Let's Talk About MOOCs

In this episode, Katie Steinbeck talks about her experience with MOOCs, specifically focusing on the Modern American Poetry MOOC she participated in. She chose this course because she could access the reading list and read the poems before listening to the lectures. The MOOC promotes ICT literacy by allowing users to learn about topics they are interested in. The course challenged users to evaluate the reliability, authority, and bias of the poets through historical and personal context. The MOOC presented information through short videos but had difficulty organizing them effectively. The course effectively communicated new ideas by providing commentary and access to poetry. It also offered inclusive design features such as subtitles and accessible media. Katie had a frustrating experience with a different MOOC that required payment for participation in discussions. Overall, she recommends seeking out MOOCs to gain a deeper understanding of various topics. [Transcripts] Hello there, I'm Katie Steinbeck and let's talk about MOOCs. I Google searched MOOC reading and found a MOOC through Coursera. There were a lot of options available, but I decided to participate in the Modern American Poetry MOOC. I selected this MOOC because I was able to seek out the reading list and read some of the poems for the course and then listen to the lectures about them so I could have a deeper understanding of the poetry and the poet. The MOOC promotes ICT literacy through the user's ability to define their desire to learn about a topic and then access the information by participating in a free MOOC. The MOOC for the American Poetry challenged the user to evaluate reliability, authority, and bias of the poets by providing historical, political, and personal context. For example, I learned that Emily Dickinson was very critical of marriage and never married. In her poem titled Divine, she compared being married to being bridled like a horse. The MOOC organized and synthesized information in a series of short videos that either focused on a time period or a poet. The titles of each video could have been changed to reflect the content of each individual video. The MOOC titled all of the video segments Modern American Poetry 1899 to 1950. So it made it challenging for the user to organize and synthesize their ideas because it was difficult to know what poem would be the topic of the discussion in each video segment, which made it hard to prepare and to read the particular poem that was going to be discussed. The MOOC communicated new ideas effectively and ethically by providing commentary, critiques, and access to the poetry available for their user to consume. The user communicates their ideas by participating in the quiz and the discussion post after they access and consume the media. The MOOC levels the playing field for academic access. Anyone that has internet access can enroll in the course and learn new information if they want to be a willing and active participant in the learning process. The MOOC also utilizes subtitles, videos, music, and sound effects to provide accessible design for the diverse user. When I began this project, I found a MOOC about a string quartet and after listening to an hour's worth of lectures and music, I was unable to participate in the discussion post because that was a paid feature. So I quit and started a new MOOC because I was so frustrated. I found the American Poetry MOOC more enjoyable because I was able to read the poems and try to understand them by looking for symbolism, themes, and comparisons. After reading through the poetry on my own, I was then able to listen to the lecture and learn more about the historical events and politics influencing the poetry. The course also included critiques of the poems from academic authors to provide more insight and perspectives of the poem and poet. I would recommend that others seek out MOOCs that interest them to have a deeper understanding about a topic. Thank you for listening. I'm Katie Steinbeck and this has been Let's Talk About MOOCs.