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When my 11-year old comes back from school, he gives me a minute-by-minute commentary of what he learnt at school. This is how he learns at school:

  • Discuss latest events from a kid-friendly newspaper with teacher.
  • Watch instructionally designed e-learning videos to understand concepts.
  • Do group assignments such as charts, role play, etc.
  • Solve worksheets and play quiz games.
  • Complete weekly assignments to test learning.

When I learnt (more than three decades ago), this is how I did it:

  • Listened to teacher’s lecture
  • Copied notes (very neatly, if I may add) in my notebook
  • Binge for mid-term and final exams

Very clearly, today’s learner has the opportunity to learn better, to learn more and to learn longer! And, that’s why I believe it is important for the IIMBx MOOC team to infuse technological and pedagogical teaching and learning innovations when teaching to a 10000+ virtual global MOOC classroom. I would love to see 2016 unfold and unwrap a bouquet of learning interventions that my online learners could benefit from –

  1. Activity-based learning: It is now a well-accepted fact that efficacy of learning is directly related to learner-centric activities. We are exploring tools like Oppia to see how we can encourage more “learning by doing.”
  2. Hybrid courses: A fancier name for the now cliched “blended learning,” hybrid courses go beyond ‘online’ to ensure that instructor presence motivates and guides learners throughout the course. Online mentoring, live synchronous sessions, flipped classrooms, group projects are all places that are on our “Adventures to experience & Places to visit” list.
  3. Course health dashboard: MOOC analytics and research have really matured over the past few years and can play a key role not only in identifying learning & teaching best practices, but can also help course teams strive for delivery excellence. Just like hospitals monitor patient health for vital signs, so also do instructors need to monitor “course” health to ensure that learning objectives are met.

As a MOOC producer, what are the innovations that are important for you in 2016? What is your bucket list?


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