Strange Bedfellows?! What can MOOCs learn from
Distance Education?
Markus Deimann, Alexander Lipka & Theo Bastiaens FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/GustaveDore_She_was_astonished_to_see_how_her_grandmother_looked.jpg
The MOOC Explosion
MOOCs as a form of distance education
FernUniversität as a MOOC provider?
• Massive: > 85,000 students (e.g. Psychology: 15,011
• Open: :=( formal certification needed
• Online: LMS, Social Media Tools, Virtual Classroom
• Course: BA-, MA- and PhD Programes from Humanities, Social Science, Law, Information Science, Business Administration
History of Distance Education
1926
1840
Three Generations of DE
• Correspondance: Printed materials sent via postal service; mediated communication
• Telecommunications: electronic transmission of communication (radio, telephone); personalisation of communication
• Computer (multimedia): „E-Learning“
–Anderson & Dron, 2011, p. 81
„(...) technology sets the beat and creates the music, while the pedagogy defines the moves”
Founding director, FernUniversität in Hagen, 1974
DE as a system sui generis
DE and MOOCs: Distant siblings with a joint future ?
• Massive attraction can downplay pedagogical and philosophical aspects of learning at a distance
• rapid development interfere with substantial theoretical development
• strong political pressure can undermine values of MOOCs (neoliberal framing)
(Tentative) Results
• Attrition rate in the MOOCs is much higher than in the MA course
• Participation per capita in the MA course is higher and more stable than in the MOOCs
• ==> structured DE course provides more incentives for participation and discourage lurking
Conclusions
• Instructional Design-based approach is beneficial for learning at a distance
• special attention for media selection: central hub and periphery
• critical inquiry needed (e.g. assumptions about human learning; financing)
Thank you very much for the attention!
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• http://markusmind.wordpress.com/publikationen
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