Thanks Terry.

Can their faculty members access each other's live courses on an ad hoc basis?

I think this would go a long way in the cross-discipline/organizational knowledge sharing, something I wish we could prioritize here at AU within our LMS (i.e., library role access to all our live Moodle courses).

Thanks for this summary, Terry.

I see the word "open" in the name OUC, and I wonder how openness is defined there, and has that definition changed or is it changing?

Even among the Open Universities (such as those you cite) it seems that the meaning of openness varies somewhat. With changing models of development/delivery, and pressures in funding, competition, and so on, are ideas about openness being discussed? 

j

Yes indeed Jan definition of "open" varies considerably around the world. To my understanding the only common theme is "openness" as in no prerequistits (especially terrific high school marks) to enroll. But "openess" is USUALLY associated with lower costs than traditional universities. Almost all open universities also have no residency requirements (except maybe occasional tutorials or summer schools), and most offer openness in terms of time, with asynchronous delivery modes. Our openness in terms of self paced programming is (as you know) actually quite rare in Open Universities.

I think everyone is trying to be more accommodating to student needs - and not just in the "open universities" - thus the focus on time and place shifting associated with online courses at campus universities. Few seem to have any apetite for self paced courses because of the adminstrative issues and a sense that giving up pacing and cohorts would increase attrition rates.

Terry

I highly recommend the Thesis Whisperer site - it has a lot of useful information on writing, reading and not getting too bogged down in the thesis stuff.

I love the Thesis Whisperer. I've never met Inger Mewburn, who edits and moderates the site as well as being the compiler of the book (not Megan McPherson, I think!) but she is a friend of a friend and comes highly recommended.

This is a great site for any and all research students or, for that matter, anyone engaged in a bit of research activity. Lots of delightfully presented useful advice, and quite an active community around it.

There are some clues in that article on what the "market" will be for MOOCs, and how traditional universities can differentiate themselves. A MOOC is not a serious course, it seems. It is for dilletantes, and information junkies and others with curiosity. It is not for serious learners, not for people who want to be experts in their field, and not for those who want to develop a depth and breadth of understanding. A MOOC has limitations right out of the box, not even in terms of implementation, but in terms of student expectations and how it will be used.

I think we have to have some big time discussions on what distinguishes a real, 13 week university course (online or not) from a MOOC.

Well, Mike, this may be a case of the "pot calling the kettle black". The certification from Coursera also insures that the quizzes and/or homework is done and then an invigulated exam. Isn't that what happens in our undergrad courses??  The coverage on Coursera courses is likely less than ours, but most of their courses run less than the North American standrd of 13 weeks, 3 credits, so they should be less.

Who you calling a pot? :-) I'm just saying, doing it is not the same as being recognized for it. AU had to do a lot of other things, (AU press, etc.,) in order to raise its profile in the university scene. And just because a university like Harvard is behind the ball doesn't mean it will automatically be accepted. LIke the dollar coin you have in your pocket ultimately we all have to agree that the coursera "signature" is a valid indicator. I think the dicussions between Mooc, xMooc, cMooc indicate that there isn't a lot of agrement on whether a mooc offers a credential of the type we might consider valid. A lot of things go into creating a valid credential right?

just thoughts on this early monday morning looking out at the snow and fighting weather related negativity

There has not been any indication of signature tracking in the Surviving Disruptive Technologies Course. As far as I can see. I wonder if it will come up before the first assignment?

Here is another link about a student experiencing a MOOC.  Much in common with what our self-paced undergraduates tell us.

http://www.heqco.ca/en-CA/blog/archive/2013/4/18/lauren-hudak-the-dog-ate-my-homework.aspx