I really looked forward to this presentation and this team did not disappoint. They included lots of relevant information on the pluses and minuses of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). I completed this MOOC at the beginning of the pandemic and, as I described during the live presentation, it became part of the impetus for me to apply to the MALAT program. I am also one of the minority of students who have completed the course, which was a nice feeling of accomplishment at a time when I did not feel like I was accomplishing much at all. Another thing that I appreciated was feeling the same way as the team about the odd sort of artificial connection that the MOOC tried to convey (Breton et al., 2022).
I loved the infographic that this team posted on Ashley’s blog (Breton et al., 2022). I agree with what they say about MOOCs being shiny and optimistic on the surface, where you can easily see what the developers want us to see, but there being a deeper, perhaps darker, underside that is more difficult to see. During the presentation that the group made, I especially found the discussion about low completion rates (Murphy et al, 2014) that was part of Emma’s critical issue most fascinating.
Overall, this team has raised some very interesting thoughts on MOOCs that I had not thought of before reading their thoughts. I look forward to seeing where their research goes.
References:
Murphy, J., Williams, A., & Lennox, A. (2014). MOOCs in VET and higher education. 22nd National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference ‘No Frills’: refereed papers. Australian College of Applied Education. 76-82.
Breton, A. (9 May, 2022). Making Sense of MOOCs: A Critical Look at the Impact of MOOCs in Teaching and Learning | Ash’s Blog. From https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0205/making-sense-of-moocs-a-critical-look-at-the-impact-of-moocs-in-teaching-and-learning/
Now for my music choice. Shinedown is an interesting band that used to occupy some space on my running playlist with “Second Chance”. As a nod to this team, I chose “Brilliant” for this entry. It has a good message about not giving up, which speaks to me right now.