Welcome to Humanizing Online Instruction (#HumanMOOC)
We are currently in Week 0 (December 7-13, 2015)
This website serves as the main communication hub for the course, a neutral zone where you will come each week for updates and pathway guidance.
Humanizing online instruction means creating a sense of connectedness that has been noted in research studies as methods for engaging and retaining students. This MOOC introduces learners to the process of building community in an online course. Prerequisite knowledge for this course is familiarity with online teaching and learning, willingness to interact and learn using a variety of technologies, and a desire to understand how multimedia might supplement instruction. This course is free and does not require a textbook. To be successful in this course, plan to spend approximately 3 hours per week completing activities and interacting with other participants. The primary audience for this course are those who wish to explore methods and tools that will enhance the sense of community and presence in online or hybrid learning.
The first task is to read the course Syllabus to become familiar with the unique structure or this course and the basics of the content.
Your next task is to read through the content for Week 0 in Canvas to become familiar with the content of the course.
Ready to go now? Good!
Each week you will be presented with a set of competencies for the week. You will then need to choose whether to take the Garden pathway or the Stream pathway (or a mixture of both, it is up to you).
The Neutral Zone will present you with Garden and Stream icons each week. Click on either one to read what that pathway will look like for each week:
Additionally, for those that are not sure about the Garden pathway, there will be a middle option to help you dip your toe into the idea of connected learning (see the gray question mark image above).
That is about it – click on one or all of the images above to get started. We look forward to learning with you over the next four weeks!
The Stream | Week 0
This pathway is designed to be more like the linear, guided knowledge pathway that most of you are used to in a typical online course. You will work through a pre-determined set of videos, content, and assignments. This is a good pathway for new learners or those that prefer more structured, guided learning experiences.
Ready for the stream? For this week, your activities include (which you probably already went through by now):
- Join the Week 0 Hangouts
- Go through the Week 0 content
- Introduce yourself on the introduction discussion forum
Want to also do some social interaction with this week’s content? See the Garden for social interaction.
Interested in socializing, but not sure how to do all of that non-linear stuff? We have a special Gardening for Beginners option for those transitioning from the Stream to the Garden.
The Garden | Week 0
This pathway is designed to be more like a social, non-structured, self-guided pathway that may be new to many of you. You will work through creating your own goals and connecting with other learners to think through various assignments. This is a good pathway for more advanced learners or those that prefer more interactive learning experiences.
Not sure how to do all of that? We have a special Gardening for Beginners option for those transitioning from the Stream to the Garden.
Ready for the Garden? For this week, your possible activities include:
- Join the Week 0 Hangouts
- Find people in your networks to connect with
- Create an account in the HumanMOOC Connect section
- Add your blog to the HumanMOOC blog hub
- Join the HumanMOOC Google Plus Community
- Write a blog post, or record a video, or create some type of media, about your expectations for HumanMOOC and share in the Connect area, on Twitter, or in the Google Plus Community.
Want to look at some of the content we think you may need for this week? See the Stream for our content.
Gardening for Beginners
Thinking about taking the Garden pathway but still not sure what to do? Here are some ways to jump into social learning.
- Sign up for Twitter. Read this page to learn more about the basics of how to use Twitter.
- Create a blog. Read this page to learn more about the basics of blogging.
- Check out the HumanMOOC Activity Bank for activity ideas.
- Look into the basics of the HumanMOOC Connect area. This is a good place to share your blog posts with others in the class.
That’s basically it! Want to go back to the content we think you may need for this week? See the Stream for our content.
Ready for some social interaction with this week’s content? See the Garden for social interaction.