Abstract:

Many institutions, including those that are developing Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and those that have not jumped on the MOOC train, are considering how they should be involved with MOOCS, if at all. The number of institutions that are developing MOOCs are increasing despite the fact that MOOCs are going through the “trough of disillusionment.” MOOCs are, in fact, a subset of the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement—a movement that shows no signs of losing momentum. Almost every major university is involved in some way with OER. They offer courses on YouTube and iTunesU and develop their own open websites to highlight the work of their faculty members. But the OER world is confusing. Institutions are challenged to make sense of this world, in both strategic and financial ways.

The University of California, Irvine (UCI) is building on thirteen years of involvement in OER, with over one million minutes per month watched on YouTube, and over 2.5 million enrolled learners in MOOCS. UCI has developed a strategy that appears to be financially sustainable and highly consistent with UCI’s traditions and missions as a public and land grant institution.

Developing any strategy begins with a clear understanding of the current situation and trends. The two major suppliers of MOOCs, for instance, continue to gain financial backing for their efforts and are changing their business models to adjust to the reactions they are getting from their offerings. Udacity has moved away from university courses to the corporate training market as are, more slowly, Coursera and EdX. This trend has significant implications for the continuing education marketplace, as do several other recent initiatives.

This presentation will describe the context for developing a strategy for, and project the future of MOOCs. Then it will place MOOCs in the context of the worldwide movement toward OER and describe how institutions are benefiting from involvement in OER, citing specific examples and tactics that can be employed. This presentation also will offer specific details about the cost of creating and implementing MOOCs and how those costs can be justified, even to the most skeptical administration or faculty.

Participants will leave this session with an understanding of how OER can assist institutions in building an international reputation in open education and gaining higher levels of pedagogical effectiveness. They will understand how to avoid the pitfalls of the early enthusiasms generated by MOOCs and walk a pathway toward a responsible and sustainable OER offering that will become a permanent feature of an institutional pedagogical and public service strategy.

Keywords:

Open Education, MOOCS, OER, OCW.