Associa'on  for  Business  Communica'on    New  Orleans,  LA  October  2013

Rebecca  E.  Burne@,  Ph.D.  Director,  Wri.ng  and  Communica.on  

Georgia  Tech    ~    Atlanta,  GA    

Paper  Co-­‐authors  Andy  Frazee,  Ph.D.    Karen  J.  Head,  Ph.D.  

Associate  Director    Director  Wri.ng  and  Communica.on  Communica.on  Center  

Overview  

§ Defining  MOOCs    

§ Understanding  historical  context  

 § Considering  efficacy    

 

Defining  MOOCs  

MOOC  Defini'on  

§  Massive  §  Open  §  Online  §  Course  

Appropriateness  of  MOOCs  for  Business  Communica'on  

The  2013  NMC  Horizon  Report  iden.fies  MOOCs  as  an  important  technology,  no.ng  that  MOOCs  have  “deviated  from  the  ini.al  premise…a  pedagogy  in  which  knowledge  [was]  not  a  des.na.on  but  an  ongoing  ac.vity,  fueled  by  the  rela.onships  people  build  and  the  deep  discussions”    

Johnson  et  al.,  2013,  p.  11    

MOOC  Characteris'cs  § FREE,  OPEN  enrollment  across  the  world.  § MOSTLY  FREE  materials.    § HUGE  class  size.      § VIDEO  modules  for  primary  content.  § PEER  REVIEW  for  engagement  and  assessment.  § DISCUSSION  FORUM  par.cipa.on.    § SYNCHRONOUS  and  ASYNCHRONOUS  viewing  § LOW  COMPLETION  rates  

Our  MOOC  Characteris'cs  § FREE,  OPEN  enrollment  —  Across  the  world  (e.g.,  Argen.na,  Canada,  China,  Egypt,  Iran,  Mexico,  New  Zealand,  Pakistan,  Russia,  US)    

§ FREE  MATERIALS  —  Open-­‐source  textbook  and  open-­‐access  materials  

§ HUGE  class  size  —  21,934  registered;  14,772  ac.ve  students  

§ VIDEO  modules  —  26  video  lectures;  7  live  Hangouts  

§ PEER  REVIEW  —  2,942  submiced  assignments;  19,571  peer  assessments  

§ FORUM  par.cipa.on  —  1,728  threads;  6,990  posts;  2,866  comments      

§ SYNCHRONOUS  and  ASYNCHRONOUS  viewing  —  95,631  viewings  of  videos  by  10,452  par.cipants  

§ LOW  COMPLETION  (1–2%)  —  297  passed;  238  earned  cer.ficates  

Our  Outcomes  §  Cri'cal  Thinking:  Evaluate  the  effec.veness  of  personal  essays,  

images,  and  oral  presenta.ons.  Assess  your  work  and  the  work  of  your  peers.  Reflect  on  your  own  processes  and  performance.    

     

§  Rhetoric:  Analyze  the  ways  in  which  you  and  other  communicators  use  persuasion.  Think  about  and  use  context,  audience,  purpose,  argument,  genre,  organiza.on,  design,  visuals,  and  conven.ons.      

§  Process:  Apply  processes  (read,  invent,  plan,  drak,  design,  rehearse,  revise,  publish,  present,  and  cri.que).      

§  Digital  Media:  Produce  wricen,  oral,  and  visual  ar.facts.    

Karen,  Rebecca,  and  Andy  worked  closely  together  in  designing  the  course  and  managing  our    17-­‐person  team.  Photo  used  with  permission  ©  R.E.  Burnec  

The  PIs,  project  managers,  and    postdocs  had  weekly  team  mee.ngs.    

Curriculum  was  designed.    Videos  were  scripted.    

Assessment  was  planned.  Photo  used  with  permission  ©  R.E.  Burnec  

     

The  videos  included    § Screen  summaries  § Callouts    § Hand-­‐wricen  notes  during  brainstorming  

§ Annota.ons  on  sample  ar.facts  

Photo  used  with  permission  ©  R.E.  Burnec  

During  the  live  weekly  Hangouts,  students  from  around  the  world  met  virtually  with  instructors  in  Georgia  Tech’s  Communica.on  Center.  Photo  used  with  permission    ©  R.E.  Burnec  

MOOCs  Hangout  sessions  in  the    Communica.on  Center  were    videotaped  for  later  analysis.  Photo  used  with  permission  ©  R.E.  Burnec  

 

Asser'ons

§ #1  Technology    § #2  Hype    § #3  Limita'ons    § #4  Reality    § #5  Poten'al    

 

 

Asser'on  #1   Technology.  MOOCs  are  the  most  recent  technology  enabling  distance  learning.  Each  technology  has  affordances  and  limita.ons  that  shape  pedagogy  and  enable,  encourage,  constrain,  and  impede  learning.  

 

 

Asser'on  #2   Hype.  MOOCs  receive  great  acen.on  (~4.5  million  hits  on  Google),  a  lot  of  it  unwarranted  hype  in  newspapers  and  in  the  blogosphere.      

 

 

Asser'on  #3   Limita'ons.  MOOCs  are  not  yet  good  in  peer  review,  in  assessing  anything  but  quan.ta.ve  responses,  in  responding  to  par.cipants  who  need  accommoda.ons,  in  in-­‐depth  and  monitored  discussions,  or  in  enabling  reflec.on.  They’re  .me-­‐consuming  and  expensive  to  produce  and  may  not  be  governed  by  the  same  high  standards  as  the  organiza.on  sponsoring  them.    

 

 

Asser'on  #4 Reality.  MOOCs  are  not  the  salva.on  of  higher  educa.on.  They’re  excellent  for  prepara.on,  review,  and  enrichment.  They  are  another  resource,  valuable  if  done  well,  but  they’re  frustra.ng  and  unproduc.ve  if  not  done  well.    

