1. The Case of a Massive Online Open Course
(MOOC) at a College of Education
Dalit Levy and Sarah Schrire
Kibbutzim College of Education,
Technology & Arts
Tel Aviv, Israel
NMC Summer Conference
MIT, Cambridge, MA, June 14, 2012

2. A NEW M.Ed. PROGRAM IN
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION • Teacher education professors in Israel's
BACKGROUND largest college of education
CRITICAL LOOK • Public college supervised by the Ministry of
Education and the national Council for
THE ISSUE
Higher Education
THE FIELD
METHODOLOGY
FINDINGS
NEXT STEPS
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

3. A NEW M.Ed. PROGRAM IN
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION • Teacher education professors in Israel's
BACKGROUND largest college of education
CRITICAL LOOK • Public college supervised by the Ministry of
Education and the national Council for
THE ISSUE
Higher Education
THE FIELD
• Academization of teacher training
METHODOLOGY - “a master's degree for every teacher and educator in Israel”
- B.Ed. programs with emphasis on social involvement
FINDINGS
NEXT STEPS
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

4. A NEW M.Ed. PROGRAM IN
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION • Teacher education professors in Israel's
BACKGROUND largest college of education
CRITICAL LOOK • Public college supervised by the Ministry of
Education and the national Council for
THE ISSUE
Higher Education
THE FIELD
• Academization of teacher training
METHODOLOGY - “a master's degree for every teacher and educator in Israel”
- B.Ed. programs with emphasis on social involvement
FINDINGS
• Examine models for teacher education in
NEXT STEPS
the knowledge society
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

5. MOTIVATION FOR THIS CASE STUDY
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION Two fold:
BACKGROUND • Provide experiences that prepare
CRITICAL LOOK future teachers for education in the
THE ISSUE digital age and for work in the
THE FIELD knowledge economy
METHODOLOGY • Realize the aspects of the
FINDINGS organizational culture that support
NEXT STEPS innovative pedagogy/technology
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

6. WHAT IS LEARNING?
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION
Commognition
BACKGROUND
“…thinking is an communicating form of
Thinking as individualized
CRITICAL LOOK interpersonal communication… whatever one
THE ISSUE creates isLearning as of collective doing. Even
a product communicating
THE FIELD
BI
when sitting alone at her desk and deeply
immersed in thoughts, part in a discourse in
To learn is to take a person is engaged
METHODOLOGY
a conversation with others.” (Sfard, 2008)
FINDINGS Learning outcomes are products of
Sfard, A. (2008). Thinking as communicating: Human development, the growth
NEXT STEPS collective doing
of discourses, and mathematizing. (pp. xiii - xix) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

7. AI (After the Internet): CONNECTIVISM
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION • knowledge is distributed across a
BACKGROUND network of connections
CRITICAL LOOK • learning consists of the ability to
THE ISSUE construct and traverse those
THE FIELD networks (commognition?)
METHODOLOGY Connectivism is the combined effect of three
FINDINGS components: chaos theory, networks, and the
NEXT STEPS
interplay of complexity and self-organization.
George Siemens, Stephen Downes, Dave Cormier
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

8. THREE CONNECTIVIST LEARNING
EXPERIENCES
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION
BACKGROUND PLENK2010 - Massive Open Online Course
Many resources, many participants, many
CRITICAL LOOK
communication types
THE ISSUE
THE FIELD
METHODOLOGY
FINDINGS “all-at-once-ness”
NEXT STEPS
Learning Experience I, 10.10.10
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

9. THREE CONNECTIVIST LEARNING
EXPERIENCES
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION During the last synchronous session of “the mother of all MOOCs” (11:50-11:54)
BACKGROUND
CRITICAL LOOK
THE ISSUE
THE FIELD
METHODOLOGY
FINDINGS
NEXT STEPS
Learning Experience II, 05.16.12
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

10. 10

11. THREE CONNECTIVIST LEARNING
EXPERIENCES
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION Imagine yourself participating in a synchronous MOOC
BACKGROUND session while the facilitators and the other participants are
speaking a different language than you do
CRITICAL LOOK
Listen
THE ISSUE Read
THE FIELD
METHODOLOGY Write
FINDINGS
NEXT STEPS
Learning Experience III
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

12. THE LANGUAGE OF MOOCs
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION The importance of experiencing
BACKGROUND connectivist learning in MOOCs (i.e.
CRITICAL LOOK communicating across networks) :
THE ISSUE
THE FIELD
• Interest in MOOCs has taken a significant
leap forward in the last year (Twitter, Google Insights)
METHODOLOGY
FINDINGS
NEXT STEPS
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

