TY - GEN
T1 - Mastering the MOOC
T2 - 12th International Conference on Interactive Mobile Communication, Technologies and Learning, IMCL 2018
AU - Mullarkey, Caitlin E.
AU - Vulcu, Felicia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Since their initial launch, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have experienced explosive growth as a method of online distance learning. As of 2017, the MOOC landscape has ballooned to almost 10,000 courses offered by more than 800 universities worldwide. From an instructor’s perspective, the biggest draws to such an online platform are the scalability and openness. The benefits are equally attractive from a learner’s perspective as these courses lack prerequisites, are highly flexible, and provide access to education from top university professors. While the term MOOC was initially coined in Canada, Canadian universities have lagged behind their American counterparts in the market. On February 2018, in partnership with the MacPherson Institute and Labster virtual labs, we launched DNA Decoded on Coursera. Aimed at demystifying the complex topic of DNA to a lay audience, our course was just the fourth to be launched by McMaster University. In developing DNA Decoded, we incorporated several novel approaches including the use of gamified elements to promote engagement with content. In this paper, we explore the MOOC design process from an instructor’s perspective and evaluate the performance of the course 6 months postlaunch.
AB - Since their initial launch, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have experienced explosive growth as a method of online distance learning. As of 2017, the MOOC landscape has ballooned to almost 10,000 courses offered by more than 800 universities worldwide. From an instructor’s perspective, the biggest draws to such an online platform are the scalability and openness. The benefits are equally attractive from a learner’s perspective as these courses lack prerequisites, are highly flexible, and provide access to education from top university professors. While the term MOOC was initially coined in Canada, Canadian universities have lagged behind their American counterparts in the market. On February 2018, in partnership with the MacPherson Institute and Labster virtual labs, we launched DNA Decoded on Coursera. Aimed at demystifying the complex topic of DNA to a lay audience, our course was just the fourth to be launched by McMaster University. In developing DNA Decoded, we incorporated several novel approaches including the use of gamified elements to promote engagement with content. In this paper, we explore the MOOC design process from an instructor’s perspective and evaluate the performance of the course 6 months postlaunch.
KW - Massive open online course (MOOC)
KW - Online videos
KW - Open education resources
KW - Virtual lab simulations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065322772&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-030-11434-3_22
DO - 10.1007/978-3-030-11434-3_22
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85065322772
SN - 9783030114336
T3 - Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing
SP - 185
EP - 194
BT - Mobile Technologies and Applications for the Internet of Things - Proceedings of the 12th IMCL Conference
A2 - Tsiatsos, Thrasyvoulos
A2 - Auer, Michael E.
PB - Springer Verlag
Y2 - 11 October 2018 through 12 October 2018
ER -