Teaching and learning at massive scale with MOOCs

1. Innovative Pedagogy at massive scale:
Teaching and learning in MOOCS
Rebecca Ferguson & Mike Sharples
Institute of Educational Technology
The Open University, UK
ECTEL 2014, Graz, Austria

2. INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGY
• Networked learning
• Seamless learning
• Personal Inquiry learning
• Crowd learning
• Geo-learning
• Maker learning
• Learning from gaming
• Citizen inquiry
• Rhizomatic learning
www.open.ac.uk/innovating

3. 250 million views per year
9 million active learners
7 million course
learners
5 million OU
registered learners
MASSIVE SCALE
• Open University OpenLearn:
− 5 million registered users,
− 23 million visits,
− 11,000 hours of learning
materials
• iTunes U:
− 66 million downloads
• YouTube EDU:
− 21 million views

4. INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGY AT MASSIVE SCALE
www.futurelearn.com
• FutureLearn
• Company formed by
The Open University
• Launched in October 2013
• 40 partners, 37 universities
• Over 550,000 registered
learners
• Over 1 million course
registrations
• New platform,
new pedagogy
http://about.futurelearn.com/blog/

5. INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGY AT MASSIVE SCALE
Futurelearn course page (‘Exploring English’ by British Council)

6. INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGY AT MASSIVE SCALE
(Exploring English example)
• 110,000 learners on the
course
• Comments linked to content
• Over 14,000 learner
comments on a single video
• Half the learners who start
the course contribute to
discussions
• 178 countries
− Spain, Myanmar (Burma),
Brazil, UK, China, Russia, Chile,
Italy, Algeria, Ukraine …

7. How do we design teaching, learning and
assessment that improve with scale?

8. SCALING LEARNING
Some educational methods
degrade with scale
e.g. personal tutoring,
sports coaching
Some educational methods
are impervious to scale
e.g. lecturing
Which educational methods
improve with scale?

9. METCALFE’S LAW
Metcalfe, R.M.: It’s all in your head. Forbes, 20th April, 2007.
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0507/052.html
• For some networked systems the value of a
product or service increases with the number of
people using it
• The telephone system becomes more valuable to
users as more people are connected
• In two-sided networks (e.g. educators, learners)
each side needs to benefit from scale
• Learners find their opportunities to connect
increase with scale
• However, teachers find it increasingly difficult to
maintain control and support learners
• Need ways to manage and support learners

10. PERSONAL NETWORKS
Downes, S.: The Personal Network Effect. Blog posting, 4th November 2007.
http://halfanhour.blogspot.co.uk/2007/11/personal-network-effect.html.
• People are not just nodes in networks
• Network information is relevant if it is
– new
– salient
– timely
– usable
– understandable
– appropriate
– trusted
– contiguous
• Need to help people to develop effective
personal networks

11. LEARNING AT MASSIVE SCALE
Direct
instruction
through video
and slides
Can be made
more active by
e.g. embedding
quizzes
No intrinsic
benefit of scale
Can be made
more social by
e.g. viewer polls
Needs social
learning
Networked
learning
Sharing of
expertise
Intrinsic benefits
of scale – the
more learners
the more
expertise to
share
Can be made
more valuable
through
reputation
management
and badging
Needs
mentoring
Supported open
learning
Combined direct
instruction,
networked
learning, and
local tutoring
Costly, though
costs do not
increase with
scale
Can be made
more valuable
through local
expertise
Needs funding

12. FUTURELEARN LEARNING AT MASSIVE SCALE
Pedagogy-informed platform design
Learning as conversation
Gordon Pask, Diana Laurillard
Visible Learning
John Hattie
Narrative learning
Social-networked learning

13. CONVERSATIONAL FRAMEWORK
(adapted from Laurillard, D. (2002). Rethinking University Teaching.
A conversational framework for the effective use of learning technologies. London: Routledge)
Medium for mediating agreements
Why questions and responses
How questions and responses
Medium for collecting data, model building
and problem solving
Level of Descriptions
Learner acts to build
models and solve
problems
Partner acts to build
models and assist in
solving problems
Sets goals
Adjusts model
Acts
Modifies actions
Learner demonstrates
understanding and
problem solutions
Partner demonstrates
understanding and
elaborates problem
solutions
Offers theories and ideas
Re-describes theories
Offers conceptions and explanations
Re-describes conceptions
Level of Actions

