MOOCs with Books in Sydney on Thursday

The "Sydney Python Group" (SyPy) is meeting 7 March in Sydney. I have volunteered to give a short talk on: "MOOCs with Books":

MOOCs with Books

Tom Worthington FACS CP

Recent hype surrounding Massive Open On-line Courses (MOOCs) has promoted the idea that students can simply watch videos on-line to get an education. Real education takes real work on the part of the student. This can be done by blending traditional teaching with the on-line environment, or for short: "MOOCs with Books".

What is a MOOC?

1. Massive: 100,000 students or more. Australia's large university has less than 50,000 students.
2. Open: No scholastic or financial barrier to enrollment. Materials may also be  open educational resources.
3. On-line: Materials delivered and students interact via the Internet.
4. Course: Similar in size to an Australian university subject of about a 12 week semester one quarter full time student load (a US course). But does not provide a credential on completion.

Implications for Application Development

1. Massive: Systems and software need to scale to deliver materials, provide automated student support and ways for students to interact.
2. Open: Wider range of students will need more help. Ways for students to find their group needed.
3. On-line: Ways to support students who have limited and intermittent Internet access are required.
4. Course: Will need to integrate with conventional university programs or create a whole new on-line university system. Ways to credential students on-line required.

Traditional Teaching On-line

1. Books: Course content provided in a down-loadable standalone structured module (textbook), using existing e-Book formats (web, Moodle Book Module, EPUB, IMS Content Package).
2. Formative Feedback: Short tests can be used to aid learning by student, off-line: SCORM Package.
3. Groups: Students can be formed into groups for mutual support, on-line and off-line.

How How Software Developers Can Help

1. Massive: Develop plug-ins and upgrades for free open source systems, such as Moodle and Mahara, to allow the to handle millions of students.
2. Open: Develop software which uses existing e-learning and e-book standards (web, Moodle Book Module, EPUB, IMS Content Package, SCORM Package).
3. On-line: Develop off-line support for e-learning, using mobile devices.
4. Course: Develop software which supports an integrated program, course module development process, not just delivery of isolated courses, so students get an education which meets community standards.

More Information

1. Demonstration of Using Moodle for Postgraduate Professional Education with eBooks and Smart phones
2. A Green Computing Professional Education Course Online 
3. Demonstration of Using Moodle for Postgraduate Professional Education with eBooks and Smart phones
4. On-line Professional Education For Australian Research-Intensive Universities in the Asian Century
5. Synchronizing Asynchronous Learning: Combining Synchronous and Asynchronous Techniques

This is an update of my talk to the "Sydney Educational Technology (SydEduTech) Group" 5 March.