WEBVTT 00:00:02.599 --> 00:00:03.099 What is a MOOC? 00:00:05.519 --> 00:00:07.439 The Massive Open Online Course 00:00:07.439 --> 00:00:08.999 is a response to the challenges 00:00:08.999 --> 00:00:11.879 faced by organizations and distributed disciplines 00:00:11.879 --> 00:00:14.759 at a time of information overload. 00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:16.959 It used to be that when you wanted to know about something 00:00:16.959 --> 00:00:18.279 you could do a few things 00:00:18.279 --> 00:00:19.359 You could ask someone 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:20.559 You could buy a book 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:22.199 You could try to figure out for yourself 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:24.759 or you could call a school. 00:00:24.759 --> 00:00:26.799 If that school offered the course 00:00:26.799 --> 00:00:28.239 in a thing that you were trying to figure out 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:29.999 you could go there and take it 00:00:29.999 --> 00:00:33.359 you could get access to information about a topic 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:35.639 An instructor would comb through journals and books 00:00:35.639 --> 00:00:38.359 to pull the information together from a library 00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:39.959 you might even find others 00:00:39.959 --> 00:00:42.159 who are also interested in the same things that you are 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:45.159 The Mooc is built for a world 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:47.359 where information is everywhere 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:49.839 where a social network obsessed with 00:00:49.839 --> 00:00:50.999 the same things as you are 00:00:50.999 --> 00:00:51.839 is a click away 00:00:51.839 --> 00:00:53.039 a digital world 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:54.599 a world where internet connection 00:00:54.599 --> 00:00:55.799 gives you access 00:00:55.799 --> 00:00:57.679 to a staggering amount of information 00:00:57.679 --> 00:00:59.759 This video will introduce you 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:01.879 to how a Massive Open Online Course 00:01:01.879 --> 00:01:05.759 is one way of learning in a networked world. 00:01:05.759 --> 00:01:06.959 A MOOC is a course. 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:07.759 It's open. 00:01:07.759 --> 00:01:09.119 It's participatory 00:01:09.119 --> 00:01:10.799 It's distributed 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:14.399 and it supports life-long networked learning. 00:01:14.399 --> 00:01:15.319 In one sense 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:17.319 Massive Open Online Course is just that. 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:18.439 It's a course. 00:01:18.439 --> 00:01:20.799 It has facilitators, course materials... 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:22.279 It has a start and an end date. 00:01:22.279 --> 00:01:24.279 It has participants. 00:01:24.279 --> 00:01:26.239 But the MOOC is not a school. 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:29.239 It's not JUST an online course. 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:31.119 It's a way to connect and collaborate 00:01:31.119 --> 00:01:32.679 while developing digital skills. 00:01:32.679 --> 00:01:34.719 It's a way of engaging in the learning process 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:37.559 that engages what it means to be a student. 00:01:37.559 --> 00:01:41.119 It is maybe most importantly, 00:01:41.119 --> 00:01:41.919 an event, 00:01:41.919 --> 00:01:43.639 around which people who care about a topic 00:01:43.639 --> 00:01:45.199 can get together and work and talk about it 00:01:45.199 --> 00:01:48.519 in a structured way. 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:50.039 The course is open. 00:01:50.039 --> 00:01:51.479 All of the work gets done 00:01:51.479 --> 00:01:52.479 in areas accessible for people 00:01:52.479 --> 00:01:54.759 to read and reflect and comment on. 00:01:54.759 --> 00:01:56.719 The course is open in the sense that 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:57.599 you can go ahead 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.039 and take the course without paying for it. 00:02:00.039 --> 00:02:02.559 You might pay to get the credits through an institution 00:02:02.559 --> 00:02:06.359 but you are not paying for participating in the course. 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:09.559 It's also open in the sense that the work done in the course 00:02:09.559 --> 00:02:12.079 is shared among all the people taking it. 00:02:12.079 --> 00:02:14.879 The material put together by the facilitators 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:16.399 the work done by the participants 00:02:16.399 --> 00:02:19.199 it's all negotiated in the open. 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:20.439 You get to keep your work 00:02:20.439 --> 00:02:22.799 and everyone gets to learn from it. 00:02:22.799 --> 00:02:25.839 The course is participatory 00:02:25.839 --> 00:02:27.559 you really become part of the course 00:02:27.559 --> 00:02:30.039 by engaging with other people's work 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:31.639 Participants are not asked 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:33.079 to complete specific assignments 00:02:33.079 --> 00:02:34.919 but rather to engage with the material 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:36.039 with each other 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:39.159 and with other material that they may find on the Web. 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:41.159 You make connections between ideas 00:02:41.159 --> 00:02:42.759 and between you and other people. 00:02:42.759 --> 00:02:43.719 You network. 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:45.199 One of the outcomes 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:46.839 that people get from the course 00:02:46.839 --> 00:02:47.719 are the networked connections 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:49.799 they build up through engaging with each other. 00:02:49.799 --> 00:02:51.799 The course is distributed 00:02:51.799 --> 00:02:54.039 and all these blog posts and discussions posts, 00:02:54.039 --> 00:02:56.119 video responses, articles, tweets and tags 00:02:56.119 --> 00:02:59.959 all knit together to create a networked course 00:02:59.959 --> 00:03:03.199 They're mostly not found at one central location 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:04.759 but rather all over the Internet 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:06.319 in different pockets and clusters 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:09.199 There's no right way to do the course 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:11.399 No single path from the 1st week to the last 00:03:11.399 --> 00:03:13.879 this allows for new ideas to develop 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:16.039 and for different points of view to co-exist 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:19.759 it also means that one of the side effects of a MOOC 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:22.679 is the building of a distributed knowledge base on the Net 00:03:22.679 --> 00:03:26.559 The course is a step on the road 00:03:26.559 --> 00:03:27.119 to life-long learning 00:03:27.119 --> 00:03:29.279 MOOCs promote independence among learners 00:03:29.279 --> 00:03:31.879 They encourage participants to work in their own spaces 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:34.199 and create authentic networks 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:36.559 they can easily maintain after the course finishes 00:03:36.559 --> 00:03:39.599 A MOOC can promote the kind of network creation 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:41.199 that life-long learning is all about. 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:43.039 The course part is just the beginning 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:45.879 How can you go about finding one of these? 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.279 Well, news that a MOOC will be offered 00:03:48.279 --> 00:03:50.159 usually spreads on online networks 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:52.999 people who have reputations for interesting skills 00:03:52.999 --> 00:03:54.639 or innovative thinking on a topic 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:55.759 decide to collaborate 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:58.359 by offering an open online course 00:03:58.359 --> 00:03:59.759 covering their topic. 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:02.359 Anyone who wants to join in, CAN 00:04:02.359 --> 00:04:05.079 In a MOOC you can choose what YOU do 00:04:05.079 --> 00:04:06.119 how you participate 00:04:06.119 --> 00:04:07.879 and only you can tell 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:08.599 in the end 00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:10.599 if you have been successful 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:12.119 just like in real life.