21st century learning pedagogy is being re-evaluated in all avenues as we are consistently bombarded with new educational applications and digital resources. The effect of digital learning technology on children growing up in the digital age is having an unclear impact on their learning (Gordon, 2000). As online learning becomes more prevalent, an evaluation of how this learning is designed and delivered is important to make sure quality learning is happening online in the same way that it has traditionally happened in brick and mortar classrooms. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have brought higher learning to the masses, restricted, in theory, only by access to a stable internet connection. With the rise of MOOCs comes many questions. Once viewed as a great education equalizer, new research now calls this into question, with MOOCs not reaching the audience that were once seen as a key advantage to the platform. With current demographics of these courses looking not too dissimilar to the typical university student (Hansen & Reich, 2015), their universal reach and equitability is called into question. Beyond this, my chief curiosity lies with the design of courses for maximum educational impact that addresses the diverse needs of modern learners through universal design for learning(UDL) approaches.
UDL has been a buzzword in traditional education since the late 1990s and focusses on the idea that education should not be a one-size-fits-all approach, and that the diverse array of learners that exist in the world, need a diverse array of learning stimulus to meet their educational needs (Edyburn, 2005). I am interested to know how the MOOC platform and associated supportive technology like mobile apps, cater to students with diverse learning needs, and in general, how well designed the courses are for general knowledge acquisition.
As a secondary educator who has forged his career in the wake of the UDL movement, but who received formal teacher training in institutions that were only starting on the journey, I am curious to see what advancements have been made, and what it looks like in a strictly online environment, where the students for the large part seem to remain numbers in a very large machine.
My group, Team Awesome Sauce, will be exploring courses offered by edX, a MOOC spearheaded by Harvard and MIT. I will be focussing on how UDL is approached by edX, and what if any research there is on the topic in general. We plan to collectively audit courses offered for free by edX (many exist behind a paywall), and I personally am starting with the course: Introduction to Kabbalah.
I chose the course, not because I have big questions about faith, but have a general interest in religions. I want to see if the way that edX presents this course would be effective to learn what I imagine will be a content heavy humanities type of course.
I am still early in the journey through my audit, and general exposure to an academic analysis of UDL, but these are the questions I hope to explore through experience, and further academic research:
- How does Universal Design for Learning help guarantee students equal opportunities to learn?
- How does Universal Design for Learning help students learning through a MOOC?
- How are MOOC courses designed with UDL in mind?
- What evidence based design practices are incorporated into the design of coursework, and how does this look in a mobile only platform?
- To what extent do mobile apps support UDL?
So far (I am only one lesson in) I am impressed with the delivery method, which offers both video and text delivery. As the instructor delivers the traditional lecture via video, there is a scrolling text box with hyperlinked phrases of his dialogue. Clicking on these links will navigate you to the precise point in the lecture where the instructor delivers this text. This is useful for those learners who need to think about what is being said, or need to hear it repeated to fully grasp the content.
As I move forward I hope to find specific academically reinforced answers to my questions, that will inform and guide my further inquiry in this course.
The topic you’re pursuing will be an excellent addition to the research already taking place on MOOCs. These are some pretty big questions and I won’t be surprised if you find some significant holes in the literature; but that’s an important addition to our knowledge too.
Hi Marshall
Great topic, UDL (and all accessible learning) should be on everyones mind when designing learning.
I have several resources from a UDL workshop I attended a couple years ago, here is the link.
https://padlet.com/mattbergman14/Canada2016
Cheers
Thanks for the resources Steve, keep them coming if you have more! I am still trying to wrap my head around how I will approach this topic.
Nice, Marshall!! I like UDL to help accommodate students with disabilities or accessibility concerns. We need to have a session to discuss our research–a lot of mine crosses to UDL because of the suggestions to accommodate disabilities, but none of my research is UDL in absence of accommodation. One article added poor technology as a concern for MOOCs, since if you have a crummy computer or you’re in a part of the world with limited access, you’re left out. I would be happy to share that article with you–it is focused on accommodation but the reference lists would include more about technology UDL.
The poor technology aspect is something I had not considered, despite my current location in the developing world, though Medellin is perhaps the most developed part of Colombia, not perhaps it is. I am interested mostly in how do you vary content delivery to appeal to various different styles of learner. Anything you have though, please send my way I would be most appreciative!