14. Medium for collecting data, model building
and problem solving
Learner acts to build
models and solve
problems
FutureLearn videos, text, computer
code, HTML 5 simulations

15. Learner demonstrates
understanding and
problem solutions
Learner demonstrates
understanding and
elaborates problem
solutions
FutureLearn comments and replies
Offers theories and ideas
Re-describes theories
Why questions and responses
Offers conceptions and explanations
Re-describes conceptions

16. FutureLearn comments and replies,
linked to media
Why questions and responses
How questions and responses
Medium for collecting data, model building
and problem solving
Learner acts to build
models and solve
problems
Learner acts to build
models and assist in
solving problems
Sets goals
Adjusts model
Acts
Modifies actions
Learner demonstrates
understanding and
problem solutions
Learner demonstrates
understanding and
elaborates problem
solutions
Offers theories and ideas
Re-describes theories
Offers conceptions and explanations
Re-describes conceptions

17. FutureLearn small-group discussions:
Learner demonstrates
understanding and
problem solutions
Partner demonstrates
understanding and
elaborates problem
solutions
ArgueGraph, Jigsaw learning etc.
Medium for mediating agreements
Offers theories and ideas
Re-describes theories
Why questions and responses
Offers conceptions and explanations
Re-describes conceptions

18. FutureLearn learning
Medium for mediating agreements
Why questions and responses
How questions and responses
Medium for collecting data, model building
and problem solving
Learner acts to build
models and solve
problems
Learner / Partner
/Educator acts to build
models and assist in
solving problems
Sets goals
Adjusts model
Acts
Modifies actions
Learner demonstrates
understanding and
problem solutions
Learner / Partner /
Educator demonstrates
understanding and
elaborates problem
solutions
Offers theories and ideas
Re-describes theories
Offers conceptions and explanations
Re-describes conceptions
Mentoring
Orchestrating
Orchestrating

19. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PEDAGOGY
OF TEACHING AND LEARNING AT MASSIVE SCALE?
Data collection and analysis
• 18 courses from 14 universities
• Courses from October 2013 to February 2014
• Course materials, emails and discussions
• Grounded approach to analysis
• Emergent themes in the data

20. ADVANTAGES OF MASSIVE FOR LEARNERS
Massive participation offers learners
• Support from a wide range of other learners
• Resources provided by those learners in the form
of discussion and links
• Range of diverse cultural perspectives
Advantages of massive

21. SUPPORT, RESOURCES AND A VARIETY OF PERSPECTIVES
Improving Your Image:
Dental Photography
University of Birmingham
Elias Adan Gimenez Feliu
I'm one of the very few photographers in an area trice
as big as Scotland (the Paraguayan Chaco), where 8
different cultures live together. There's no record-keeping
or proper research done with regards of dental
treatment, specially among the most remote areas on
the country. I believe there's huge opportunities to
enhance the dental service through the powerful
medium that photography provides, by providing
material for research and education. Mainly to inform
central and local government and other decision
makers, about the realities the region faces, but
specially to educate patients (elderly and children)
dental workers and other professionals, that
sometimes have to travel hundreds of kilometres on
very bad roads, in order to reach a small town with no
proper facilities but where people in need of proper
treatment live.
Advantages of massive

22. ADVANTAGES OF MASSIVE FOR EDUCATORS
Massive participation offers educators
• Affective benefits
• Potentially increased access to resources
• Motivation to develop teaching practices
Advantages of massive

23. Corpus Linguistics: Method,
Analysis and Interpretation
Lancaster University
I am very passionate about the study of language
based on naturally occurring speech and writing. So
getting more people to know about it and be able to do
it is my goal
Practise what you preach, as they say. So I have decided
to do some reflective learning and blog about my
experience with our Climate Change MOOC.
Web Science: How the Web
is Changing the World
University of Southampton
ENJOYMENT, RESOURCES AND MOTIVATION
Advantages of massive