 

 

Asser'on  #5 Poten'al.  The  technology  has  not  yet  caught  up  with  the  need.  The  individual  success  stories  are  persuasive  and  heartwarming,  but  problems  with  access,  ac.vi.es,  assignments,  accommoda.on,  and  assessment  are  enormous.    

 

 

Understanding  Historical  Context  

The  Bigger  Context  of  MOOCs  

§ Distance  educa'on  – Systems:  extension,  correspondence,  fiber  op.cs,  online  learning  – Media:  radio,  film,  television,  and  video    

§ Wri'ng  centers      § Technologies      

The  videos  were  recorded  and  edited  in  Georgia  Tech’s  professional  TV  studio.  

Photo  used  with  permission  ©  R.E.  Burnec    

Contextual  Perspec'ves  Distance  Educa'on  Systems  

§ University  degree  and  extension  services      §  Correspondence  courses      §  Fiber  op'c  networks      § Online  learning/e-­‐learning      

Contextual  Perspec'ves    Media:  Radio  

§ Educa'onal  Radio  Sta'ons  —  N.  America,  Asia,  Africa,  Europe  

§ Benefits  —  wide  distribu.on,  low  cost,  usable  in  areas  with  virtually  no  other  technology      

§ Limita'ons  —  limited  interac.on,  pacing,  playback  

Berman,  S.D.  (2008).  “The  Return  of  Educa.onal  Radio”  The  Interna3onal  Review  of  Research  in  Open  and  Distance  Educa3on.  9(2)  hcp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/ar.cle/view/563/1038  

hcp://streema.com/radios/genre/Educa.on  

Contextual  Perspec'ves    Media:  Film  

§ Academic  Film  Archive    of  North  America  —  100,000+  educa.onal  films  made  in  N.  America,    early  1900s–~1985;  subjects  including  art,  history,  social  science,  literature,  and  science  (hcp://www.afana.org/)    

§ Indiana  University  Libraries  Film  Archive  —  48,000+  films  da.ng  from  before  World  War  II  and  intended  for  classroom  use,  including  U.S.  Department  of  War  produc.ons  and  5,600+  programs  produced  by  the  Na.onal  Educa.onal  Television  (NET)  network,  precursor  to  PBS.    

Staging  facility,  housed  at  History  San  Jose  hcp://www.afana.org/facts.htm  

Contextual  Perspec'ves    Media:  Television  

§ Federal  Communica'on  Commission  —  in  1952  designated  242  channels  for  educa.onal  television.    60  channels  in  use  by  1960.  

§ Network  TV  created  educa.onal  programming.  –  Example:  Sunrise  Semester  on  CBS,  1957-­‐1982.    30-­‐minute  NYU  lectures  with  mail-­‐in  materials.    Available  for  viewing  by  anyone;  college    credit  with  fees.  

–  Example:  Ask  Mr.  Wizard,  1951–1965.      

hcp://sta.c.stevespangler.com/stevespangler/uploads/2007/06/mrwizardearly.jpg  

Contextual  Perspec'ves    Media:  Videos  and  DVDs  

Contextual  Perspec'ves    Media:  Videos  and  DVDs  

hcp://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/professors/professors.aspx  

Contextual  Perspec'ves    Wri'ng  Centers  

hcp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/  

Considering  Efficacy  

Considering  the  Efficacy  of  MOOCs  Ra'onales   Benefits   Cau'ons  

Access     Available  to  anyone  in  the  world  with  a  computer,  internet  access,  and  applica.ons.    

Limited  by  .me  for  online  connec.on,  available  power,  local  laws,  and  func.onality  for  ADA  accommoda.ons.  

Convenience     Asynchronous  and  synchronous.    On-­‐line  viewing  and  exercises.    Off-­‐line  reading  and  assignments.  

Limited  convenience  based  on  limited  navigability  of  plaworm,  uneven  par.cipa.on.  

Cost     To  students:  basic  course  currently    free.  Some  levels  of  “cer.fica.on”  have  a  cost.  

To  students:  cost  of  technology  and  .me.  To  school:  expensive  and  .me  consuming  to  create,  tape,  and  disseminate;  cost  of  faculty  and  support  system.  

Pedagogy   Planned  lectures.  Some  innova.on  possible.  Hangouts  for  community.  Forums  for  collabora.on  and  learning.  

Lecture  largely  ineffec.ve  for  learning.  Plaworm  for  quan.ta.ve  courses.  Use  forums  technology  glitches.  

Assessment   Online  quizzes.  Peer  assessment.  Some  self-­‐assessment.    

Online  can’t  be  graded  if  downloaded.  Dysfunc.onal  peer  assessment.  Uneven  peer  par.cipa.on.  Plaworm  designed  largely  for  quan.ta.ve  disciplines.    

MOOCs  A  Match  for  Business  Communica'on?  

…if  the  focus  is  on  processes,  rhetoric,  and  culture  of  communica.on.  Yes…if  problems  with  access,  ac.vi.es,  assignments,  accommoda.on,  and  assessment  are  resolved.  Yes…if  the  purpose  is  preview,  enrichment,  or  review.  

 …if  the  focus  con.nues  to  emphasize  pre-­‐recorded  lectures,  

inflexible  assignments,  inacen.on  to  process.  No…if  issues  related  to  quan.ta.ve  assessment  and  inadequate  peer  review  are  not  addressed.  No…if  intended  as  replacements  for  credit  courses.    

 

Rebecca  Burne@,  rebecca.burnec@lmc.gatech.edu  Georgia  Ins'tute  of  Technology    

   

CONTACT  ME  If  you  have  ques.ons  about  our  program,  please  email…or  come  for  a  visit.