@silviasimonr @miquelduran @c4dudg #23keysmooc

#23keysmoocModule 6: Let’s foster student collaboration!

Sílvia SimonC4D, UdG, silvia.simon@udg.edu, @silviasimonr

Miquel DURANC4D, UdG, miquel.duran@udg.edu, @miquelduran

@silviasimonr @miquelduran @c4dudg #23keysmooc

What this module is about

• We should encourage students to collaborate remotely

• Using all kinds of tools– Facebook– Twitter– Forums– Wikis

• Student feedback is also a way of learning• Students are the main actors of a MOOC; the

instructor is not!

@silviasimonr @miquelduran @c4dudg #23keysmooc

Student Diversity

• MOOCs may be followed all over the world. Thus, students may– Be in a different time zone– Have different rythms– Be in a different learning season– Follow a different calendar

• Individual student-instructor interactions should be avoided. They are unsustainable and an energy drain

• Students should motivate mutually, answer their own questions, place doubts, build knowledge.

@silviasimonr @miquelduran @c4dudg #23keysmooc

Pareto’s Law

• 20% of students place 80% of questions, answers, problems, rewards, etc.

• In forums, our experience shows that 10% of participants generate 90% of content.

• Here we have a contradiction: e.g. MiriadaX hs an internal forum... but that means that is is not Open... and no one outside the platform can even read it.

• Depending on the MOOC being contructivist or expositive, student feedback, participation and collaboration will be different.

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ABOUT FORUMS

• It is a good idea to open a forum xxx for each module. One should try to maintain order, even though entropy (disordre) always increases.

• Forum intervention by instructors should be limited to correcting errors and technical advice which is of interest to a broad population of students.

@silviasimonr @miquelduran @c4dudg #23keysmooc

On social networks

• Wide availabily• May hinder actual interaction• Do we want to use such interactions to show

the interest of current students? It is also a tool for promoting the course or for attracting future students.

• Better to use internal forums for “private” course discussions, and external social networks for activity that is attractive

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On private student forums

• Probably students will group automatically• They may create private facebook groups• Even though direct student-instructor interaction

is discouraged, remindind students that MOOC’s leaders are always aware and awake, that “they are there” will keep them interested.

• A few messages on stuff external to the course is always welcome, e.g. sports of cultural events.

@silviasimonr @miquelduran @c4dudg #23keysmooc

About wikis

• Wikis may be relevant depending on the course• Consider use of Wikipedia articles... or better,

create and improve Wikipedia articles as part of the course.

• Wiki use requires students’ skills to be levelled, otherwise those with lower skills will withdraw from the course of not participate in any activity

• Building up a wiki should result into something that is measurable, assessable and valuable.

@silviasimonr @miquelduran @c4dudg #23keysmooc

Virtual meetings

• A good way to keep students interested in the course is to organize google hangouts with a few people.

• But even better: schedule a livecast appearance (youtube, google, livestream, ustream...) and allow for questions to be placed over twitter or another way of instant (private or public) messaging.

• Optimize student capability for the hangouts• Remember that modules may be followed anytime,

depending on the particular course scheduling.• One may also schedule a forum sessions, thus with no

video appearance, only text answers.

@silviasimonr @miquelduran @c4dudg #23keysmooc

Student meetings

• Student meetups might be encouraged. No differences should be made between groups of students, but one may promote student physical or virtual meetings to increase study and learning outcomes.

@silviasimonr @miquelduran @c4dudg #23keysmooc

Final points

• On notetaking: since videos are a key element of MOOCs, one may wonder about notetaking by participants and sharing them

• Videonotes by Goole and Open Anonations may be a good way to share comments, notes and doubts.