12

Media and
Information Literacy
Quarter 4 – Lesson 3:
Massive Open Online Course

Media and Information Literacy– Grade 12

Lesson
Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
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 You might not know it, but when your parents were younger, information was
much harder, and more expensive, to come by. For information on a wide variety of
topics, one had to consult an encyclopedia, a multi-volume collection of books with
alphabetically arranged topics. For word meanings, one used a dictionary which could
be pocket-sized and concise or massive and comprehensive. For more complete
information on a subject, there were textbooks and trade books. Except textbooks,
which were widely available wherever they were required in school, these sources of
information were mostly seen in public and private libraries.

The information contained in books were relatively stable, that is, they do not
change much over time, and new editions may not come for years. For new findings
from academic research, one read journal publications and similar periodicals, which
were available in university libraries. But, to keep abreast of current affairs, one read
newspapers, listened to radio, or watched television.

The 21st century has brought many technological advancements that led to
the development of the different modes of transmitting and getting information.
Products of technology have also resulted in a paradigm shift in the field of education –
from the traditional use of printed information such as books, journals, magazines,
encyclopedia and dictionary to using their digital or online versions. Now, information
may also be gathered from reliable and credible websites and how-to videos on
YouTube, all found using search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. The use of
technology has also influenced the behavior of people towards choosing the format and
path of getting information, shifting from the traditional classroom set-up to online-
based learning, thus, making it easier to gain knowledge anytime and anywhere.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/88031504@N00/2368123528
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tim_ellis/32824895204

This module will discuss one of the current trends in media and information
dissemination the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), and how it influences the
behavior of people when it comes to learning new information.

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 What’s In

KWL Chart
To check your prior knowledge about the topic and to solicit the questions that
you want to know about it, fill in the Know and Want to Know components of the
Know-Want to Know- Learned (KWL) chart properly and correctly. For the Know
component, you may write word/s or sentence. For the Want to Know component,
state your responses in question form. List as many responses as you want for each
component. Write your responses on a separate sheet of paper.

Topic Know Want to Know Learned

Massive Open
Online Course
(MOOC)

Guide Questions
1. Based on what you have written on the Know component of the chart, what do
you know about Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)?
2. If you were to think of a question that you want to ask about Massive Open
Online Course (MOOC), what question would that be?

What’s New

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Make Meaning: Internet Assisted Activity
Describe the given word in each item correctly. You may use the internet to find
the meaning of the words.

WORD MEANING

1. Massive _____________________________________________

2. Open _____________________________________________

3. Online _____________________________________________

4. Course _____________________________________________

5. Feasibility _____________________________________________

6. Blog _____________________________________________

7. Accessibility _____________________________________________

8. Repetition _____________________________________________

9. Asynchronous _____________________________________________

What is It

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

MOOC is an acronym for Massive
Open Online Course. The word “massive”
means large number or amount, “open”
means accessible to all, “online” means
connected to or available through a
system, and “course” means the act of
moving in a path from point to point.
Therefore, MOOC refers to a route or
pattern of getting a content or information
https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free - photo - ebzbi
available through an online system that
can be accessed by many people. MOOC is also described as a pattern for providing
learning information or content online to any person who needs to take up a course
with no limit on attendance.

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 MOOCs are asynchronous web-based courses geared towards enabling several
hundreds of students all over the world to enroll and learn from top world-renowned
academic institutions at the same time. MOOCs deliver content via recorded video
lectures, online readings, and online assessments, with various degrees of
studentstudent and student-instructor interactions. Many MOOC-providers offer free
courses, which entice more people to enroll. There are MOOCs that provide certificates
of completion to the students; however, most of them do not count for college credit.
The concept of MOOC was invented in 2008 by Dave Cormier, from the University of
Prince Edward Island, for a course offered by the University of Manitoba,
"Connectivism and
Connective Knowledge”, (https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/massively-open-online-
courseMOOC).

The learning material or video content used in an MOOC is created by an

educational institution, usually a university or a college that offers such programs.
The organization and administration operation of an MOOC are coordinated by active
MOOC platforms (e.g. Coursera and edX). MOOCs were created from the idea of
covering an entire university course online and thereby making it accessible to
everyone in the world. The intent was to "democratize" educational content from elite
universities.

Types of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

There are two main types of MOOCs:

1. xMOOCs

xMOOC stands for eXtended MOOC. xMOOCs are based on traditional

university course structures and make use of established teaching approaches and
materials. Students will watch pre-recorded lectures, complete required readings, and
participate in discussions as produced and managed by a course instructor or an
instructional team from a higher education institution. These are typically self-
contained and rarely utilize content external to the main content delivery and learning
platform.

