Photo: https://blog.mimio.com/how-moocs-can-support-teacher-learning

“Provide a short description of the MOOC – what was the topic? how was it organized? what interactions were available? how were you assessed?”

I chose Coursera as the MOOC provider site, and the selected topic was how to “Build a Professional Resume Using Canva”. The course is organized into different sections or categories[1];

  • Project-based Course Overview: Provides instructions for the course objectives, course structure, project structure, and introduces the teacher and platforms to be utilized.
  • Guided Project: A third-party technology called rhyme is employed to enhance the learning experience and promote active hands-on learning. The platform enables the video lesson and work area to be displayed on the same screen. This guided project is broken into five tasks, each with its own video and activity.
  • Quiz: Graded quiz to assess project comprehension. A grade of 80% or above is necessary to pass the course and receive a certificate.
  • Course end survey: Feedback about the course.

The course provides discussion forums that allow students to ask questions, debate ideas, and find classmates who share their goals.

“How did this learning experience compare to ‘traditional’ courses? Consider any of the following factors:”

In terms of “connection with peers and instructor(s),” the learning experience of the finished course is a bit similar to traditional courses. However, unlike traditional courses, which allow us to physically meet with peers and the teacher, the connection is made online by using discussion boards to communicate with the instructor or other peers. In terms of “assessment and evaluation,” the completed MOOC incorporates virtual quizzes, which are quite similar to regular courses with the exception that they are not supervised.

” Do you think this MOOC would be considered an xMOOC or a cMOOC?”

I think this MOOC would be considered an xMOOC as it has a combination a pre-recorded video lectures, computerized testing such as quizzes and discussion forums that allows students to interact [2].

Self Reflection

I chose this specific assignment to learn more about and explore MOOCs after hearing about them for the first time in this class. I’ve used sites like Coursera and edX before, which provide free self-paced classes on any area of interest, however I did not know the courses they provide to be called the term MOOCs. The exercise was relevant to my learning objectives since I now understand what MOOCs are and the different varieties of xMOOC and cMOOC. My overarching objective is to always learn something new, and this activity helped me attain that goal.

References:

[1] https://www.coursera.org/projects/build-a-professional-resume-using-canva

[2] https://www.meetingone.com/blog/turn-your-adobe-connect-room-into-a-cmooc/