OpenupEd MOOCs for opening up education

OpenupEd MOOCs

for opening up education

11 March 2014

Darco JansenFred Mulder

Going pan-European … with OpenupEd MOOCs

MOOCs: predominantly US• where it all started as of 2011 (or in Canada in 2009, or…)• and … expanded massively (Coursera, Udacity, edX)• some EU universities have joint US initiatives• new launches in UK, Australia, Germany, Spain

TIME for a European initiative!• nice umbrella: the EC launch ‘Opening up Education’• that’s why OpenupEd is our name• first pan-European MOOCs initiative• launched April 25 2013, joint press release EADTU & EC


MOOC: number of courses (10-11-2013)

• Coursera (VS): 537 courses• edX (VS): 91 courses• Udacity (VS): 28 courses

• Open2Study (AU): 32 courses• MiriadaX (ES): 90 courses• Futurelearn (GB): 29 courses• Universite Numerique (Fr): 24 courses• Iversity (D): 25 courses (2 with ECTS opp.)

• OpenupEd (EU) 174 courses (>100 ECTS opp.)MOOCs run on own institutional platform (11 partners)


Source: openeducationeuropa.eu/en/european_scoreboard_moocs ; October 2013

Source: openeducationeuropa.eu/en/european_scoreboard_moocs ; Febraury2014

Source: openeducationeuropa.eu/en/european_scoreboard_moocs ; February2014

+ 94 OpenupEd (November 2013)

OpenupEd Courses

• 174 (40 at start, 80 by end of September, another 94 begin November)

• wide variety in subjects and level• 12 languages• scheduled or self-paced• 20 to 200 hours of study

Massive-open-online-courses with recognition options…

But some MOOCs are not recognised as a MOOC….


Massive Open Online Courses

1. Number of participants is larger than can be teached in a ‘normal’ campus situation

2. Number of participants is larger than certain number…3. Aimed at unlimited participation4. Designed for unlimited number of participants5. The pedagogical model is such that the efforts of all services

(including of academic staff on tutoring, tests, etc.) does not significantly increase as the number of participants increases.


Massive Open Online Courses• open as for free (i.e. without costs): complete course experience

without any costs for participants (including some certificate)• open accessible: course can always be accessed by anyone

anywhere as long as they have an internet connection• Not absolute criteria (limit access by event date course, sanctioned countries)

• no entry qualifications • But participants need language, ict-skills, …

• open as in freedom of place, pace and time• acceptance of each other’s credits• open pedagogics and didactics that increases chance of success• no copy right restrictions to open licence policy• ….



• Free versus open: (free software is not open software)

• Free online availability. For example, • Open Source (software)• Open Access (scientific output)• Open Content (creative output)• Open Educational Resources /OER (learning materials)

• Open licencing (reuse – remix – rework – redistribute)

• OER Paris Declaration of UNESCO (2012)



The Babson Survey Research Group uses three criteria to define online course: • Online courses are defined as those in which at least 80 % of the

course content is delivered online. • Blended (sometimes called hybrid) between 30% and 80% of the

course content delivered online.• Face-to-face instruction includes courses in which zero to 29% of

the content is delivered online;

Source: http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/gradechange.pdf


http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/gradechange.pdf


MOOCs: online refers to all aspects of complete course are delivered online

Online refers to • material • interaction • exams/tests!



• MOOCs are courses• educational content• interaction p2p

• -> learning community -> learning networks• feedback tutor

• -> part academic community• qualification and exams

• Are MOOCs part of formal education?• most MOOCs don’t give access to HE-system only to the

knowledge (no formal credits as part of accredited curricula)• we should incorporate some recognition options, from (open)

badges to credit in a formal education program


Main drivers for online and open education

1. The main driver on open education on a national or global level is access to higher education for all.

• Today there are 165 million people enrolled in tertiary education. • Projections suggest that the world's higher education system must

accommodate additional 98 million more students by 2025. • Sir John Daniel (former President of the Commonwealth of Learning)

calculated that this would require more than four major campus universities for 30,000 students to open every week for the next 15 years.

• Or 4000 MOOCs providing 10.000 certificates each run


Main drivers for open education …

2. Extremely relevant and beneficial for Developing Countries and Emerging Economies with

• (1) shortage of qualified teachers; • (2) lack of high-quality learning materials and • (3) evident need to really expand access to (formal) education.

