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MOOCs

DigUiB is collaborating with the various disciplines to produce MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). Are you interested in looking into the possibility of making a MOOC?

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Main content

Planning

Making a MOOC can mean more or less hard work, depending on your level of ambition. A good place to start would be to think seriously about the target audience for your course. Who is the course aimed at? What previous knowledge do they have and what do they want to learn? 

Then you can start planning the course design. An online course will typically last for a number of weeks, and in each week the course participants will have various activities to work on, e.g. an introductory text, a podcast or a video, some reading material, discussion exercises and tests of their progression, such as multiple choice.

Platform

In late 2014, UiB entered into a partnership agreement with FutureLearn. FutureLearn is owned by the British Open University, which has more than 40 years of experience in online distance learning.

A typical feature of FutureLearn is the facilitation of contact and discussion between all participants on the same course in order to maximise active learning. Read more about the structure of FutureLearn courses here.

 

FutureLearn also has a course design template which can be a useful guideline for designing a MOOC. 

Time for production and implementation

If you and your colleagues would like to make a MOOC, it is important to set aside time for both the production phase and the actual implementation of the course. It is always an advantage if the teacher is visible to provide comments or join a discussion with the participants during the course. Depending on your level of ambition regarding course content, we estimate planning and production time to be about 8 to 9 months for a MOOC. For the actual length of the course, FutureLearn recommends about 3 to 4 weeks. The duration of the course may have an effect on how many participants complete it.  

Copyright clearance

It is important to remember that all materials you want to use in a MOOC must be copyright cleared. This applies to literature, texts, images and any other material linked to the course. The University Library can assist you with copyright clearance as needed.  

 

Help and support

DigUiB helps to provide contact and agreements on publishing MOOCs via FutureLearn and also provides guidance, advice and practical help with production. Please contact the DigUiB Learning and Communication Lab, if you are interested in the possibility of making a MOOC.