If you feel unready or would like to put off the inevitable, there is much more to study by <html><a href="https://groups.diigo.com/group/iafor-actc-mooc">joining this Diigo group</a></html>. Or, you may [[proceed]].\n\n[img[blue_mooc_mooc_flowers.jpg]]\n
MOOC MOOC Monster https://twitter.com/MOOCMOOC/status/344951819316912128/photo/1\n\nOch Aye MOOC cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo by Sarah: http://flickr.com/photos/sarah_g/8424296306/\n\nJISC MOOC cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo by Giulia Forsythe: http://flickr.com/photos/gforsythe/7549370822/\n\nEvery letter is negotiable cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by Mathieu Plourde: http://flickr.com/photos/mathplourde/8620174342/\n\nU of T MOOC Strategy cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo by Giulia Forsythe: http://flickr.com/photos/gforsythe/9466737306/\n\nDevelopment of Constructivism and MOOCs cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by masmithers: http://flickr.com/photos/marksmithers/7934492158/\n\n150 via Wikimedia Commons\n\nMOOC! cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by AJ Cann: http://flickr.com/photos/ajc1/7566869868/\n\nSay MOOC one more time! cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by A Watters: http://flickr.com/photos/surreal_badger/8573233746/\n\n[img[sayMOOC.jpg]]
Just when you thought it was safe to go face the MOOC, some creators of this mystical creature such as The Trickster Thrun have sown confusion.\nThere are in fact two creatures: the xMOOC and the cMOOC and they could not be more different.\n\nThink of the x in xMOOC like the x in TEDx. Think commercial. Think software. Think Silicon Valley. The xMOOC comes from Udacity, Coursera, and edX. They go to the "prestige" universities, and sometimes they even transmogrify the <html><a href="http://moocthulhu.com/">Sage on the Stage to the Celeb on the Web</a></html>. The xMOOC is the new, debased creature from 2012 that has come to overshadow the pure, orignal MOOCs that began in 2008.\n\nThe c in cMOOC returns us to the very first week of COETAILs. It stands for "connectivist." The cMOOC tends to be smaller and truly open. It emerged from the educational psychology, digital humanities, and an instinct to offer knowledge to the world and bring the world into one's learning.\n\nThe cMOOC challenges. The xMOOC helps tick the boxes of acquiring knowledge or skills.\n\nDon't just take it from your humble narrtor though. Behold the wisdom of others...\n\n• <html><a href="http://reflectionsandcontemplations.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/what-is-a-mooc-what-are-the-different-types-of-mooc-xmoocs-and-cmoocs/">What is a MOOC? What are the different types of MOOC? xMOOCs and cMOOCs</a></html>\n• <html><a href="http://degreeoffreedom.org/xmooc-vs-cmooc/">xMOOC vs. cMOOC</a></html>\n• <html><a href="http://www.openpraxis.org/index.php/OpenPraxis/article/view/42">The concept of openness behind c and x-MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)</a></html>\n\nYou have reached that point in the Quest where you must finally [[face the Monster]].\n\n
The only way to truly understand the wily creature that is the MOOC is to join the MOOC. Assimilate!\n\nSome suggestions...\n\n• <html><a href="http://mooc.ca/">"Mooc.ca is provided by Stephen Downes (books, newsletter) and George Siemens as a place to host MOOC news and information."</a></html>\n• <html><a href="http://moocnewsandreviews.com/">"MOOC News and Reviews is an online publication devoted to thoughtful critique of individual MOOC courses and to discussion of the evolving MOOC landscape."</a></html>\n• <html><a href="https://twitter.com/MOOCMOOC">Follow @MOOCMOOC</a></html>\n• <html><a href="http://www.connectivistmoocs.org/">Connectivist MOOCs: A list of connectivist MOOCs</a></html>\n\n[img[MOOCcow.jpg]]\n\nAnd just in case you were wondering, some image [[credits|Credits]]
Are you even trying?\nIf you don't, MOOC is gonna gitcha!\n\n[img[OchAyeMOOC.jpg]]
Too much emphasis has been placed on "Open" meaning "Free." Let's get that one out of the way. Some MOOCs may not charge money for participation, but none are free.\n\nNone.\n\nThey may be delivered for free, but someone or something had to use precious resources to create the MOOC. That means there must be some incentive for creating the MOOC. What do you think those incentives might be? What are the costs to participants besides gold? What treasures are the MOOCified giving to the creature?\n\nWhy not take a break from our tale and talk with a fellow adventurer. Or, even frame your thoughts in <html><a href="http://www.coetail.com/">pixels on a screen</a></html>.\n\n\nWill you [[continue the Quest|Online]] the Quest? Or, do you [[fear]] the MOOC?\n\n
We all know what this means, right? Online is online. But are they all the same? Make sure you have your Twitter at the ready when approaching the MOOC Monster.\n\n[img[octel_tags_explorer.jpg]]\n\nThis map represents all the Twitter activities in a MOOC. Each interaction is a node of learning. \n\nWill you [[continue the Quest|Course]] the Quest? Or, do you [[fear]] the MOOC?\n\n
Sit back and enjoy the show!\n\n<html><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eW3gMGqcZQc?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></html>\n\n\nDo wish you had chosen more simply and selected the MOOC maps or textual wisdom? You may [[return and choose again|accept]].\n\nOr, are you yet a seeker after [[more knowledge]]?
While many think the MOOC is something new, this creature has been with us for many years. Earlier incarnations of the MOOC go by other names, but the title of Massive Open Online Course was bestowed in 2008 by Cormier and Alexander.\n\nIf you would harness the wild MOOC you first must understand it's name.\n\n• Do you prefer to view the [[maps|mooc images]] with the knowledge of those who have tracked the creature before?\n\n• Or, would you like to [[watch the incantations|mooc video]] of Cormier himself?\n\n• Lastly, for those less inclined to graphic, or audiovisual hallucinations, there are the [[scrolls|mooc articles]].
Perhaps the maps, incantations, and scrolls have whetted your appetite for MOAR MOOC? We have barely begun! We shall return to the very basics: the alphabet.\n\nWhat is the true extent of [[Massive]]?\nDo you dare pass through the door of [[Open]]?\nThe labyrinth of the [[Online]] is truly complex. Or, is it?\nAnd, perhaps the poorest choice was to call these [[Courses|Course]] at all.\n\nFinally, we have a strange amalgam of [[X and C]].\n\n[img[EveryLetter.jpg]]\n\nJust in case you missed that one!
MOOC...\n\nMOOC MOOC...\n\nMOOC...\nMOOC...\nMOOC...\nMOOC...\n\n\n<html><b>MOOC!</b></html>\n\nYou are being chased by the MOOC_MOOC monster!\n\n\n[img[blue_mooc_mooc_flowers.jpg]]\n\n\nIt's pale blue and carrying a cute flower. It looks so cute! And everbody loves MOOCs, right? But do not be deceived! Some say the MOOC will destroy higher education as we know it.\nIs that a good thing, bad thing, possible, or even relevant? One thing is certain, the "Incessant MOOC March" cannot be stopped!\n\nOr, can it?\n\nWho is this alien creature? How can we communicate with it?\nCan we turn it to our will? Or, will it make our work obsolete?\n\nYour challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to face the MOOC and harness its disruptive power.\n\nWhat will you do?\n\nYes, I [[accept]].\nNo, I [[fear]] the MOOC.\n\n\n
Read these ancient scrolls and be inspired--or despair!\n\n• <html><a href="http://blog.soundidea.co.za/home/index.php?ipkArticleID=187">Carla van Straten of SoundIdeas</a></html> is hopeful about the MOOC as a liberator, providing access to education. But, has she forgotten the adage of the free lunch? She writes, "Money is irrelevant when MOOCs are free," but seems to have forgotten that free to access is not the same as free to provide. There are always costs. Always.\n\n• <html><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Thrun">Sebastian Thrun</a></html> Thee <html><a href="http://hackeducation.com/2013/10/15/minding-the-future-openva/">Trickster</a></html>knows that xMOOCs are not free. He has accepted the <html><a href="http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-deals/2012-10-25-udacity-raises-15-million-as-money-pours-into-online-education/">gold of the VCs</a></html> from Silicon Valley. The BBC <html><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9720231.stm">fell for his lures</a></html>. As did <html><a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/01/16/california-looks-moocs-online-push">San Jose State University</a></html>--to their <html><a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/18/citing-disappointing-student-outcomes-san-jose-state-pauses-work-udacity">peril</a></html>! He has now admitted the <html><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2013/11/sebastian_thrun_and_udacity_distance_learning_is_unsuccessful_for_most_students.html?wpisrc=burger_bar&utm_source=buffer&utm_campaign=Buffer&utm_content=bufferd2bbe&utm_medium=twitter">falseness</a></html> of his ways and repaired to the greener pastures of corporate training.\n\n• And, lo! What a difference six months can make in the Year of the MOOC. <html><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/05/20/130520fa_fact_heller">Before</a></html> and <html><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/us/after-setbacks-online-courses-are-rethought.html">After</a></html>. Do note the sage words of <html><a href="http://cde.athabascau.ca/faculty/georges.php">Professor (not Mr. NYT)</a></html> Siemens at the end. Perhaps you have read his words <html><a href="http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm"></a></html>before?\n\n\n\nDo wish you had chosen more simply and selected the MOOC maps or more vibrantly and the audiovicual narrative of Cormier? You may [[return and choose again|accept]].\n\nOr, are you yet a seeker after [[more knowledge]]?\n\n\n
These maps show the collective knowledge of those who have gone before. There is great complexity here that may paralyze the mind. But, don't be drawn too depply in yet. There is more you need to know...\n\n[img[EveryLetter.jpg]]\n\n[img[JISC_MOOC.jpg]]\n\n[img[UofTMOOC.jpg]]\n\n[img[DevConMOOCs.png]]\n\nDo you feel that you can track the wily MOOC? Will you go and face this creature? Then search out a <html><a href="http://www.coetail.com/tags/mooc/"></a>MOOC post</a></html> and engage in dialogue with one of the MOOC acolytes.\n\nDo you wish to know more about these images and their sources? Seek and ye shall [[find|Credits]]\n\nDo wish you had chosen more wisely and selected the fonts of audiovisual or textual wisdom? You may [[return and choose again|accept]].\n\nOr, are you yet a seeker after [[more knowledge]]?
How massive is massive? You do not have to face the MOOC with 100,000 heads. <html><a href="http://halfanhour.blogspot.jp/2013/01/what-makes-mooc-massive.html">Downes believes</a></html> that the minimum is <html><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number">Dunbar's Number</a></html>. When the MOOC exceeds that number of heads, the network effect explodes and the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. MOOC participants are multipliers, not add ons! The many headed MOOC is a network, not a group.\n\n[img[904px-MO-150.svg.png]] \n\nDavid Wiley thinks the massiveness is <html><a href="http://opencontent.org/blog/archives/2903">"newish"</a></html> and needs the most attention. Have you yet experienced the Massiveness of a MOOC?\n\nWill you [[continue the Quest|Open]]? Or, do you [[fear]] the MOOC?\n\n
"Facing the MOOC Monster"\n\ncc by sa generic
C is for Course. We all know what a course is, right?\n\nLook at <html><a href="http://cck11.mooc.ca/how.htm">How This Course Works</a></html>. Many people would not even recognize that as a course. All of the emphasis on MOOCs replacing or fixing higher education courses (with the implication that these are seriously flawed) is beside the point.\n\nIt would be nice to cut the "C" and replace it with "L," but that ship sailed long ago. When you hear MOOC, think MOOL: Massive Open Online Learning. The action is in the learners and their connections. \n\nIf the MOOC does not replace the conventional course with something else, then what's is the point?\n\n\nWill you [[continue the Quest|X and C]] the Quest? Or, do you [[fear]] the MOOC?\n\n
Jesse Strommel wrote this essay in July 2012 right at the very peak of the MOOC hysteria that came to be called "Year of the MOOC!"\n\nIf you do nothing else, just go read this essay. It will give you enough critical background and perspective to understand MOOCs and gain some protection against the savage, pale, blue beast. \n\n• Think of MOOCs like books--they aren't so different in many ways.\n• Did you know you can MOOC while you sleep? <html><a href="https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/792703/wiki/part-4-mooc-while-you-sleep">Yes it is possible</a></html>.\n• Don't forget to read the comments. There's gold in there. Especially look for the "transformed learner" and the content vs learning binary or complement discussions. \n\nBe warned though! The MOOC monster at the top of that page is truly horrendous and displeasing to the eye. <html><a href"http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/Journal/files/MOOC_MOOC.html">The March of the MOOCs: Monstrous Open Online Courses</a></html>.\n\nDid you read it all?\n\n[[Yes]]\n[[No]]
Why have you declined the mighty challenge laid before you?!\n\n[[Shame!]]
Actually, there's no shame in declining this challenge. Besides, as <html><a href="https://twitter.com/Jessifer">@jessifer</a></html> said: "MOOCs are a [[red herring]]."\n
Ted O'Neill @gotanda
Perhaps you will [[return another day|Start]] to do battle with the MOOC MOOC.\n\nBut if you have time now, go back and click through one two of the links in that article. I especially recommend Audrey Watters as a good writer who makes things clear to the as yet unMOOCified.\n\nAt least now you have acquired some understanding of the pale, blue beast. And, you should have enough persepective to help you go and write a perceptive question as a comment on a <html><a href="http://www.coetail.com/tags/mooc/"></a>MOOC post</a></html> over at COETAIL. And so, the dialogue will begin, and MOOCified you shall become.\n\nThe End...