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FEATURE

MOOCsgotoK12:Higheredtrendexpandsto highschools
AmongthemostobviouswaysthatMOOCscanbenefithighschool studentsisbyofferingcoursesthatwouldnotnormallybeavailable
By: NancyMannJackson DistrictAdministration,August2013

Reform moocs technology

K12educatorsandadministrators arebeginningtoexperimentwith themassiveopenonlinecourses betterknownasMOOCsthathave takenthehighereducationworldby storm.Inthenameofacademic experimentationand democratization,hundredsof collegesanduniversitiesare offeringthesecoursesfreeto anyonewithaninternetconnection. Manyofthecoursesattract thousandsofparticipants. K12educatorsarecurrently exploringtheuseofopencontent, learninganalytics,competency
Andover(Mass.)PublicSchoolsstudentcantake MOOCsonbiology,socialjustice,andGreek mythology.

basededucationandpersonalized Alsointhisarticle instruction,whichallpointtothe TipsonusingMOOCssuccessfullyinK12 rolethatMOOCscanandwillplay forlearners,saysLeslieConery, interimchiefeducationofficeratISTE.Thesetrendswillcontinuetogrowand becomemoreprevalentasthecostoftechnologycontinuestodecline,andaccessto bothdevicesandconnectivitycontinuestoincrease.MOOCspresentschoolswitha greatwaytosupplementandenhancetheircurrentcurriculum.

MOOCoptions
AmongthemostobviouswaysthatMOOCscanbenefithighschoolstudentsisby offeringcoursesthatwouldnotnormallybeavailable.Forinstance,inAndover (Mass.)PublicSchools,apilotprogramincludes13juniorsandseniorswhoare enrolledinthreeMOOCsofferedbyedX,anonprofitMOOCpartnershipbetween HarvardUniversityandtheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology. Inadditiontoadvancedbiology,thestudentsarealsotakingjusticeandGreek mythologycoursesnottypicallyofferedinhighschoolsbecauseoflimitedresources andinterest. Uponcompletingthecourses,Andoverstudentsgethighschoolcreditforthecourse butnograde.WithpotentiallythousandsofstudentsineachMOOC,edXprofessors canonlyawardcertificatestothosewhocompleteallcoursework.Thehighschool creditbecomespartofthetranscriptandbecausethereisnogradeassociatedwiththe course,participationdoesntaffectthestudentsGPA,saysNancyDuclos,Andovers assistantsuperintendentforteachingandlearning. BrownUniversityrecentlybeganofferingExploringEngineering,whichisaprecollege engineeringcourseprovidedthroughCanvasNetwork,theMOOCplatformonthe CanvasLearningManagementSystem.AsimilaroptionisMoodlerooms,available throughapartnershipwithMoodleLearningManagementSystem.AsBrownsonly

MOOCdesignedspecificallyforK12students,ExploringEngineeringteachespre collegestudentsabouttherequirementsofmajoringinengineeringatBrown. About50percentofengineeringmajorseventuallychangetheirmajorbecausethey dontknowwhattheyregettinginto,saysWendyDrexler,directorofonline developmentatBrownUniversityContinuingEducation.Wewantedtoofferthis generalinformationforfreeandtoprovidesomethingthatistypicallynotavailable forhighschools. Morethansimplyrecordedlectures,theBrowncourserequiresstudentstocomplete interactiveassignments,suchasinterviewinganengineeranddesigningtheirown projects.BrownfirstofferedthetwoweekcourseinApril,withalimitof500 students.Itfilledupintwoweeks.Andmorethan2,000participantshadregistered fortheJunecourse. Whilemanyselfmotivatedstudentsaretakingthecourse,somehighschoolteachers arealsoincorporatingitintotheirclassrooms.Math,biology,andphysicalscience teachersfrombothmiddleandhighschoolshavetoldDrexlertheyplantousethe MOOCasaminiunitintheirclasses,orasanafterschoolproject.Teacherstellme thisismanageablebecauseitsonlyfortwoweeks,anditfitsintoeverythingelsethey arerequiredtodo,Drexlersays. TheUniversityofMiamisGlobalAcademy,whichisavirtualhighschool,developed itsfirstMOOCspecificallyforhighschoolstudentslastyear.Thethreeweekcourse focusedonpreparingstudents,mostlyjuniors,totaketheSATtestinbiology. AfterinitiallyplanningtocaptheMOOCat200participants,thehighschoolendedup withalmost1,000,saysCraigWilson,associatedeanofthedivisionofcontinuingand internationaleducation.Someofthoseparticipatingwereclassroomsofadvanced biologystudentsandtheirteachers.Thosewhocompletedthecoursestateditwas helpful,sotheGlobalAcademyplanstoofferitagain. Sinceofferingthatfirstcourse,thehighschoolhasprovidedasecondMOOCto preparestudentstotaketheAdvancedPlacementcalculusexam.Thereareplentyof teststohelppreparefor,andthisseemstobeanareawhereMOOCscanreallybe beneficialforhighschoolstudents,Wilsonsays. EnterasysalsorecentlylaunchedaMOOCinitiativetoprovidestudentswhoare interestedinlearningmoreaboutIT.Thefreetechnicaleducationclassesprovide technicalskillsachievementinfundamentalareasaroundIPdatanetworking,wireless technologiesandsecurityconceptsallkeyareasofrecognizedgrowthwithintheIT space.UnliketraditionalMOOCs,theEnterasysMOOCisselfpacedandstudentscan attendtheweeklyscheduledmodulewhenitisbestforthem.

