The Technological Dimension of a Massive Open Online Course: The Case of the CCK08 Course Tools

In 2008, a new term emerged in the already crowded e-learning landscape: MOOC, or massive open online course. Lifelong learners can now use various tools to build and manage their own learning networks, and MOOCs may provide opportunities to test such networks. This paper focuses on the technologica...

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Autor principal: Antonio Fini
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Publicado: Athabasca University Press 2009
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:7c1165859b7d429aac88f9dd161b96b82021-12-02T19:25:29ZThe Technological Dimension of a Massive Open Online Course: The Case of the CCK08 Course Tools10.19173/irrodl.v10i5.6431492-3831https://doaj.org/article/7c1165859b7d429aac88f9dd161b96b82009-11-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/643https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831In 2008, a new term emerged in the already crowded e-learning landscape: MOOC, or massive open online course. Lifelong learners can now use various tools to build and manage their own learning networks, and MOOCs may provide opportunities to test such networks. This paper focuses on the technological aspects of one MOOC, the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK08) course, in order to investigate lifelong learners’ attitudes towards learning network technologies. The research framework is represented by three perspectives: (a) lifelong learning in relation to open education, with a focus on the effective use of learning tools; (b) the more recent personal knowledge management (PKM) skills approach; and (c) the usability of web-based learning tools. Findings from a survey of CCK08 participants show that the course attracted mainly adult, informal learners, who were unconcerned about course completion and who cited a lack of time as the main reason for incompletion. Time constraints, language barriers, and ICT skills affected the participants’ choice of tools; for example, learners favoured the passive, filtered mailing list over interactive but time-consuming discussion forums and blogs. Some recommendations for future MOOCs include highlighting the pedagogical purpose of the tools offered (e.g., learning network skill-building) and stating clearly that the learners can choose which tools they prefer to use. Further research on sustainability and instructor workload issues should be conducted to determine the cost and effectiveness of MOOCs. Investigation is also necessary to understand whether such terms as course, drop-out, and attrition are appropriate in relation to MOOCs.Antonio FiniAthabasca University Pressarticleopen learningonline learningSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691ENInternational Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol 10, Iss 5 (2009)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic open learning
online learning
Special aspects of education
LC8-6691
spellingShingle open learning
online learning
Special aspects of education
LC8-6691
Antonio Fini
The Technological Dimension of a Massive Open Online Course: The Case of the CCK08 Course Tools
description In 2008, a new term emerged in the already crowded e-learning landscape: MOOC, or massive open online course. Lifelong learners can now use various tools to build and manage their own learning networks, and MOOCs may provide opportunities to test such networks. This paper focuses on the technological aspects of one MOOC, the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK08) course, in order to investigate lifelong learners’ attitudes towards learning network technologies. The research framework is represented by three perspectives: (a) lifelong learning in relation to open education, with a focus on the effective use of learning tools; (b) the more recent personal knowledge management (PKM) skills approach; and (c) the usability of web-based learning tools. Findings from a survey of CCK08 participants show that the course attracted mainly adult, informal learners, who were unconcerned about course completion and who cited a lack of time as the main reason for incompletion. Time constraints, language barriers, and ICT skills affected the participants’ choice of tools; for example, learners favoured the passive, filtered mailing list over interactive but time-consuming discussion forums and blogs. Some recommendations for future MOOCs include highlighting the pedagogical purpose of the tools offered (e.g., learning network skill-building) and stating clearly that the learners can choose which tools they prefer to use. Further research on sustainability and instructor workload issues should be conducted to determine the cost and effectiveness of MOOCs. Investigation is also necessary to understand whether such terms as course, drop-out, and attrition are appropriate in relation to MOOCs.
format article
author Antonio Fini
author_facet Antonio Fini
author_sort Antonio Fini
title The Technological Dimension of a Massive Open Online Course: The Case of the CCK08 Course Tools
title_short The Technological Dimension of a Massive Open Online Course: The Case of the CCK08 Course Tools
title_full The Technological Dimension of a Massive Open Online Course: The Case of the CCK08 Course Tools
title_fullStr The Technological Dimension of a Massive Open Online Course: The Case of the CCK08 Course Tools
title_full_unstemmed The Technological Dimension of a Massive Open Online Course: The Case of the CCK08 Course Tools
title_sort technological dimension of a massive open online course: the case of the cck08 course tools
publisher Athabasca University Press
publishDate 2009
url https://doaj.org/article/7c1165859b7d429aac88f9dd161b96b8
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