24. ADVANTAGES OF MASSIVE FOR SOCIETY
Massive participation offers society
• Potential to develop tools and resources
• Potential to develop professional practice
• Increased access to higher education
• Potential for global impact
Advantages of massive

25. DEVELOPMENT, ACCESS & IMPACT
Corpus Linguistics: Method,
Analysis and Interpretation
Lancaster University
It has been great to test
AntConc with so many new
users! In response to the
many helpful comments
Laurence has received, he
is making a new version of
the software available in
week two.
I am particularly keen for the
MOOC to reach audiences that
don’t have access to the learning
experience we provide here at
Leeds – such as those in Nepal,
which features prominently as one
of our case studies
Fairness and Nature:
When Worlds Collide
University of Leeds
British Minister of
State for Universities
and Science
MOOCs provide
the opportunity
to widen access
to our world-class
universities and
to meet the
global demand
for higher
education
Advantages of massive

26. CHALLENGES OF MASSIVE
Challenges of massive participation include
• Need the skills to learn together online
• Need to be able to search for and locate
trustworthy support and resources
• Widening access brings in inexperienced learners
• Educators may be overwhelmed by workload
Advantages of massive

27. SUPPORTING INEXPERIENCED LEARNERS TO LEARN TOGETHER ONLINE
Fairness and Nature:
When Worlds Collide
University of Leeds
We have provided a short video to highlight
a few points to help make your learning
experience effective and enjoyable. The
video includes:
Preparing to learn […]
Listening and reflecting […]
Making notes […]
Communicating with others
Challenges of massive

28. Introduction to
Forensic Science
University of Strathclyde
You have been actively engaged in
the discussions, which is excellent,
thank you, but with more than
23,000 participants it means that
our responses and comments risk
getting lost. One way to ensure we
keep in touch with all of you is by
sending out our weekly email – like
this one
LOCATING TRUSTWORTHY RESOURCES
Challenges of massive

29. Introduction to
Forensic Science
ENGAGING LEARNERS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS
University of Strathclyde
This will be primary school material for
some of you and exactly the opposite
for others. It is just not possible to tailor
the material to each of you […] If it
appears too technical, forget the detail
and concentrate on the higher level
principles; if you think ‘yes I know all
about that’ we’d encourage you to be
an active participant in the learning
community
Challenges of massive

30. HIGH LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT – MANAGING WORKLOAD
Good Brain,
Bad Brain: Basics
University of Birmingham
I have been amazed and impressed by the
level of interest and input – 1800 of you
have posted at least one comment. If you
posted something hoping to get a reply but
haven’t then I am sorry, but me and my
four mentors have been doing our best to
monitor what’s going on in between doing
our usual activities.
Challenges of massive

31. LEARNING DESIGN AND PLATFORM DESIGN
We can design to increase the benefits and reduce
these challenges by
• Creating learning designs that take the benefits
into account
• Making it straightforward to ask questions and
receive answers
• Providing ways of filtering and navigating
resources
• Designing for accessibility

32. DESIGNING FOR MASSIVE FROM THE START
Learning design and platform design
Learning design tools
help educators to plan
for massive as they
consider different types
of learning activity,
including:
• delivered
• reflection
• collaboration
• conversation
• networking
• browsing
• assesssment

33. ASKING QUESTIONS, GETTING ANSWERS
Learning design and platform design

34. FILTERING RESOURCES
Learning design and platform design

35. ACCESSIBILITY
Learning design and platform design

36. TEACHING AND LEARNING AT MASSIVE SCALE
• Exploit the knowledge of peers
• Use recommender tools to promote expertise and
enable trustworthy support
• Employ expert educators, equipped with live
analytics, as a valued scarce resource,
• Use social network tools, such as filtering and
following, to enable ‘education 2.0’
• Build on the benefits of many cultural and
cognitive perspectives
• Help learners to develop enduring social learning
networks

37. Mike.Sharples@open.ac.uk Rebecca.Ferguson@open.ac.uk