Reflections on my MOOC experience

The E-Learning and Digital Culture MOOC officially ended today, with the crowd source grades and comments revealed. I have no doubt that discussions among class members will continue, and I have much to think about, particularly about moving what I learned into my own teaching and learning.

In this post, I outline my observations about the experience and a plan for the future for this blog, for though we do not know the future of the MOOC (and previous posts make my skepticism clear) we do know that online learning is here to stay.

Imperial MOOCs: Should We Be Worried?

Throughout this blog, I have tried to differentiate my experience in EDCMOOC and my experiences teaching in a capped, online course. While there are similarities, there are obvious differences. 
One significant difference I see is the MOOCs "coverage." While most online courses are offered through universities (to which students have to apply for admission [regardless of the specific admission standards], register for the class, and pay tuition and fees; there is, in other words, a gatekeeper), MOOCs are currently open to anyone - registration takes but a few moments. There are no gate keepers: in this sense, MOOCs are open to everyone and anyone who is willing to abide by the rules. In this sense, the openness of the MOOC is both appealing and utopian: anyone, anywhere, can receive the education offered.

The more I consider the utopian rhetoric of MOOC ambassadors, the reach and scope of the MOOC, and the audience (whether intended or actual), I grow increasingly concerned with levels of access to the technology and what that (lack of) access means to non-Western cultures. Like the British Empire - on which the sun never set - will the MOOCs' influence also never set. 

The Human Touch in the Online Course

This week's MOOC readings introduced us to the idea of "human touch" and asked whether or not technology allows us to "reassert the human." In "Heart to Heart," a commercial for BT, two sons worry about their mom - first, they talk to one another (and their mom) through chat, and then one son calls his mom and talks with her over the telephone.

MOOCs in the News: Uptopian and Dystopian

The MOOC received a decent amount of attention this week in United States' non-academy focused media: Salon's Andrew Leonard proclaimed "The Internet will not ruin college," and Slate's Will Oremus wrote an article about the "MOOC Meltdown" where an "Online Class on How To Teach Online Classes Goes Laughably Awry." Thomas Friedman, in the New York Times, discussed the revolution that is the MOOC, and not surprisingly, academics responded (mostly negatively) to his comments through letters to the editor.

Technological Dystopias and Education

This week's main post addressed the dystopia of technology: the ways in which it can take over our lives; our willingness to worship it regardless of the negative consequences to ourselves, our environment, or other people; and its ability to dictate what types of information we get.

Dystopic Technology

This week's readings and videos have encouraged us to consider the dystopic and utopic aspects of technology. The three videos below Bendito Machine III, New Media, and Inbox provide two very different instances of technology.

Introduction to E-Learning and Digital Cultures MOOC

Like many in the composition field (and many others who are not), I recently enrolled in my first MOOC (massive open online course): E-learning and Digital Cultures.

My motivations: Many of you might be asking "Why take an online course in the middle of a semester when you have your own work to do?" As a faculty member in English, I teach one online course every semester in professional and technical writing, yet I have not had the opportunity to take an online course until now. I want to see what it is like to learn online, to not see my fellow students and teachers in a classroom, to be detached, physically, from the learning community but at the same time connected with them.