3. Reduce costs of HE at a country level• For example in the USA where the high cost of textbook has

reduced citizens access to higher education, but recent efforts on open textbooks reduced those costs drastically (over 50%).


Main drivers for open education …

4. At an institutional level it is (was) mainly marketing, offering something for free to attract more students

• (Early) examples of OER initiatives are based on a model as “Content for free, Teaching & Credentialing for a fee”.

• MOOCs now offer courses for free5. By now open education has become competition and demand

driven• Competing with low-cost HE to attract the best students• Next to

• policy-driven • implementation driven (changing business)• and identity driven (openness). OUs need to be part.


Disruptive innovation (Christensen)

Disruptive?

• Disruptive innovation is often made possible due to the constant reduction* in ICT costs:

• Bandwidth• Storage• Processing

• The difference between ICT costs for 100 students or 100,000 students is negligible

• The ONLY variable costs minimized are ICT costs

* “Moore’s law”


Free

• Free online courses are creating a lot of excitement, although:• Free OER has been around for a long time• Online courses have been around for a long time• Their pedagogies and technologies are usually not innovative

• “Free” disrupts industries. (e.g. music, journalism, travel)

• Is HE the next industry?• Are MOOCs disruptive?


Business models

• Customer value proposition

• Infrastructure• Resources• Processes

• Financial (yes, there is a reason why this one is last)


Business models around free

• Free as a method to compete with a paid product of a competitor

• Free product creates monetizable activity

• Freemium• Free high quality product, but limited• Limitations are raised by paying customers• Paying customers cover fixed and variable costs

• Free as a tool to promote reputation


Business models around open + online

• See examples in • Open development• Open innovation• Open education…


https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0eDX6K2hsNeWU5Ud1kyT05Lb0E/edit?pli=1

Source: http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/gradechange.pdf

http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/gradechange.pdf

HE business models around MOOCs(cACM, Dellarocas & Van Alstyne, 2013)• First and foremost, the dissemination of knowledge as a social role

of universities• Governmental funding for developing and running MOOCs for other

institutions• Payment for complementary services: certification of identity, skills

acquisition, etc.• Payment by potential employers for access to participant data• Advertising• Payment by other universities for the MOOCs


Opening up EducationOpen Education, for example defined as to remove all unnecessary barriers to learning while aiming to provide students with a reasonable chance of success in higher education.

In addition we should encompass a diversity of institutional approaches in Open Education / opening up education.

Not all barriers and restrictions are for every institution the same and it should be accepted that openness can never be totally complete.Is not absolute and can change over time.

Darco Jansen

MOOCs for Opening up Education for all (that have the potential)

• Openness in education needs to embrace all dimensions of openness and provide flexibility to all learners in whatever educational context.

• MOOCs should be designed such that all unnecessary barriers to learning are removed, while aiming to provide students with a reasonable chance of success in an education.

Darco Jansen

OpenupEd framework of 8 features

1. Openness to learners (to learners’ needs)2. Spectrum of diversity (in language, culture,

in (open) learning environments)3. Digital openness (= free + open license)4. Learner centered approach5. Independent learning6. Media-supported interaction7. Recognition options8. Quality focus OpenupEd (MOOC quality) label available

Not meant to be a strict order but rather to give general guidance


ProvenanceReputation

Brand

ProvenanceReputation

Brand

creation use

user recommendationpeer review

MOOCMOOC

checking

Quality points

Quality and learners

• “What are MOOCs actually aiming at? • “Can the quality of MOOCs be assessed in the same way as

any defined university course with traditional degree awarding processes?

• “Or do we have to take into account a different type of objective with MOOC learners? Are the learners mostly interested in only small sequences of learning, tailored to their own individual purpose, and then sign off and move to other MOOCs because their own learning objective was fulfilled?”

Source: EFQUEL, http://mooc.efquel.org/


http://mooc.efquel.org/

http://mooc.efquel.org/

Why bother with quality?

• Reported completion may be very low (1-10%)• Does that matter?

• With very large starting numbers, there are still many learners completing

• Maybe learners achieve personal goals even if they don’t complete

• Can MOOCs encourage access to HE if >90% have an experience which is a ‘failure’?


