My participation in the change11 MOOC has led me to start a MOOC of my own to model for my district what technology integration can be like. The change11 focus is so broad and there are so many participants, that I feel that I could spend every spare minute interacting with content until May 20th 2012 when it ends. This is the type of environment I want to bring to a smaller focus. My MOOC is about using Promethean (interactive whiteboard) tools to explore technology integration concepts. https://sites.google.com/a/weld8.org/promethean-mooc/
With such a specific focus, what is the critical mass? How many participants does it take to give all participants the ongoing learning environment I am trying to attain? It really depends on how many participants are consistently involved doesn’t it? Without self directed learners asking questions and providing feedback for other learners, I might as well just publish a series of training videos.
So far I have about 20 participants registered from a few countries to join us in this 10 week online collaboration. Part of me is happy that the number isn’t as large as the change11 MOOC since this is my first time facilitating such an event. My fear however is that I will not meet the critical mass needed. For those of you who have done this before, what advice or suggestions do you have for a first time MOOC coordinator?
I am also not opposed to sharing this mantle of responsibility if there are any Promethean experts out there that would like to co-facilitate these events and bring in their own districts and practices.
Some answers I found on my own:
I like this article because it focuses on the amount of interactions instead of the amount of participants: http://www.feverbee.com/2011/03/critical-mass-of-activity.html
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Love the blog
Thank you for answering my cmnoemt! I read your answer this morning and took my time (while trying to do my daily work) to think about the points you raised. There are certainly some areas where we have to prove that we have reached a certain level of theoretical knowledge. This will probably be done in the way of scenario 1. However in order to deepen and apply this theoretical knowledge scenario 2 can be much more of an experience (to the profit of the learner and also of his/her later customers or patients ). However in your description of scenario 2 you are sticking to visible results (as evidence).If I shift the responsiblity for learning to learners do I really need visible evidence for their learning? Does self directed learning necessary include a visible result such as a blog or does it also include the fact of having come across new questions/new topics/new people? What about the thoughts that a learner developed about how to market a history blog before actually starting the blog? Isn’t that learning too?As to your example of the doctor: yes, I agree he/she has to have formal knowledge according to scenario 1. However there is more than just formal learning in order to be a good doctor. What about the informal elements of becoming a good doctore (taking into account the circumstances of the patient, holistic view etc.)? What about just being able to talk to a patient, to submit a choice of methods to the patient or to be able to explain a method to the patient? Isn’t all that somehow informal and learning without evidence but nevertheless important for a good patient-doctor relationship?Are we always so clear about what we are just learning? Is it always evident ?There are a lot of interesting aspects about the topic of evidence of learning in combination with shiftung responsbility to the learner and I really look forward to read and think about this topic!
I’ve been very intrigued by the coecpnt for a while, probably because I’m too cheap to pay for anything and was attracted by the notion of free I did sign-up for one of Dave and George’s first MOOC about three years ago, after hearing about it on EdTechTalk. I was impressed with the organization of the course and quickly learned (and now apply daily) that it’s because even the slightest room for misinterpretation about any detail will quickly lead to a multitude of emails asking for clarification. I didn’t stay in the course very long, due to other pressures on my time, which leads to my only other observation from a student’s perspective: when you pay for something, you (obviously) have a higher investment into that experience and are more likely to take it seriously. For me, since it was free and so massive that no one would notice me just silently ignoring the course, I lacked some of the motivation those other pressures may have given me to stay in the course. I suspect the drop-out rate of a MOOC is much higher than a more traditional course.