tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4231941298800594599.post3948836819683191965..comments2024-03-21T06:41:38.605-06:00Comments on Computers, Language, Writing: Comparing MOOCsVanessa Vailehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647639725252430851noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4231941298800594599.post-88790134644244206772011-09-04T04:23:35.956-06:002011-09-04T04:23:35.956-06:00Yes, the gradcast ~ had to go back and double chec...Yes, the gradcast ~ had to go back and double check. Osvaldo (whose background in physics means he's got the math) mentioned taking the Stanford course to study how it worked and observe dynamics. <br /><br />Related: <a href="http://langwitches.org/blog/2011/06/12/students-becoming-curators-of-information/" rel="nofollow">Students becoming curators</a> and <a href="https://edutechdebate.org/digital-learning-resources/towards-free-learning-opportunities-for-all-students-worldwide/" rel="nofollow">Towards Free Learning Opportunities for All Students Worldwide</a> by Wayne MacIntosh. <br /><br />I post occasional links at adj-l (Contingent Academic list) about open and self-paced online learning and how they are going to be higher ed game changers ~ teaching moments and reminders to get them thinking about adapting. The effect is about the same as what I imagine emptying a bag of rats into a sorority slumber party would be. No evolutionary biologists in the bunch. I just responded to latest round of "Eek! Rats destroying higher education" by posting the EDT link about global free learning<br /><br />What's this about the Google group coming down? The other groups set up for moocs were left up. That sounds like another good reason for individuals to create networks and not leave it up to the organizers (or institutions). The <a href="https://groups.google.com/d/topic/edumooc/AHIeJkHUwnE/discussion" rel="nofollow">Student Retention</a> thread morphed into "What is a MOOC?" past the halfway point (pretty much upon the announcement of the Stanford course.Vanessa Vailehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647639725252430851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4231941298800594599.post-14919267507579432032011-09-03T23:09:28.366-06:002011-09-03T23:09:28.366-06:00Hi! Yeah, I'm fuzzy too...I found the thread e...Hi! Yeah, I'm fuzzy too...I found the thread earlier but was afraid to post it because it seems they're taking it down, but it was the discussion that started with needing to redefine what a MOOC is (http://groups.google.com/group/edumooc/browse_thread/thread/00721e2641d4c271#). <br /><br />By "this" I meant the big issue of whether certain courses are MOOCs, and how they're defined. I remember the discussion at eduMOOC seemed to "end" with the last Google + webcast (http://edumooc2011.blogspot.com/2011/08/edumooc-2011-gradcast.html), which must be where Vance quoted you? In which case, my reasoning derives from yours, which is pretty cool!Lisa M Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04276932877292681802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4231941298800594599.post-3716784486669494552011-09-03T20:24:07.020-06:002011-09-03T20:24:07.020-06:00Hi Lisa ~ my apologies but it's been a long d...Hi Lisa ~ my apologies but it's been a long day and mental fatigue may be setting in. Perhaps you can clarify a few points.<br /><br />Who are "we"? I was in EduMOOC too. What was the title of the thread? <br /><br />What does "this" refer to? The article itself or my comments? Both? Just parts of the article? Which part or parts?<br /><br />I picked this particular article not because I agreed with every single point but as a resource because it covered a lot of ground fairly clearly and came with a bibliography.<br /><br />My own guess, "interactive, distributed networks operating according to connectivist principles," references neither instructor/s nor students. <br /><br />btw I'm the one Vance quoted in Jeff's MOOCast (in reference to Stanford course) as saying that if why don't students just take the initiative and create their own networks <br /><br />Occupy the MOOC!Vanessa Vailehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647639725252430851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4231941298800594599.post-29115094478535992362011-09-03T18:42:59.967-06:002011-09-03T18:42:59.967-06:00We had a long Google Group discussion about this i...We had a long Google Group discussion about this in the EduMOOC, and I disagree precisely because there are so many ways now to connect and turn any major distribution of content into a MOOC with students leading the way. <br /><br />Why should the instructor(s) provide the social setting for collaboratively examining the materials? Couldn't any student do that? Does everything have to center on the instructor? Is the real accusation here that there is no "instruction" if the prof doesn't set up a forum? I thought the idea was that we don't need a central font of knowledge in a connectivist world. <br /><br />Also, if "students" do not take control of this, we will have the expansion of companies (I'm thinking Academic Earth, but there will be more) who simply repackage lectures from places like MIT and offer a virtual space for the students to study. We can do that ourselves. <br /><br />Now, I am partly playing devil's advocate here, because I personally am not at all sure that the instructor shouldn't be central to what we call a course, whether it's a MOOC or something else. But I can certainly see how valuable collaborative experiences could easily be built by others around content.Lisa M Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04276932877292681802noreply@blogger.com