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Experiments with connectivism from a moderator’s point of view
Jutta Pauschenwein, Erika Pernold and Eva Goldgruber
Framework of the miniMOOCs
The miniMOOC12 lasted for three weeks and the mini-
MOOC13 nearly five weeks (both preparation and open
phases). In both courses the amount of time participants
had to spend was approximately five to seven hours per
week. They were free to decide how and when to allocate
their learning time. Training was free of charge and all
material was available without login. Discussion via the
closed facebook group was hidden from anybody who
was not a member of the group. Moderators, experts and
participants had to log in to Google+. They could decide if
they wanted to post their contributions openly or within
a restricted group. The moderators and experts shared
their contributions in public so that these posts and the
videos were available without login.
The miniMOOCs more or less fulfilled the affordance of
openness, although they were not massive. The moderators
reported about 60 persons in the miniMOOC12 and
about 50 in 2013. However it is impossible to determine
the number of learners in the miniMOOC design. In the
case of the miniMOOC13 between 61 and 148 people
watched the expert interview videos. In the preparation
phase 33 learners participated in the facebook group.
Results of the open course – miniMOOC12
The moderators reflected that the first open course was
a strange experience after more than 10 years of closed
courses with about 15 participants. The concept of the
miniMOOCs provided learning in an open way for a much
larger number of learners. It was therefore not possible
for the moderators to connect with all of them. Without
the support and encouragement of moderators, the
learners were reluctant to make their learning processes
visible. Only a few learners openly shared their results of
the online tasks or their learning process. Therefore the
network the moderators had aimed for could only partly
be established.
The survey showed that about half of the learners who
returned the questionnaire were satisfied with their training
and the achievement of their learning goals (see Figures
3 and 4). Some of them commented that they were
satisfied with the training but had also learned other skills
that they had no expected to learn. More than 70% found
the learning materials useful. Although most of them did
not face technical problems, IT issues such as data security
were important discussion topics during training.
Reflection and evaluation of the miniMOOCs
In the closed training courses moderators were continuously
monitoring participants’ learning processes. They
observed that online courses need self-determination and
a good time management. About 20% of the participants
struggled to find enough time for online participation and
around 0-20% dropped out during the first week. The participants
who finished the course were satisfied with their
own learning process and their online network as documented
in the final reflection (Pauschenwein et al., 2009).
Such continuous monitoring of the miniMOOCs was
not possible, and so an evaluation survey was conducted
at the end of the each course. The questionnaire of the
first course consisted of 45 questions; the next one contained
30 questions. 17 miniMOOC12 participants returned
the evaluation questionnaire, compared to 16 of
the miniMOOC13 participants. The questionnaire dealt
primarily with pedagogic design, the framework of the
training including content, duration and speed, the learning
process and network activities. The questionnaires of
the two courses were not identical but parts of them were
comparable.
Figure 3. Satisfaction in the miniMOOC12.
Figure 4. Satisfaction with achieved learning goals.
The questionnaire showed that online tasks the tasks
were carried out by the majority of participants. Nearly
2/3 managed to complete half of the tasks (see Figure 5).
Participants appreciated the support of the moderators
and input from experts. 14 people (53% yes, 29% rather
yes) found the moderation helpful, while 16 people (65%
yes, 29% rather yes) found expert posts useful (see Figure
6).
Experience Track |279