Abstract: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) started in 2008 as a connectivist experiment in education. Extremely large MOOCs were convened in 2011, and the term took off in the popular media in 2012. This year, the backlash is well underway. However, these experiments should still be of interest to teachers and have the potential to benefit many learners. MOOCs have been hailed as revolutionary and disruptive to the status quo in higher education. They have also been put forward as a fix for rising university costs, perceived declines in quality, and problems of access all-in-one. However, few of the ideas behind MOOCs are new. Moreover, as for-profit corporations have co-opted and fragmented the initial practice, there is no longer even a clear consensus on a coherent description of MOOCs. This presentation will bring educators up-to-date on the current state of MOOCs–including a critical view of their potential. This will help in evaluating MOOCs and making informed choices about selecting courses, using them to augment their own teaching, participating in them directly, or even starting one. Participants will gain a critical understanding of MOOCs and see how this trend may change education in their contexts.

1. Getting to the Point: The Least Educators
Need to Know About
Massively Open
Online Courses
Now
Ted O’Neill
http://eltted.com @gotanda
Tokyo Medical and Dental University
IAFOR Asian Conference on
Society Education& Technology 24 October 2013
This work by Ted O’Neill @gotanda is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

3. cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by A Watters: http://flickr.com/photos/surreal_badger/8573233746/

6. cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by Steve Jurvetson: http://flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/5577603704/

7. cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by Mathieu Plourde: http://flickr.com/photos/mathplourde/8620174342/

10. Image CC Flickr user jacki-dee

11. Image CC OLDS MOOC JISC http://www.olds.ac.uk/

12. cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by aussiegall: http://flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/5206084063/

13. Image CC Steve Jurvetson
Image Twitter Conversations Visualized Martin Hawksey http://octel.alt.ac.uk/course-discussions/twitter-conversation-visualised/

14. cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by bixentro: http://flickr.com/photos/bixentro/2348232234/

15. cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo by Dave: http://flickr.com/photos/agentdavidov/2921954993/

18. cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by James F Clay: http://flickr.com/photos/jamesclay/2890229556/

19. cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Chris Campbell: http://flickr.com/photos/cgc/473027823/

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21. cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Iowa Digital Library: http://flickr.com/photos/uiowa/8047289330/

22. From What are the BIG QUESTIONS
in TEL?
Diana Laurillard London Knowledge
Lab Institute of Education http://
octel.alt.ac.uk/course-materials/

24. cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo by Paul Robinson: http://flickr.com/photos/happyfunpaul/3526869185/

26. cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo by Kristina Alexanderson: http://flickr.com/photos/kalexanderson/6701174223/

27. Image CC Steve Jurvetson
Image Twitter Conversations Visualized Martin Hawksey http://octel.alt.ac.uk/course-discussions/twitter-conversation-visualised/

28. Connectivism also addresses the challenges
that many corporations face in
knowledge management activities.
Knowledge that resides in a database needs to be
connected with the right people in the right
context in order to be classified as learning.
Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism do
not attempt to address the challenges of
organizational knowledge and transference.
Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age December 12, 2004 George Siemens
http://eltted.com/2013/02/11/siemens-connectivism-and-faith-in-management/

29. Hybrid Pedagogy Inc. under CC BY-NC 3.0 License

30. OLDS MOOC JISC

32. cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by Alan Levine:
http://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/7155294657/

33. Tecc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo by WayneKLin: http://flickr.com/photos/waynel78/4421046395/xt

34. cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by USFS Region 5: http://flickr.com/photos/usfsregion5/3598029211/

35. mooc.ca
... provided by Stephen Downes and George Siemens as a
place to host MOOC news and information
www.hybridpedagogy.com
... A Digital Journal of Learning, Teaching, and Technology
openculture.com/free_certificate_courses
... 625 MOOCs offered by leading universities with certificates
or completion statements (mostly xMOOCs)
connectivistmoocs.org
... Fewer options, but truly open.
just search
... sit with a friend or colleague and seek. Then, go explore
together.

36. https://courses.edx.org/register

37. Thank you
IAFOR Asian Conference on
Society Education & Technology 25 October 2013
Ted O’Neill http://eltted.com @gotanda
Tokyo Medical and Dental University
This work by Ted O’Neill @gotanda is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License