MOOCs
http://www.cit.nus.edu.sg/moocs/#online-mooc-resources
At the State of the University Address on 12th October 2012, the NUS President talked about creating a ‘shared centre in education’. This envisioned space is where NUS teaching staff can strike a balance between offering face-to-face interaction in the classroom and at the same time, leverage on technology to create a learning environment where students are encouraged and challenged to think about issues differently, to question assumptions and explore novel approaches, and to acquire 21st century skills for the global knowledge economy.
One initiative that arose from this is the MOOC or Massive Open Online Course. To that end, NUS joined Coursera in February 2013, so as to provide an avenue for the innovative development of MOOCs and through them, introduce a new pedagogical experience for both NUS students, and learners all over the world.
The Coursera platform will also act as an important adjunct to the NUS Course Management System – IVLE.
Come January 2014, the following MOOCs will be launched:
External and global
Internal and restricted to NUS- GEM1915FC Towards an understanding of the Complex World
A/P Lakshminarayanan Samavedham
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Another example is the use of the flipped classroom approach where carefully customized online resources allow students to learn foundational concepts at their own pace, and monitor their learning progress, before coming to class for active in-depth discussions and activities. The following staff have employed flipped classrooms for their modules on IVLE:
- A/P Lam Yulin
Chemistry, Faculty of Science - A/P Victor Tan
Mathematics, Faculty of Science
Coursera FAQsWhat is Coursera?Coursera is an online platform for open-access, mostly non-credit classes, available at no cost to audiences around the world at Coursera.org. Such courses are commonly known as MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses. This platform was developed at Stanford University in the fall of 2011 by computer science professors Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng. It is operated by Coursera, Inc., an independent company dedicated to working with high-quality university partners. The company made its first foray into offerings from partner universities in April 2012 and has since enrolled more than 1.3 million students around the world.
NUS is the first Singapore higher education institution and one of 62 university partners to join Coursera from February 2013, and one of HOW MANY universities from Asia, adding 2 new courses to Coursera’s over 300-item course list.
When will the first round of NUS-Coursera MOOC begin?The two NUS-Coursera MOOCs are expected to begin in January 2014.
How were faculty chosen for the first round of NUS-Coursera courses?The two courses that launch NUS on Coursera were chosen based on the interesting subject matter – an interdisciplinary appreciation of “randomness” and the art of classical music composition, both of which were previously not featured on the Coursera course list. Both instructors also committed to the MOOC philosophy, of making their expertise available to a global audience.
When will any additional rounds of NUS-Coursera courses begin?Planning for MOOCs, both on Coursera and within NUS, is an on-going process. If you are interested in proposing a course, please contact Assoc Prof Chng Huang Hoon with your proposal.
What support is available to participating faculty?NUS faculty will get full support from Centre for Instructional Technology (CIT) on technology needs, recording options and other resources. Course videos are typically 8-to-12 minutes in length. Courses currently available on Coursera variously use screencast lectures (e.g. PowerPoint or other types of material) with talking-head or voice-over narration, live lectures, or simple faculty narrative. CIT will also assist in getting you familiarized with Coursera platform and resolve technical issues pertaining to your course. NUS faculty is responsible for all course content, including lecture materials, supplemental materials, and quizzes & tests. They are also responsible for copyright clearance and must ensure quality of content.
Does NUS offer current Coursera courses (aka external MOOCs) for credit?No. External MOOCs offerings are currently not eligible for credit at NUS. However, NUS faculty are free to incorporate Coursera materials in a flipped classroom model to explore the possibility of offering internal MOOCs that arecredit bearing. Alternatively, NUS faculty can also consider IVLE as the delivery platform for flipped classrooms.
MOOC ArticlesIntroduction to MOOCs
| New York Times, The Year of the MOOC, 2 November 2012.
Provides an overview of what MOOCs are and who the key players are in this new area of online education.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, What You Need to Know About MOOCs.
Shorter than the above NYT article, gives a constantly updated timeline listing key events related to MOOCs.
| Teacher’s take
| Mohamed Noor, Teaching a MASSIVE online course, 20 December 2012.
Dr. Noor reflects on teaching a Duke Coursera MOOC, including his interactions with his MOOC students.
Tucker Balch, Teaching a MOOC: Lessons Learned and Best Practices, 12 January 2013.
A professor shares what he has learned from teaching a Coursera MOOC, from how to develop effective lectures for the MOOC setting to possible ways to interact with students.
| Student’s take
| The Chronicle of Higher Education, Why Do Students Flock to MOOCs?, 26 July 2012.
At a California cookout, 650 people from all walks of life shared their experiences participating in Coursera’s online courses. Listen to brief 2-minute interviews from four of these students reflecting on the experience of taking of a MOOC.
The Guardian, Do online courses spell the end for the traditional university?, 10 November 2012.
A journalist learns about MOOCs firsthand by enrolling in Duke Professor Mohamed Noor’s Coursera MOOC on “Genetics and Evolution.”
Casting Out Nines (blog), Lessons learned from wrestling with a MOOC, 15 January 2013.
A math professor takes a MOOC on data analysis.
| Best MOOC Practices
| You may also find the following articles useful:
| General Readings
| A Tale of Two MOOCs @ Coursera: Divided by Pedagogy
Thomas L. Friedman, The Professors' Big Stage, 5 March 2013.
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