“Before we examine MOOCs in more detail, briefly consider if the MOOC approach could be adopted in your own area of education or training.”

Having reviewed the referenced material this week, I am sure that MOOCs could be adopted in my context of a Further Education College. Indeed, we have hosted open, online courses before. They were small taster courses so therefore could not be described as massive!

The common issues surrounding MOOCs will need to be addressed. These include the type of course material. As discussed by George Siemens in Weller (2012), MOOCs often recreate the classroom setting online (with drills and quizzes) which is not appropriate. The institution will need to consider the level of interaction provided to learners (driven by the type of MOOC created). For instance, if a course forum is provided how will it be moderated and how often will educators interact with participants. The College must also consider what reward will be offered for completion.  

Due to the current shutdown in the UK due to the Covid-19 outbreak we are finalising plans for two online courses. One in the hospitality sector and one in artificial playing surfaces. Although these courses are free, they will still require students to complete an application process. They cannot be considered as MOOCs yet. They could potentially be opened up to a wider audience at a later stage.

These courses have been created with online completion in mind so they should be straightforward to transition to truly ‘open’ later, with the appropriate license clearances.

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References:
Weller, M (2012) MOOCs, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1G4SUblnbo&feature=emb_logo (Accessed: 6th April 2020).