Moment in Meme

FREE Micro-MOOC: Academia and the MOOC

Here's another intriguing mini-MOOC that starts Monday! Academia and the MOOC offers this to learners (per the Canvas site):

The New York Times said 2012 was “the year of the MOOC” and EDUCAUSE said MOOCs have “the potential to alter the relationship between learner and instructor and between academe and the wider community.” Many elite universities are offering Massive Open Online Courses, but most colleges and educators are unsure about what MOOCs are and if they are worthwhile. 

Can an "open" course offered at no cost to a very large number of participants who receive no institutional credit be a worthwhile venture for a college? And can a course be effective if participants and course materials are distributed across the Web?

In this class, we will briefly cover the history and development of MOOCs. Participants will engage in discussions about why institutions offer these courses, and the possible benefits to both schools and students. This four-week course will examine MOOCs from four perspectives: as a designer building a course, as an instructor, as a student, and as an institution offering and supporting a course.

And of course—it's FREE! Enroll now and we'll take it together!

FREE Micro-MOOC: Instructional Design for Mobile Learning

I'm back from the Sloan-C Emerging Technologies conference full of ideas, inspiration, resources and big plans! While I catch up and organize, I want to make sure you're aware of the FREE micro-MOOC Instructional Design for Mobile Learning running April 15 through May 12. It comes from the Faculty e-Commons, a "social learning ecosystem for faculty" that warrants a deep exploration by anyone involved in e-learning in a higher ed context.

e-Learning Conferences

I've been busy recuperating from the e-Learning Guild's Learning Solutions 2013 conference in Orlando last month, as well as preparing for the Sloan Consortium's 6th Annual International Symposium for Emerging Technologies for Online Learning next week! While I dread the travel and the days away from home, I know that I always gain tremendously when I attend such conferences. The information and knowledge sharing is great, but the enthusiasm of the crowd and the very high energy of most attendees is always contagious and rejuvenating! I get some of my BEST ideas at conferences, and there's no denying that being in there in person adds to the experience.

I have not yet attended a full conference via online connection and wonder how popular that option has become. Viewing archived webinars is a fabulous way of catching a workshop after the fact, but being relegated to "view only" (for a big question-asker, suggestion-maker like me, especially!) can be limiting. But one can participate live in a conference or Webinar via an Internet connection if the technology used is robust and comprehensive in its ability to let every participant interact with the workshop content.

Have you noticed the link in the resource bars to the right of the blog for e-learning conferences? The choices can be overwhelming, but I can vouch for the Educause and e-Learning Guild conferences as great investments of your time and money! I'm excited to be attending my first Sloan-C conference next week in Las Vegas.

Which do you like best?