Comments on: Cluster and Focus -> Surviving week 4 of a MOOC

By: ines cambiasso

ines cambiasso — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:32:24 +0000

Hello Ann,
I think in this style of MOOC the weekly readings mark a rhythm and add new topics which clarify, expand and connect each week to the previous and following one. Participants, therefore, start discussing each part after having read some enlightening theory and new ideas, which is highly motivating and poses quearies for the week.This is at least what I feel each week when reading the suggested materials.And this is what a course like this is all about.That is, progressing at a certain pace through connections and networks, following others, developing and exchanging ideas, growing and changing in unexpected ways.This is my third with Stephen and George and although I agree moderators must ´ work at a tight schedule´.

By: Anne Ashley Forster

Anne Ashley Forster — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 21:15:07 +0000

An open course is caught in the dilemma of cohort versus individual-based progress. The length of time I need to process and work through activities varies according to my learning approach and daily circumstances. An open course would ideally allow people to proceed at their own pace. The pressure in this MOOC comes from the relentless demands of social networking tools that force the pace driven by the speedy and early respondees at the expense of those who drop in during the middle of the week, or need more time to reflect and think. The latter are faced with the extra reading and having to make sense of a topic that has evolved through the chain of the eager and early. How important is it to conduct this MOOC to such a tight schedule…why put external pacing mechanisms (such as the weekly readings) on it at all? All the readings could be put in place from the outset. Why use that mechanism as a structure knowing that individuals read at different pace and some like to get ahead? That way George does not have to carry the load of being at a certain place in time to manage a virtual course. Why not set up a MOOC as a rolling intake program, with the structure in place, and people setting off on the journey when they find out about it and join. Presumably, the market appeal of the course and word of mouth will keep it populated. This would demand a different style of moderation but would shift the workload from weekly stimulus, summaries and readings to monitoring and occasional guidance. I am sure these considerations are at the heart of PLEs and would have been part of the deliberations on designing this…

By: Viplav Baxi

Viplav Baxi — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 07:30:51 +0000

To help, maybe we could have a mechanism whereby interested people could submit 1-2 links that they think will be useful going into the week?

Someone (or program) will have still have to sort and identify unique entries, though.

Viplav

By: Alex P. Real

Alex P. Real — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:25:23 +0000

No worries, we all expect facilitators to have a life on & offline 🙂 Chaos is thrilling, trouble lies with having to step back to linear production and (still) mainstream standards. If complexity applies some sort of collective self-organization should be in place by now (?).

Uncourses may appear startling and shocking at first, but I think it’s great food for thought re own perceptions about education. I’d love to hear/read/see more people sharing such experiences instead of remaining quiet/quitting.

1000 thanks for your time & expertise.

By: Scott Johnson

Scott Johnson — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 01:47:03 +0000

This may be helpful.

Given this course is “about” our Personal Learning Environments this could be a good time to study how we ourselves are assembling learning from the chaos? Personally, I find lack of structure unsettling to almost frightening. Perhaps we need to capture our balance.

On the other hand, this is also a state of mind sought out and cultivated by good travel writers. Freshness of the unexpected. Fraught with peevishness we are host to the debilitating vapors of vexatious disgruntlement. Is there a learning theory here?

By: Dave Ferguson

Dave Ferguson — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 22:03:26 +0000

George and Dave:

I regret the tone in my comment, which I myself said (in the weekly discussion) was “peevish.”

And I do understand that all sorts of things can interfere with putting up the resources.

I encourage you (the facilitators as a group) to consider some kind of note or status on the wiki (where the home page says the resources will appear on Sunday) just to say “we’re running late.” Likewise with the Daily.

By: George Siemens

George Siemens — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 21:51:51 +0000

Hi Dave F,

I’m the one to blame on this. Usually, on Sunday, I post the readings and the overview of the course content for the week. This week, due to poor planning, not facilitator fatique :), on my part, I spent Sunday sitting in an airplane. I got in at 1 am Monday and decided to sleep rather than upload the readings.

I had a few early meetings today, so I didn’t get to uploading the readings until about 11 am my time.

George

By: admin

admin — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 21:07:22 +0000

In reply to Dave Ferguson. @dave it's been my week for trolls. thanks for your input.

By: ines cambiasso

ines cambiasso — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:06:35 +0000

I was also surprised to see no suggested readings for this week.

By: Dave Ferguson

Dave Ferguson — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:52:07 +0000

I can’t wait to find out what steps 1 and 2 are. I hope they include “facilitators plan ahead and execute plans on time.”

Because it’s 10:30 a.m. eastern time on October 4, and when I go to the PLENK home page (connect.downes.ca) and choose the schedule for the week of Oct. 3 (http://ple.elg.ca/course/moodle/mod/wiki/view.php?id=60&page=Week+4), what I get is a page with:
A link to this post I’m commenting on right now
A placeholder (not a real link) for Wednesday’s Elluminate session
a placeholder for Friday’s Elluminate session

I’ve checked The Daily (received via email) for Oct. 4, and it contains no suggested readings.

“Why finish the course?” seems quite pertinent, and frankly I can’t yet come up with an answer for myself.

I think it’s a copout to say there’s “no way to create a set of activities that is going to satisfy” the participants when there are essentially no activities, nor suggestions, nor offered links. Especially since I presume you guys thought, more than a month ago, that “PLE/PLN and learning theories” was something worth discussing this week.

So what happened? Facilitator fatigue?