How to benchmark quality in MOOCS: OpenupEd label

Why bother with quality?

• Students – know what they are committing to• Employers – recognition of content and skills • Authors – personal reputation, 'glow' of success • Institutions – brand reputation • Funders – philanthropic, venture caps, governments

• Quality agencies – on behalf of above

And to secure the reasons why you are offering a MOOC


OpenupEd Quality label for MOOCs

• Partners will be HEIs• meet national QA & accreditation

• Internal QA process for MOOC approval• OpenupEd MOOC quality label gained initially

• self-assessment & review• institutional and course level (first 2 courses)

• Label to be renewed periodically• additional MOOCs reviewed at course level only

• HEI evaluates and monitors its MOOCs

OpenupEd quality label available since 24 January 2014


OpenupEd partnership

• from the EU: France, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, the UK

• outside of the EU, from: Russia, Turkey, Israel

• planning to join, from: Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France (+1), Greece, Ireland, Poland (2x), Slovenia, Spain (+1)

• Open to other potential partners (> 20 requests)


OpenupEd partnership: decentralized model …

Institutions themselves are leading

OpenupEd central communication portal,a referatory to the institutional platforms

Driven by service to learners & society(rather than by revenue)

Positioned in the public domain (not-for-profit)(rather than the private sector)


OpenupEd partnership: but centralized for quality …

Branding: commonality in our eight features

Procedures: admission conditions and OpenupEd label

Continuous monitoring

Research and evaluation


OpenupEd: benefits for partners

• Strong and distinctive quality brand• Collective exposure beyond national borders• Visibility and marketing potential• Opportunity to join cross-national projects with external

funding• Opportunity to engage with the expertise and experience in

the OpenupEd partnership• Annual state-of-the-art meeting (part of EADTU Conference)• Explore further extension of ‘opening up education’ at the institution


OpenupEd: six conditions to join

• Position in national HE structure including QA & Accreditation• Institutional endeavour with evidence of QA for the MOOCs• Endorsement of the eight common features and evidence of how these are applied to the MOOCs; crucial are ‘openness to learners’ & ‘digital openness’• OpenupEd (MOOC quality) label required at entry &

periodical renewal

• The MOOC operation must be evaluated and monitored; data and results must be shared within OpenupEd partnership• Payment of a moderate annual fee (€2.500)


UNED Abierta

• 20 MOOCs on own platform, partner in OpenupEd• First run > 170.000 students (all courses > 1000)• New run starts 11 November 2013 (1 starts 24 November)

• Self paced and scheduled• Short courses including video lectures• Facilitate interaction and automated feedback• Self–tests and p2p review

• Freemium certification model: Badges; Online examination for certificate of completion and UNED Coma diploma (ECTS recognition)


UNED Abierta

• Special focus on social inclusion• Due to the digital divide, thousands of people still lack the most basic digital

competences to take advantage of this training offer, even though many international organizations point up that these skills are essential in the 21st century.

• Two dedicated MOOCs aimed at Developing teachers and students’ Digital Competences by MOOCs

1. Basic Digital Competences (14 “curators”, 4.558 participants)2. Ict for teaching and learning (12.768 participants)


Universidade Aberta (Portugal)

• 1 experimental iMOOC on Climate Change• According to the principle of their Virtual Pedagogical Model (a

student centered approach oriented to flexible participation, social interaction, collaborative mediation, learning scaffolding, learning community sustainability and digital inclusion)

• Lasted for eight weeks, from May 6 to July 1 • Based on OER material (LECHe project)• Pilot with 1000 students• Including ECTS certification option (11 passed)


Universidade Aberta (Portugal)

The open course has been an opportunity to access an innovative learning experience

Connecting formal and informal learning scenarios

The challenge is to promote innovation in pedagogy for open learning in the digital society

Innovation for digital inclusion


Open University of Israel (OUI)

Four MOOCs just opened

1. Educational Psychology in Arabic (just started)2. Jews and Christians in Western Europe during the middle-

Ages and Renaissance in Russian (just started)3. The Modern Middle-East in Hebrew (start 21-11)4. Genocide in English (start on March 6 2014)

High quality textbooks (2 with open license) suited for self study


Thank you!!!

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