Synchronicity in MOOCs
I was reading a blog post from inlearning titled Is Demanding Synchronous Bliss Missing the Point of Change? Quite an interesting blog post to read so head on over there after reading this post ;-) It's interesting how different people have different preferences. I for example dislike synchronous online meetings, and I have never attended a synchronous MOOC meeting as long as I have participated in MOOCs. Instead I download the MP3 later on, put it on my iPod and listen to it while commuting to work. I know other people feel differently about the topic, but I fit it curious.
If the point of change (change in education in general, not just Change MOOC) is to get away from the sage on the stage and seek out our own peer learning groups, aren't Massive synchronous sessions antithetical to that? Why would I want to attend a Massive synchronous voice chat (where only one person can speak at a time)? My voice would be drowned and I wouldn't have an opportunity to have a meaningful conversation and learn something. As Tim Owens argues, it becomes (or actually is ) a broadcast, so why not take pre-recorded questions for the experts and have them do a radio show?
As anyone has observed in massive gatherings, people tend to cluster together. They move from group to group until they find a suitable topic for them to explore with others. Instead of one Massive synchronous sessions, it would be better to develop smaller SIGs, throughout the week and then MOOC participants can elect to attend (or not attend) any SIG they want. The Massive in MOOC works because it is distributed throughout the time frame of a week (it also works because previous weeks become OER, so people can access them whenever they want event after the cohort has moved on). Massive in synchronous does not work because it is time and place bound. :-)
Update: I know that I used the term experts above. Expert is really a loaded word, with certain connotations of putting someone on a pedestal and pointing to them as the authority. I have problems with that word - especially when people call me an "expert" because I simply don't know everything - but it's also a problem in MOOCs because most MOOCs that I have been part of seem to go with a Freirean approach to education which doesn't privilege anyone in particular. Perhaps "guests" would have been a better term, but that also doesn't really get to why one "guest" gets picked to broadcast over others. More to discuss later I guess :-)
If the point of change (change in education in general, not just Change MOOC) is to get away from the sage on the stage and seek out our own peer learning groups, aren't Massive synchronous sessions antithetical to that? Why would I want to attend a Massive synchronous voice chat (where only one person can speak at a time)? My voice would be drowned and I wouldn't have an opportunity to have a meaningful conversation and learn something. As Tim Owens argues, it becomes (or actually is ) a broadcast, so why not take pre-recorded questions for the experts and have them do a radio show?
As anyone has observed in massive gatherings, people tend to cluster together. They move from group to group until they find a suitable topic for them to explore with others. Instead of one Massive synchronous sessions, it would be better to develop smaller SIGs, throughout the week and then MOOC participants can elect to attend (or not attend) any SIG they want. The Massive in MOOC works because it is distributed throughout the time frame of a week (it also works because previous weeks become OER, so people can access them whenever they want event after the cohort has moved on). Massive in synchronous does not work because it is time and place bound. :-)
Update: I know that I used the term experts above. Expert is really a loaded word, with certain connotations of putting someone on a pedestal and pointing to them as the authority. I have problems with that word - especially when people call me an "expert" because I simply don't know everything - but it's also a problem in MOOCs because most MOOCs that I have been part of seem to go with a Freirean approach to education which doesn't privilege anyone in particular. Perhaps "guests" would have been a better term, but that also doesn't really get to why one "guest" gets picked to broadcast over others. More to discuss later I guess :-)
Comments
Live tweeting, schedule permitting, following the back channel can be interesting, albeit with its own distractions but not for every time or everyone. I'd like to see more voice to text transcripts. Off to read InLearning and Tim Owens ... surely there are others. Could there be an async cohort or SIG in the making? (disOccupy the Synchronous Session?)
On the idea to create questions and do a radio show, this is a great idea on its own, but it wouldn't substitute for the on-the-spot questions that emerge in chat, which a good speaker can integrate into the presentation flow.
http://cdlprojects.com/recordings.htm (week 7)
At the end, the CMC11 MOOC creator, Carol Yeager, invites interested participants join her in Second Life immediately after the session for further discussion of the presenter's ideas. Not sure if that would qualify as one of your SIGs, but the opportunity to join just doesn't exist if you're not there live.
Jokes aside, I completely agree with you when the setting is right synchronous sessions can be a great way to engage with people. Not too long ago I taught Japanese that way and clocked up over 300 hours of synchronous sessions with people from all over the world.