“What Makes a MOOC Successful?” was the title of the Open Ed 2021 session I watched tonight. Martina Babinská, a mathematics teacher and researcher at Comenius University in Bratislava, shared recommendations for large online courses that could apply to in-person courses too. A MOOC or massive open online course was defined by Babinská as “an online course which is open to anyone at any time, who has the requisite internet access and self-motivation to enroll and participate in it” citing Gupta and Sabitha 2018. Babinská mentioned that customization and personalization are challenges with consequences such as low engagement, retention issues, and low perceived effectiveness. The first consideration Babinská shared was that “we should deliver the right content at the right time” to each student because “students are different with different learning and skill preferences.” For this, they mentioned personal learning plans, small content modules, helpful navigation, visual diagrams & mind maps, and video as suggestions. Next, Babinská mentioned problem-based learning so that students can “use acquired knowledge.” Recommendations they shared included incorporating relevant problems, focusing on skill application as much as possible, including sense-making over quantity of information, building on content, and inviting guest speakers to increase interest and engagement. Their third recommendation was active learning. Babinská mentioned supporting students through virtual office hours, prompt feedback, encouragement strategies, providing step-by-step instructions, and using Socratic questions in-video embedded questions. Lastly, they recommended using assessments and assignments that are meaningful and enjoyable. Assessments should be crafted and calibrated based on the content and difficulty. Babinská also mentioned including free discussions, group work, and flexible deadlines and peer assessments. While I don’t think I will be designing or teaching a MOOC soon, these suggestions are helpful for all course design and promoting student engagement. I appreciate how Babinská created a visually engaging presentation based on a manageable number of evidence-based recommendations. Their explanation for each recommendation was also useful.
