray - long version interview. YouTube. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGun7-_t_ck Faculty of Native Studies. (2022). Indigenous Canada. University of Alberta. Retrieved November 12, 2022, from https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/indigenous-canada/index.html Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2017). Chapter 1: Conceptualizing e-learning 1. Research Gate. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345887005_Chapter_1_Conceptualizing_e-Learning_1 Katharina, F., Stephanie, K., Jonathon, Z., Katherine, E., & Inger, M. (2018). A LABOUR OF LOVE A critical examination of the ‘labour icebergs’ of Massive Open Online Courses. In The Digital Academic: Critical Perspectives on Digital Technologies in higher education. essay, Routledge.

10. References

Bibliographic References

Knox, J. (2018). Beyond the “C” and the “X”: Learning with algorithms in Massive open online courses (moocs). International Review of Education, 64(2), 161–178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-018-9707-0 Mathews, S. A., & Landorf, H. (2016). Developing a framework to evaluate the potential of global learning in moocs. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, 28(4), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/nha3.20157 O’Connor, K. MOOCs, institutional policy and change dynamics in higher education. High Educ 68, 623–635 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9735-z Pappano, L. (2012, November 2). The Year of the MOOC. The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/education/edlife/massive-open-online-courses-are-multiplying-at-a-rapid-pace.html Sandra Sanchez-Gordon, P. D. (2014, January 1). MOOCs Gone Wild. Academia.edu. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.academia.edu/72047569/Moocs_Gone_Wild Shah, D. (2020, February 4). Capturing the hype: Year of the MOOC timeline explained. The Report by Class Central. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from https://www.classcentral.com/report/mooc-hype-year-1/ Stratton, C., & Grace, R. (2016). Exploring linguistic diversity of MOOCS: Implications for international development. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 53(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.2016.14505301071 TEDxTalks. (2015, February 20). Massive open online courses (moocs) and the next generation | Alex Cui | tedxyouth@uts. YouTube. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbkeWebvW1M UNSW. (2020, January 28). Kate Crawford: Anatomy of AI. YouTube. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM7gqPnmDDc

Thanks