LINK invaded Philadelphia on October 6-7 for the third annual Learning with MOOCs Conference (LWMOOCs). Sponsored by the Online Learning Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania, LWMOOCS gathered some of the leading minds when it comes to online learning and MOOCs. Educators, technologists, researchers, learning scientists, entrepreneurs, and funders of MOOCs shared their innovations, discussed their impact on education, and examined the future of online learning. Similar to the past years of LWMOOCs, LINK was heavily involved during their time in the “City of Brotherly Love’.
Justin Dellinger and Matthew Crosslin did a presentation about Customizable Modality Pathway Courses: Research Results and Design Implications of Empowering Learner Choice. They gave recommendations for future research and design of MOOCs and how to empower the learner.
Catherine Spann led a session that focused on the holistic development of learners, such as social and emotional skills and character strengths and whether it should be considered in digital learning. The session brainstormed various emotional and character skills that should be considered in online learning.
Lastly, George Siemens served on a panel discussion about openness in MOOCs with Peter B. Kaufman. They discussed the evolution of the openness of MOOC against the backdrop of the openness in education movement of the late 1990s and early 2000’s (including the OCW projects). They brought into question how MOOCs are not as open and as “reusable” as early thinkers envisioned and discussed what happened and what are the implications of open in terms of access, but not in terms of reuse. Addtionally, Siemens participated in the closing panel to discuss the future of digital learning and MOOCs with Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX, Ajay Kapur, President and CEO of Kadenze, and Vince Price, Provost of the University of Pennsylvania.
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