Thinking Strategically About MOOCs: Developing an Institutional Response

Editor's Notes

• #2: This presentation briefly explores the ongoing MOOC debate and then describes a world first MOOC innovation at DCU being led by the NIDL
• #5: More specifically the presentation has three parts. After touching on the MOOC debate we describe how DCU went about thinking about how to respond to the MOOC movement and more particularly our key drivers and how these informed our evaluation of different platforms. Then remainder of the presentation describes the DCU Open Academy and some of the MOOCs we will be offering over the next 12 months.
• #7: There remains considerable debate over the future of MOOCs since this open access book was published in 2013.
• #8: The evolution of the MOOC debate is reflected in this new open access book published in March which contains a chapter by Mark Brown
• #10: Some people argue the MOOC fad or bubble has burst and we are now in the ‘Trough of Disillusionment’ in terms of the Gartner Hype Cycle. However, this cycle does not tell the full story and treats all MOOC initiatives as the same. Moreover, it fails to recognise the importance of the context in which MOOCs are used within and beyond institutions.
• #11: The fact is that the number of learners taking MOOCs in 2015 almost doubled the number of people registering in 2014. There is little sign of a reduction of interest in MOOCs by prospective learners. No doubt the MOOC debate will continue to evolve on the next year or so.
• #16: The key point is that DCU spent this time identifying our drivers and notably our commitment to building a rich innovation ecology in teaching and learning was seen as the major driver for embarking on a MOOC initiative. We saw MOOCs as a means of innovating in different approaches to online learning that we could then bring back to our regular teaching and learning environment.
• #19: In the case of DCU we spent more than a year thinking about how we should respond to the MOOC movement, including doing nothing as there is an important opportunity cost.
• #20: Drawing on a clear understanding of our drivers we then evaluated a number of different MOOC platforms using a variety of evaluation tools. This slide shows how we plotted some of the tools according to pedagogical community and their brand awareness.
• #21: By changing the X and Y axis using different criteria the position of the MOOC platforms would often change.
• #24: We also identified a number of guiding questions to help with the selection process and then scored these for each platform.
• #25: In many respects this process was more important than the outcome or scores as it helped to structure and frame our internal conversations.
• #26: We have published more details of how we went about this selection process in the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning if you want further information.
• #28: Indeed, at Dublin City University we adopted the brand and learner centric language ‘DCU Connected’ to describe the range and variety of course offerings available when student choose to study from a distance. How will the Irish higher education system respond to increasing demand for more flexible delivery modes, especially in the face of increased student mobility? More specifically to what extent with demographic changes will online delivery lead to the unbundling of the postgraduate degree?
• #30: In the end after considerable deliberation we selected a new MOOC platform known as Academy that will be launched shortly by Moodle HQ. DCU will be the first university in the World to pilot this dedicated MOOC platform which ticked all the boxes for our innovation agenda or driver. Put simply, we did not see much would be gained by simply being a client of an existing major MOOC platform.
• #31: We are currently working on the development of four MOOCs in what will be known as the DCU Open Academy. These are at various stages of development as the Academy platform itself continues to be developed. This slides is just a placeholder for these courses and final course titles may change over the next few months.
• #33: Our fourth MOOC is part of another externally funded project which aims to prepare new and prospective flexible learners for further study and student success. There is another paper at the conference describing this initiative.
• #40: In sum, the DCU Open Academy initiative is very much framed around our commitment to fostering an innovation ecology in teaching and learning. In this respect the initiative differs from what other institutions appear to be wanting to achieve by gaining institutional profile through their handful of MOOCs. In keeping with our innovation driver we were attracted by the opportunity to shape the development of the MOOC platform rather than simply be one of many other institutions using someone else’s platform. And in this respect our investment in the DCU Open Academy is part of a wider strategic commitment that DCU has to creating a modern, 21st Century digital campus with a strong learning futures focus.