Abstract:

Since Massively Open Online Courses (MOOC's) have emerged there has been a growing controversy over whether they are using the Internet to revive traditional models of higher education, or they are offering new opportunities to transform teacher-centered methodologies into student-centered technologies via connectivist learning design methodologies. In the current terms of the debate ‘xMOOCs’ can be considered as open access products of the knowledge market presenting interactive course materials in the framework of online teaching/learning platforms for large scale knowledge transfer. They can be contrasted with connectivist ‘cMOOCs’ (in Downes’ terminology) which represent new paradigms of networked learning and collaborative knowledge generation. While xMOOCs were developed in light of the history of Virtual Learning Environments and can be evaluated using benchmarks for online course design such as Quality Matters Rubric, or against specifications for modeling learning processes such as IMS Global’s Learning Design (LD), cMOOCs call for new standards of networked learning.

This study argues that the rise of MOOCs has brought about a serious challenge for e-didactics. The challenge consists of addressing the gap between formal and informal learning in terms of participatory action theory based on principles of collective inquiry, experimentation and reflection. Large-scale interactive participation in networked learning faces not only a clash of conceptions between connectivist and instructivist approaches to learning design, it calls into question the very conception of activity design, at least in the sense of predesigned forms of learning activities providing the basic structure of a course. Thus, LD standards and Learning Experience Design (LXD) exchange position in MOOC didactics. The proposed conception of LXD lays emphasis on learning from experience and on new kinds of open participatory learning ecosystems that support active, sponaneous and adaptive learning. It underlines that didactic design is needed whenever explicit knowledge is presented or represented and individual learning is assumed, but points to the collaborative 'do-reflect-apply' character of experience design that is more suitable for networked m-learning.

The discussion is based on the methodological conclusions of the EU supported MMATT project carried out within the framework of the New Hungary Development Plan (EDOP/1.2.1-11-2011-0003) developing MindTheGapp™, a multi purpose Mobile Learning Platform. It includes the VIDra™ v-learning module and a toolkit of online and m-learning Apps for bridging the gap between formal and informal learning. The mobile multimedia based m-learning platform serves teachers, students, study groups, and other communities preparing for tertiary education. Its reference model is based on learning services transforming the landscape of activity management by the introduction of the new Experience API (xAPI). The xAPI provides information about the learning processes and records information about the learning activities in a Learning Record Store (LRS) which communicates with all kinds of smart mobile devices. LRS based activity tracking serves a tentative set of associated web 2.0 – web.3.0 Apps which can be utilized by the adopters of the proposed m-learning model. Tracking the students’ activities more closely promotes matching the students’ needs and the core competencies in new forms of learning experience design.

Keywords:

Learning Experience Design, Mobile Learning, MOOC, Knowledge Transfer, e-Didactics, Experience API (xAPI / TinCan).