How to Successfully Participate in a MOOC

It's been a while since I signed up for a MOOC. A friend and I were recently discussing our early experiences and pretty much agreed that it had been chaotic and we'd gone away-- If I'd had Dave Cormier's advice, I think the experience would have been much different. His four minute plus presentation on successful participation advises us to "Orient, Declare, Network, Cluster, and Focus." Very helpful--I would include this as an orientation for anyone signing up for a MOOC. Now on to examining the experience of those teaching in one.

Dissident Voices

I am going to see this film tonight. Even with the trailer, a person gets the sense of risk for speaking out about subjects that a given country does not want to surface. We all have to ask ourselves how this plays out in our own countries. More after the actual viewing:

Happy Birthday Julia

Whether you are a foodie like @rffoodie, or a culinary educator, today is a day to celebrate the contributions and love of Julie Child on the occasion of her 100th birthday. View this short video about the Smithsonian's re-creation of her kitchen. Enjoy!

More Lip About Flip (Flipped Classroom)

This inforgraphic presents one study of how the flipped classroom model in a high school and how it improved success rates. It was link from a Twitter post by @sewsueme whether Flipped could work for higher ed: http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2012/07/can-flipped-classroom-model-work-higher-education-infographic Again, the flipped idea is to have students view or be introduced to concepts they will work with in class.

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

What will video or slideshows change for instructors and learners? What instructors (often?) did in class after you assigned the reading for the next class like going over the main points of the reading and asking questions/giving quizzes/taking questions over the reading. The next step was to have people start applying it in class or introducing them to the homework before they left the class. The flipped version would have people read and view the slides, take the quiz, and know what they will be doing with the content in the next class. Comments to the EdTech article reminded people that thumb drives and DVDs could still provide out-of-class content used by student who might not have internet access outside of class. That said, I know one thing. This model supports use of class time for valuable learning support. And it takes time to create the materials, and space for faculty to upload materials, and that we shouldn't shy away from trying flipped approaches, that we can do so iteratively.

Certifiably Flipped

My Flipped Classroom Certificate

This rumpled certificate arrived this week, along with my Sophia.org T-Shirt for successfully completing the Flipped Classroom Pathway Course . There were tutorials to listen to and quizzes to take. The last step was to create a flipped classroom tutorial, publish it to the Sophia.org site and submit it for review.

Hot though it may be at the moment, this flipping idea is not new. I seem to remember Patricia Cross made a remark to similar effect several years ago when asking why we spent so much time imparting the knowledge level info during class when we could be spending class time helping students apply the knowledge.

So though I was familiar with the concept, I found myself feeling a bit nervous when it came to creating the tutorial. The fields for listing the course description, objectives, and tags were helpful, as were tips for not only providing a slideshow or video.

What I found even more helpful were the tips on adding other documents or quizzes that would increase the impact of the tutorial you wanted learners to complete after viewing the tutorial. These items can certainly add to the preparation you want students to have before the face-to-face or live class session where the students are going to work with the material at a higher level.

Whether a person is going to search and use found materials as part of the pre-class session is up to the faculty member. The real opportunity is how to use to face-to-face time to best support the higher learning.

Can you get wireless on Amtrak?

The Zephier Line Has Outlets But No Wireless

Yesterday I asked the question about whether you can connect wirelessly on Amtrak. The answer--in some instances you can on trains and in some instances you can do so at the depot.

Here's the list: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am/Layout&cid=1246044330724

Yet to explore: how effective your mobile hotspot is on various trains that don't have wireless.

Last year I faced some very icy roads and took the train to get into Denver. I appreciated the outlets so I could at least work on my laptop and keep my phone charged.

Wireless access is a great addition.

At Which Location Are You Most Productive?

Gist created a wonderful infographic on devices and work mobility. One of the items in this info- graphic represented people indicating the location they where they felt most productive: Office (46%), Home (38%), and "No Preference"(9%). The "No Preference" categories included planes, hotels, public transportation and coffee shops.

I now work from home, and sometimes go to a coffee shop when I need a change of scene to buoy productivity that seems to have slowed. While traveling I work from multiple locations, and this is now even easier with the wifi hotspot capacity from my phone.

In the last two organization-based positions, one employer did not see why a person would possibly want to work from home. I shared that I could get up in the morning, pull on running clothes, work hard till noon, go for a run, then clean up and finish the work day. The time not spent getting dressed until after I worked and exercised added to my productivity.

The other organizational workplace had a set day where all employees were on site for meetings and interactions, then had a schedule for when some teams were on site while the others telecommuted.
Because there is benefit to having face time and proximity, this seemed like a great solution.

What's been your experience? One question--have you been able to get a hotspot while riding Amtrack?