MOOCs in the age of higher education’s digital transition

1. MOOCs in the Age of
Higher Education’s
Digital Transition
Larry Cooperman
President, Open Education Consortium
Associate Dean for Open Education,
University of California, Irvine
Prepared for
HOME Conference
Oporto, Portugal
November 27, 2014

2. Content Experience Certification
Noodlepie
http://www.flickr.com/photos/noodlepie/2680175828/
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
trey.menefee
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trey333/2185461746/
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Gadgetdude
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gadgetdude/804190044/
CC BY 3.0

3. Joe Hatfield
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhat/80371024/
CC BY-NC 3.0
University + The Internet = What?
?
Roy Whiddon - CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rwhiddon/1338564499/

4. Trow’s Conceptions of Elite, Mass and Universal Higher Education
Elite (0-15%) Mass (16-50%) Universal (over 50%)
i) Attitudes to access A privilege of birth or
talent or both
A right for those with certain
qualifications
An obligation for the
middle and upper
classes
ii) Functions of
higher education
Shaping mind and
character of ruling
class; preparation for
elite roles
Transmission of skills;
preparation for broader
range of technical and
economic elite roles
Adaptation of ‘whole
population’ to rapid
social and technological
change
iii) Curriculum and
forms of instruction
Highly structured in
terms of academic or
professional
conceptions of
knowledge
Modular, flexible and
semi-structured sequence
of courses
Boundaries and
sequences break down;
distinctions between
learning and life break
down
vii) Academic standards Broadly shared and
relatively high (in
meritocratic phase)
Variable; system/institution
‘become holding
companies for quite different
kinds of academic enterprises’
Criterion shifts from
‘standards’ to ‘value
added’
Source: Trow, Martin, “Reflections on the Transition from Elite to Mass to Universal Access: Forms and Phases of Higher Education in Modern Societies since WWII.
International Handbook of Higher Education: Part One: Global Themes and Contemporary Challenges. 2007. Springer. Dordrecht, Netherlands.

5. 0,0%
5,0%
10,0%
15,0%
20,0%
25,0%
30,0%
35,0%
40,0%
45,0%
50,0%
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Gross Enrollment Ratio
Colombia 2005-2013

6. Enrollment, Graduation, and Attainment

7. A New Iron Triangle?
Access
SuccessCost

8. 2014
What is (are) the right question(s) to ask?
What should we do now that the delivery
of higher education is so highly digital (and
we have the Internet)?

9. MOOCs have forced a new conversation
MOOC

10. …about those lecture halls

11. THE UNIVERSITY
SYSTEM CANNOT
ACCOMMODATE THE
CURRENT QUANTITY OF
STUDENTS SEEKING
HIGHER EDUCATION
…about massification

12. “The need to respond to the demands of massification has
caused the average qualification for academics in many
countries to decline.”
“Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic
Revolution,” UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education
Altbach, Reisberg and Rumbley
…about quality

13. Courses
Efficient? Effective? Engaging?

14. Weaknesses in MOOC model
Cottage-industry approach
to course design
MOOC

15. Weaknesses in MOOC model
Failure to produce
meaningful learning research
MOOC

16. What is the best
predictor of 4th
year grades?
Learning Sciences

17. First Quarter
Grades
Fourth Year
Grades
Learning Sciences

18. Weaknesses in MOOC model
Weak peer learning capabilities
MOOC

19. Weaknesses in MOOC model
MOOCs took a step back from the open
licensing critical to reusability
MOOC

20. Europe and social mobility
Education at-scale

21. Communities of
experts
Learning
communities
Curriculum
Education at-scale

22. Europe is leading on policy
• open by default
• common technology platforms
• new pedagogical and didactic structures
• a high level of quality and evaluation
• a preference for digital and connected to offline

23. Universal Post-Secondary Education
Lifelong, flexible, adaptable learners

24. Thank You
Larry Cooperman
President, Open Education Consortium
Associate Dean for Open Education,
University of California, Irvine
Contact Information:
Larry.Cooperman@oeconsortium.org
Twitter: @openeducator
Skype: lcooperman