[JohnKerr]

Hi Niall,

We still have to be formally introduced!

HE in many respects are still trying to fully explore their VLE and how to use the tools available for greater course delivery and assessment purposes, throwing a MOOC into the mix will challenge even the greatest of educators.

Before an institution adopts MOOC or even a fully taught online course should we send the lecturing staff on one of these courses to see it from a students point of view? To figure out what works and what doesn’t work.  Like this MOOC we are all participating in now.

Support for students is also key.  Things like bandwidth and technology we use to engage with the MOOC have to be considered.  These are not something the institution can help with but should we be setting minimum spec requirements? What are the minimum spec? A low end Android device? Or something with more ‘grunt’ like the Samsung S4 with 8core processor?

These are recommendations we need to think about, making the student aware of what they need in order to participate fully.

[JohnKerr]

What can we tell about the range of experiences and preferences among ocTEL participants?

There is such a mixed range of skills, experience and knowledge on this MOOC it should lead to some interesting post/ discussion.  However I’ve noticed that people are forming groups based around a job role or organization role: that will stop others form contributing to the group straight away.  With the  viewpoint of ‘no entry requirements’ in large MOOCs it may be hard to form interesting, thought provoking discussion groups due to the scale of the MOOC.

What challenges does this present for the course?

Bluntly trying to keep up.  If people fall behind then they will drop out, hence the extremely high drop out rates of MOOCs.  Engagement through social media is also a big one.  Perhaps it would be a good idea to try a sign up method using Twitter/facebook so those who don’t have an account will quickly see the benefits social media can bring to a MOOC?

In what ways is a MOOC well or poorly suited to these challenges

Lots of interesting discussions going on both via social media and on the website.  However maybe too many sources of information for some people to cope with.  People could quite easily become overwhelmed at the amount of info in circulation.

 

 

[JohnKerr]

Hello all,

John Kerr, Learning Innovation Officer for the University of Glasgow.

I’ve worked in elearning for over 7years for FE and HE institutions.  I am really looking forward to this MOOC journey to gain first hand experience of the process from a students point of view.

My big question is:  How can we engage students with TELT and blend it into their expectations when undertaking a University programme?  I.e. should we ask students how they would like to be taught and the methods they would prefer? #peeragogy  🙂

[JohnKerr]

Hi Joan, Everyone else,

John Kerr, Learning Innovation Officer at the University of Glasgow – I’m interested in being part of this group as I help support staff to use TELT.

I am particularly interested in how to support distance learning students and the pedagogical implications of delivering content solely for an online cohort.

[Author]

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