Blendinglearning
ManyadministratorsmayalreadybeusingMOOCsandnotevenknowit.TheKhan AcademymightbeconsideredaMOOCand,inthatcase,tensofthousandsofhigh schoolsarealreadyusingthisformoffree,massivelyavailableinstruction,Conery says. Everytimeateacherflipstheclassroomandhasstudentsengageinopencontentmini courses,suchasusinglecturesorcontentfromYouTubeorTEDtalks,theyare participatinginaMOOC,Conerysays. Forinstance,Reynoldsburg(Ohio)CitySchoolseSTEMAcademy,whichaddsthe environmenttoitsSTEMcurriculumforgrades9through12,iscombiningMOOCs withliveclassroominstruction.Teacherscanusetheonlinecontentalongwiththe problembasedlearningworkthatispartoftheacademysgoal,saysPrincipalMarcy Raymond. Forexample,MadelineSchultz,eSTEMAcademyphysicsteacher,usedtheMOOC UdacityPhysicsaspartofherblendedclassroomthisyear.OnMondaysand

Wednesdays,studentsparticipatedintheMOOC.TuesdaysandThursdays,they studiedmaterialfromtheMOOCintheproblembasedlearninglabs.Schultzalso workedindividuallywithstudentswhostruggledwithcertainconcepts. Studentsinthisphysicsclassareperformingatorabovetheirpeersinamirrored classdeliveredtraditionally,Raymondsays.Theyscored,onaverage,higheronthe endofcourseassessment. MOOCs,manyofwhichcombinelecturesandperiodicquizzes,alsopresentsome challenges.MostMOOCplatformsdontgiveteachersaccesstoseestudents performanceontest,soteachersmustcreatetheirownassessmentstomeasure studentsprogress,Raymondsays. InresponsetothefeedbackfromReynoldsburgadministrators,Udacity representativesareworkingonallowinghighschoolteacherstomonitorstudents performanceduringthecourse. Thiswillimprovetheefficiencyoftheformativeinstructionalpracticesforour teachers,Raymondsays.[Soon]ourteacherswillbeabletospendmoretimeonthe actofinstructionwhilereducingtheamountoftimeneededtoformativelyassess students.

Individualizedlearning
MOOCsalsocanhelpstudentsaccomplishtheirpersonalgoals,suchaslearninganew language,orstudyingaspecifichistoricalperiodorascientificdiscipline.Inthistype oflearningenvironment,MOOCswouldbesimilartoafterschoolactivities,field trips,campsatmuseums,privatetimeresearchingtopicsofinterest,andothernon traditionalwaysofmasteringformalcurriculumandstandards,Conerysays. MOOCscanalsobeasolutionforstudentswhoneedextratimetosucceed.MOOCs offerchancestogobackandrevisitcoursesifnecessary,Duclossays.

Accessingteachertraining
Manyteachersarenowexpectedtoinstructonlinecoursesandinturnarethenewest audienceforMOOCdevelopers.Coursera,aleadingMOOCprovider,recently announceditwillbeginofferingfreeprofessionaldevelopmentcoursesforK12 teacherstoanswertheneed. Manyofthecourseswillfocusontheskillsthatteachersneedtoeffectivelydesignand teachonlinecourses.Thecourseswillbeprovidedbysevenleadingschoolsof education,includingtheUniversityofCaliforniaatIrvine(UCIrvine)andVanderbilt UniversitysPeabodyCollegeofEducation,alongwithseveralotherpartnerssuchas leadingmuseumsandothereducationalinstitutions. MOOCswilldefinitelybecomeanimportantpieceinateachersprofessional development,saysMelissaLoble,associatedeanofdistancelearningatUCIrvine. ThatsbecauseMOOCsareeasiertofitintoabusyschedulethananonsitecourseand theyofferabroadrangeoftopicstostudy,sheadds. Forinstance,coursesinvolveintegratingengineeringintoscience,engagingstudents throughcooperativelearning,andputtingthenewCommonCorestandardsinto action. BeforeusingaMOOCinclass,teachersshouldparticipateinone,saysDanOConnell, associatedirectorofcommunicationsforedX.Weencourageteacherstothink creativelyabouthowaMOOCmightenrichtheirownteaching,headds. TeachersandadministratorscanexperimentwithMOOCsbysigningupforafree accountatCoursera.org,edx.orgorUdacity.com,thethreeleadingMOOCproviders. NancyMannJacksonisafreelancewriterbasedinHuntsville,Ala. Loginorregistertopostcomments Emailthispage