13. THE LANGUAGE OF MOOCs
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION The importance of experiencing
BACKGROUND connectivist learning in MOOCs (i.e.
CRITICAL LOOK communicating across networks) :
THE ISSUE
THE FIELD
• Interest in MOOCs has taken a significant
leap forward in the last year (Twitter, Google Insights)
METHODOLOGY
FINDINGS
NEXT STEPS
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

14. THE LANGUAGE OF MOOCs
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION The importance of experiencing
BACKGROUND connectivist learning in MOOCs (i.e.
CRITICAL LOOK communicating across networks) :
THE ISSUE
THE FIELD
• Interest in MOOCs has taken a significant
leap forward in the last year (Twitter, Google Insights)
METHODOLOGY
FINDINGS
• However, the rising interest relates to a
NEXT STEPS different kind of learning experience!
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

15. THE LANGUAGE OF MOOCs
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION “Lately when I write about MOOCs (and I admit, I do write
BACKGROUND about MOOCs a lot lately), I feel the need to attach a
bunch of adjectives to clarify what I mean by the term: the
CRITICAL LOOK Stanford-model MOOC. New MOOCs. The OG MOOC. The
THE ISSUE ur-MOOC. The MOOCs-come-lately. VC MOOCs. Tech
MOOCs. Mother of all MOOCs. Change11. DS106.
THE FIELD MOOCGuffin (I just totally made that up. Sorry.)”
METHODOLOGY
FINDINGS (Audrey Watters, Hack Education blog, June 7, 2012).
NEXT STEPS
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

16. THE LANGUAGE OF MOOCs
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION “there are really two variations of MOOCs with quite
different approaches – witness the Stanford and MITx
BACKGROUND version vs. the rhizomatic version”.
CRITICAL LOOK (Phil Hill, e-Literate blog, March 15, 2012).
THE ISSUE
Rhizome:
THE FIELD An expanding
METHODOLOGY underground root
system, sending up
FINDINGS above ground
shoots to form a
NEXT STEPS vast network.
Rhizomatic learning - Dave Cormier (2011) following Deleuze and Guattari (1987)
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

17. THE LANGUAGE OF MOOCs
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION The Connectivist Model The “Stanford” Model
BACKGROUND “…highly social. The learning comes “The goal is to ensure a high quality
from content presented by a lecturer, learning experience to anyone with
CRITICAL LOOK and then dialog via social media, sufficient technical ability and access
where the contributions of the to the Internet... the experience is,
THE ISSUE participants are shared.” effectively, solo.”
THE FIELD • CCK08, CCK09, CCK11 • Udacity
• PLENK2010 • Udemy
METHODOLOGY • MobiMOOC (2011) • MITx
• LAK11 • EdX
FINDINGS • DS106 • Coursera
• CHANGE (began 2011, ended 2012) …
NEXT STEPS … All newborns (2012)
(Clark Quinn, 2.29.12)
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

18. THE LANGUAGE OF MOOCs
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION 21th century education: 20th century education:
BACKGROUND From many (info resources) From one (teacher)
To one (learner) To many (learners)
CRITICAL LOOK
THE ISSUE
THE FIELD
METHODOLOGY
FINDINGS (Levy, 2011)
NEXT STEPS We refer to the connectivist origins and envision MOOCs as
highly interactive communicative spaces.
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

19. MOOC AT A COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION Setting up connectivist MOOCs in our
BACKGROUND language:
CRITICAL LOOK (Translation: “That is how we will all learn in the future”)
THE ISSUE
THE FIELD Current and future teachers should:
METHODOLOGY • Participate in MOOCs as learners
FINDINGS • Gain experience in facilitating learning in
NEXT STEPS MOOCs (plus in instructional design)
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

20. MOOC AT A COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION Connectivist MOOCs as innovative
BACKGROUND pedagogy for teacher education
CRITICAL LOOK • Green light from stake holders
THE ISSUE
• Convince collaborators (professors and tech
THE FIELD team)
METHODOLOGY
• Build support system:
FINDINGS understand needs, conceptions, constraints
NEXT STEPS • Design and code
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

21. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AT THE
KIBBUTZIM COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION • Public college founded by the Kibbutzim
BACKGROUND movement
• “The college offers up-to-date programs corresponding to
CRITICAL LOOK the current social agenda in Israel alongside practical
THE ISSUE teacher training, with emphasis on social and community
involvement.”
THE FIELD
• 2 Credits for 60 hours of social involvement
METHODOLOGY outside the campus
FINDINGS • 1 required credit for an in-campus class
NEXT STEPS (selected from a list of several “social seminars”)
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

22. SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT SEMINARS
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION • All the undergraduate students must take
BACKGROUND one seminar (a few hundred each year)
CRITICAL LOOK • The in-campus seminar is often connected
to the off-campus activity
THE ISSUE
• Twelve different teachers, most of them
THE FIELD
are adjuncts
METHODOLOGY
• Less institutional boundaries (?)
FINDINGS
NEXT STEPS An experimental field for MOOC
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

23. SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT SEMINARS AS A
FIELD FOR EXPERIMENTING CONNECTIVISM
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION 4 types of connectivist MOOC activities:
BACKGROUND • Aggregate – read, watch and play with various
resources
CRITICAL LOOK
• Remix – keep track of it all, using various (web)
THE ISSUE technologies of one’s choice
THE FIELD • Repurpose – constructing personal accounts,
composing own thoughts, creating new
METHODOLOGY understandings of the course subject
FINDINGS • Feed Forward – share the learning with others,
NEXT STEPS
when and where each person chooses to do so
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

24. NARRATIVE INQUIRY
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION Phases in setting up the social
BACKGROUND involvement MOOC
CRITICAL LOOK • Green light from stake holders
THE ISSUE
• Convince collaborators (professors and tech
THE FIELD team)
METHODOLOGY
• Build support system:
FINDINGS understand needs, conceptions, constraints
NEXT STEPS • Design and code
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

25. NARRATIVE INQUIRY
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION Interviews
BACKGROUND
Understand needs, conceptions, constraints
CRITICAL LOOK
• The undergraduate school head
THE ISSUE
• The faculty head
THE FIELD
METHODOLOGY
• The program head (social involvement)
FINDINGS • Teachers in the program
NEXT STEPS • Educational technology experts
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

26. EMERGENT THEMES IN THE
INTERVIEW DATA
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION A new meaning for “Breaking down the
BACKGROUND classroom walls”
CRITICAL LOOK • Network of facilitators
THE ISSUE
• Network of students
THE FIELD
• Network of communities (the College is one
METHODOLOGY
node)
FINDINGS
• Community of practice with regard to social
NEXT STEPS involvement
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

27. EMERGENT THEMES IN THE
INTERVIEW DATA
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION Natural Technology-Enhanced Learning
BACKGROUND Space
CRITICAL LOOK
THE ISSUE
Versus
THE FIELD
METHODOLOGY
FINDINGS Technology-Enhanced Learning Tools
NEXT STEPS supplied by the College
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

28. EMERGENT THEMES IN THE
INTERVIEW DATA
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION How should Social Involvement be
BACKGROUND Reflected in the College website?
CRITICAL LOOK
THE ISSUE Openness
THE FIELD Control
METHODOLOGY Copyrights
FINDINGS Ownership
NEXT STEPS
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

29. EMERGENT THEMES IN THE
INTERVIEW DATA
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION
BACKGROUND
Internet Interrelationships:
CRITICAL LOOK
THE ISSUE The College MOOCs
THE FIELD The College LMS
METHODOLOGY The College Website
FINDINGS
NEXT STEPS
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

30. THE PAST PLAN: QUAL MOOC
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION 1st Cycle 1D-1 "curating"
Instructional
BACKGROUND (2011-2012) design and
content
development of 2nd Cycle
1A 1B 1C
CRITICAL LOOK "green light" "conviction" "support" the Qual MOOC
(2012-
Presenting Qual Creating Building a
MOOC to the obligation among Hebrew support 2013)
THE ISSUE managerial levels the Qual MOOC system for the
and getting voluntary team of practitioners to 1D-2
reflect and
THE FIELD consent practitioners
exchange ideas
"coding"
Technological
design and
METHODOLOGY adaptation of
aggregation tools
to Hebrew
FINDINGS
NEXT STEPS
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

31. THE PRESENT PLAN: SOCIAL
INVOLVEMENT MOOC
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION 2nd Cycle 1D-1 "curating"
Instructional
BACKGROUND (2012-2013) design and
content
development of 3rd Cycle
1A 1B 1C
CRITICAL LOOK "green light" "conviction" "support" the Social
Involvement (2013-
Presenting Social Creating Building a
Involvement obligation among Hebrew support MOOC 2014)
THE ISSUE MOOC to the the Social system for the
managerial levels Involvement practitioners to 1D-2
reflect and
THE FIELD and getting
consent
MOOC voluntary
team of exchange ideas
"coding"
Technological
practitioners design and
METHODOLOGY adaptation of
aggregation tools
to Hebrew
FINDINGS
NEXT STEPS
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts

32. THE FUTURE PLAN: MORE MOOCs
ABOUT US
MOTIVATION 3rd Cycle
BACKGROUND (2013-2014)
1A 1B 1C 1D
CRITICAL LOOK "green light" "conviction" "support and "curating"
Creating coding" Instructional
obligation among Nurturing and design and
THE ISSUE No need for more and more updating content
4th Cycle
additional voluntary team of the Hebrew development for
support system
(2014-
THE FIELD consent? practitioners
to include the
various MOOC
offerings 2015)
newest
METHODOLOGY technologies
FINDINGS
NEXT STEPS
Levy & Schrire, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts