Thirteenth International Conference on e-Learning & Innovative Pedagogies

Abstract

This paper will be a case study of a series of MOOCs taught by Ball State University and Turner Classic Movies (a US-based cable network) between 2015 and 2018. In four MOOCs with over 50,000 students participating, the paradigm of “personable learning” was used to create tacit and individuated knowledge on the topic of Classic Hollywood film studies using new forms of collaboration, gamification, and social networks at scale. For example, these courses had students participating from around the globe, using the Canvas Network, TCM.com, and Twitter. In essence, the courses created a persistent “always-on” learning ecosystem that leveraged the size of the vast student network to create mentoring relationships via informal means such as discussion boards and social media sites. Part of this presentation will discuss the mechanics of designing and teaching such a course, including using a technique called “Daily Doses” as a daily call to action to jumpstart participation and discussion at very large scales. Another part of this presentation will go through high-volume survey data from these MOOCs that provide insight into user preferences. One key outcome of this research is that live, synchronous mentoring can occur online–even at very large scales–and that this type of “personable learning” approach can move away from automated quizzes and low stakes assessments into viable models of cognitive apprenticeship and hands-on coaching. In the end, distributed learning models need to increase the number of interactions and connections between teachers and students, rather than minimize them.