2. cMOOCs

cMOOC stands for Connectivist MOOC. cMOOCs are based on the connectivist
learning model that favors collaboration among learners as a form of active learning.
Students in cMOOC work together to locate, evaluate, and contribute to the course
content by uploading materials in the form of tweets, blog posts, wikis and others, to
the course using the learning platform. A cMOOC instructor or instructional team
facilitates learning by finalizing, aggregating, and assessing the students’ contributions
to the course.

The following table illustrates the conceptual differences between cMOOCs and
XMOOCs.

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 xMOOCs cMOOCs
Scalability of provision (e.g., Massive Community and Connections
offering university courses to a
larger audience)
Open access – Restricted license Open Open access and license
Individual learning in single Online Networked learning across
platform multiple platforms and services
Acquire a curriculum of Course Develop shared practices,
knowledge & skills knowledge and understanding

Advantages of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

https://www.igniteengineers.com/mooc-advantages-and-disadvantages/

1. Relax requirements – MOOC can be taken by anyone who is interested in the

subject matter and able to access the course, regardless of age, background, or
location.
2. Video format availability - Teaching in a modern video format (not just texts like
those that you’d find in other e-learning courses).
3. Accessibility- learning content from top universities like Harvard, Stanford, etc.
can be opened through online format.
4. Repetition- an MOOC will often run two or three times a year, ensuring that
students would not miss their chance.
5. High quality- MOOCs are led by subject matter experts (SMEs) and supported
by teaching assistants, so that students have access to first-rate educational
resources.

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 6. Feasibility- an MOOC usually requires 1-2 hours of study a week for about 5
weeks, making learning doable even for busy students.
7. Self-paced- an MOOC enables students to work through the course materials
and assessments at their own pace.
8. Online collaboration- learners across the globe work together on common goals
without the need to meet each other in person.

What are some MOOC platforms?

There are already thousands of MOOCs from countless providers worldwide.
Here are the top MOOC platforms.

a. Coursera has over 20 million learners/participants. Courses were created by the

universities of Stanford, Princeton, Yale, London, Munich, Zurich, and many
more.
b. EdX has around 10 million learners/participants. Courses were created from
Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, and Oxford, among others.
c. Udacity is created as an MOOC platform at Stanford. Now mostly programming
courses in cooperation with industry partners such as Google, Facebook, or
Daimler. Course topics include artificial intelligence and self-driving cars.
d. FutureLearn is MOOC platform (UK-based) which includes various British and
European universities. Courses offered are shorter in duration compared to
others.

What I Can Do

Work In Progress

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 You are tasked to create a blog about the effects of Earthquake in your local
community. Use the Blog Post rubric below to assess your output.

Rubric – Blog Post

INDICATORS

CRITERIA Expert (4 Intermediate (3 Novice (2 Beginner (1

points) points) points) point)
Purpose The blog has a The purpose of the The blog is mostly The blog appears
clear purpose to blog is to share about one topic, to be about
share and collect information and but sometimes the unconnected
opinions and the blogger’s blogger gets off the topics and events.
information about opinions about an subject.
an important and important topic.
interesting topic.
Content The blog is fair The blog is fair. The blogger tries to The blogger
and balanced. Blogger refers to be fair in the blog, presents one
Blogger refers to information from but the viewpoint on the
information from a more than one information topic. Do not draw
variety of viewpoint and presented is conclusions about
viewpoints and draw conclusions missing critical the research, but
draw original based on research. content. I try to just repeat what
conclusions based draw conclusions, other sources have
on research. but sometimes my said about the
conclusions are topic
not based on
research.
Sources The blogger The blogger Most of the The information of
gathered extensive gathered information on the the blog is opinion,
information from a information from blog comes from without any
variety of reliable some reliable the opinions. The sources to back it
sources outside sources outside blogger cites only up.
the classroom. the classroom. one or two
Cites the sources Cites all the sources, or the
correctly. sources with no or citations have
very few minor numerous errors.
errors.
Audience My writing I think about what I try to think about Poor use of
engages my my readers want my readers and graphics or no
readers. I ask good to know and write answer their graphics
questions and my blog entries to questions, but
describe answer their most of the time I
interesting ideas questions and just write about
to get my readers concerns. what I am
to respond. interested in or
what is easy to
find.
Sound Excellent use of Sound and music Some use of I rarely think
sound and music are used to convey sound, but poor about how my
to reinforce message. Audio is quality. Audience readers will
message clear. has trouble respond to my
understanding blog. I write about
what is interesting
to me or is easy to

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 find.
Voice Writing shows the Writing shows that Writing sometimes Writing sounds
personality of the the blogger care shows that the like that the
blogger and about the topic. blogger care about blogger is just
reflects a deep the topic. completing an
commitment to the assignment
topic. without caring
about the topic.
https://www.ffc8.org/cms/lib/CO01900636/Centricity/Domain/728/21_Blog_Rubric.pdf