Issuu

From 500 to 25,000 learners

AMOOC (Massive Open Online Course) attracts a very large number of learners at any one time. Some attract 500 learners, while others, like the MOOC GdP(Gestion de Projet), can interest up to 25,000 at a time.The notion of the community behind a MOOC is a determining factor in the identity and success of each MOOC.

“Participating in a MOOC at Université Laval means:

● Live a quality distance learning experience.

● Access original, rich and diversified training content presented through multimedia resources and a variety of interactive activities.

● Acquire university-level knowledge, with no prerequisites.

● Benefit from the knowledge of expert professors in the disciplines for which the University is renowned.

● Benefit from a user-friendly digital learning environment custom-developed at the University and used by over 36,000 students and 2,000 teachers.

Although non-credit, Université Laval's open online training can lead to a certificate of completion. Upon request, the attestation can be given to participants who complete the training and obtain a passing grade in the assessments, for a small fee”.

Source : What is a MOOC? by Université de Laval - https://www.ulaval.ca

For a MOOC just starting out, 2,000 students in a first session is a good target. However, this can be less, and in exceptional cases much more.

Then, for courses for small groups, we can imagine a SOOC (Small Open Online Course) format.The content is the same as that of a MOOC, only the power of the tools and the support structure change.

Who are the learners?

As MOOCs and SOOCs are open, it could be anyone who wants to learn about your subject.

“Although most of our learners come from France (64%), they live all over the world. Highly motivated French-speaking learners come in particular from sub-SaharanAfrica and the Maghreb countries. Session 1 brought together 64 countries. The number is rising steadily.The number is now approaching 200”.

Extract from the MOOC GdPpress kit for session 11 of 2018.

Who is the teacher?

It could be you, or your pool of teachers or external speakers if you're the training manager. But beware, getting in front of the camera can be complicated for some, and sometimes even impossible.

“When some teachers become world-famous, for example, ease in front of the camera or webcam could also become an imperative for the 21st-century teacher”.

MOOC: teachers face new online courses - 04.010.2013 - https://www.franceculture.fr

What is the business model?

The ROI of the business model is usually low, especially if you have to use external service providers.

The model is valid if you manage the chain fromAto Z or if you have few copyrights to redistribute. Doing a MOOC isn't about getting rich or doing business, it's mainly about spreading knowledge to a wide audience, or boosting your reputation if you're a university, for example.

“There is no single business model for MOOCs, there is a business model for course delivery and distribution platforms (such as Coursera, edX, FUN...) and another model for universities, grandes écoles, training institutes, which create and own the content.”

8 ways to decode MOOC business models byYves Zieba March 24, 2014 - http://www.withoutmodel.com

Which platform to choose?

If you want to reach a large international audience, then you need to choose a successful platform. But don't expect to make any return on your investment in time or money, as most of your revenue will go to managing the service provider and/or renting out the platform.The more successful the platform, the more entry will be filtered either by your personal references or by price.

If it's for a more local distribution and you take the time to build your reputation, you'll have more options. Either you're part of a university or a Grande École, in which case you'll benefit from in-house or national services, and this will be part of the aura of your work as a teacher. Or, you can launch a private project on a platform that you'll have to manage fromAto Z (data center, GDPR, updates, etc.) or on a platform whose services you'll have to hire and which will manage all the technical aspects.

New platforms are sporadically entering the market, akin to social networks and with more balanced business models for educational content creators.

“BrainyUPis the first intelligent social network developed by a French start-up.

This network has the particularity of being based on knowledge sharing, enabling everyone to come and acquire new knowledge, capitalize on it as skills, and exchange views with experts and professionals on a wide range of points... It therefore allows you to develop your network of professional contacts, while learning or passing on to others.”

How do you create a course?

The first basic criterion is the subject. Is the subject I'm teaching of interest to a lay audience?

The second criterion is the level of the course. If I want to put an advanced course online, is there a prerequisite course that my future students can take beforehand?

The third criterion is whether the course I'm going to create has sufficient audience potential to justify me putting so much energy into creating my online course?

The fourth criterion is whether the teaching material already exists and has already been successfully taught?

Pedagogical

structuring or restructuring

“Sometimes, putting together a MOOC is summed up as simply designing the pedagogical content. In truth, the work required to develop a course of this type is colossal, and goes far beyond simply shooting the course videos.”

Setting up a MOOC in 7 steps by Mathieu Cisel June 16, 2013 http://blog.educpros.fr/matthieu-cisel

An online course is not a daily training course, nor is it a one-hour lecture. It's a space for learning from a personal account, with variable, and sometimes atypical, attention to training.Ateacher will tend to break up his usual hour-long lesson into a few 15-minute capsules.And, where he used to do one exam a month, he'll propose a quiz every 4 capsules.

This posture, which seems natural, should generally be avoided. Continuous 15 minutes requires a lot of attention, and sometimes your learner doesn't have 15 minutes to spare, especially if he's learning on public transport.You have to imagine that today, this is the usual context for studying a MOOC.The ideal format is between 3 and 5 minutes.These video capsules should have an introduction, a conclusion, stimulating content in a coherent pedagogical sequence in the week's format, with exercises, tests, quizzes and a final quiz to validate the intermediate course.This model can be repeated over several weeks, from 4 to 6 or more, depending on your content.

Typologie du MOOC

La typologie des MOOCs comporte :

● les certifiants qui nécessitent des examens surveillés,

● ceux qui ne délivrent que des attestations de suivi de la formation,

● ceux qui sont formatifs avec des exercices corrigés par les pairs par exemple,

● ceux qui sont informatifs et toujours accessibles en dehors du parcours

● les connectivistes.

Shaping the MOOC

AMOOC can be made up of videos of yourself, diagrams, animations, “lives”, self-corrected or peer-corrected exercises, quizzes, online proctored exams, interactive images, testimonials, bibliographies. What's important is the pedagogical structure that you'll stick to, to support the learner's rhythm with stable reference points.

“It seems to me that one of the essential aspects of commitment and perseverance in this type of course is the rhythm that is set.

Two fundamental elements of a connectivist MOOC support participation by creating a rhythm, a dynamic:

● Weekly lectures (or interventions), which provide content and update course information.

● Daily letters reporting on the MOOC's 'hot spots'.

I believe that coaching should be part of this rhythm, in counterpoint to the 'fundamental' rhythm of the MOOC. So, if the MOOC conferences take place onThursday (as with ITyPA), the support (on-site meetings or publication of blog posts) should be scheduled around Monday.This creates a kind of dialogue between the MOOC and the support”.

Accompaniment in a MOOC - January 27, 2014 - jackdub - https://prodageo.wordpress.com

Pedagogical

support team

One of the most important success factors is the teaching support team. It will structure the information on the platform and social networks, the pace, the interactions between peers and with the teacher.Afriendly team is a great asset for building your student community.

“a pedagogical manager, in charge of selecting or creating pedagogical content

- a project manager, who ensures that the course runs smoothly - a community manager, responsible for communication with participants in the broadest sense of the term - a communications manager, in charge of the participant recruitment campaign, communications with the media, and promoting the MOOC after it has been completed”.

Setting up a MOOC in 7 steps by Mathieu Cisel June 16, 2013 - http://blog.educpros.fr/matthieu-cisel

Making a MOOC is all about making the right choice

All these points correspond to strategic choices that will shape your training. Keep in mind that there are no good or bad formulas.There's just yours, which will be a mix between the services offered by the platform hosting your course, your choice of course types and your team, yourself as course manager or creator.

Author: Virginie Guignard Legros