MOCKING MOOCS

On June 16, 2014, a governmental appointed expert group released an Official Norwegian Report on MOOCs in higher education (NOU 2014: 5. MOOC til Norge. Nye digitale læringsformer i høyere utdanning). The group states that the report is «hairy» - others will probably look at it as a hair in the soup. The report suggests governmental measures that require NOK 130-380 (Euro 16-48) million in yearly investments. This initiates a welcome debate about all the good online education initiatives during the last decades – and how we can improve future online education.

Just before the report was released, I took part in the development of the Kragerø Open Online Education Declaration together with a group of 14 Nordic experts associated with NooA – the Nordic open online Academy. Our discussions revealed that online learning and education covers a much broader range of activities, issues and opportunities than MOOCs. Therefore, the issues and statements that were discussed during the workshop, then refined and prioritised through an online Delphi process, resulted in the following declaration and 23 statements supporting it:

“We strongly believe that the current open education values and practice will improve, innovate and even revolutionize learning and education worldwide. In many cases, it can be more flexible, economical and open than traditional education. Online learning and education can potentially emulate all educational activities in schools and colleges, not only single courses as the MOOCs do. We urge politicians, bureaucrats, managers, researchers, course designers, teachers and students to develop, promote and support quality online learning and education”.

Norway needs sustainable online education. We should avoid the mistakes the Swedish authorities made with Nätuniversitetet. During three years, they injected several hundred million kroner in colleges and universities that developed online courses. This resulted in many excellent online courses – which were discontinued – when the extraordinary funding from Nätuniversitetet ended. Such initiatives are also problematic since they can make it difficult for sound, but unfunded, initiatives to survive because of the temporarily unfair competition.

It can also be useful to learn from the EU-project: Megatrends in E-learning Provision. In the book Online Education – Global e-learning in a Scandinavian perspective, I present the project’s analyses of 26 large, successful online education initiatives. Maybe we can learn even more from the ten large initiatives that not were successful. MOOC-advocates should read the project recommendations – especially the first of the seven related to the failed initiatives: Many governmental online education initiatives have not been sustainable. 

MOOCs are prized for being free and open for everyone. At the same time, they are criticised for disturbingly high dropout rates, insufficient student support and lacking business models. It reminds me of the arguments that were used in the heyday of public educational broadcasting.

Both educational broadcasting and MOOCs need sustainable financial models to succeed. It is therefore thought-provoking that colleges and universities start to provide free online services when newspapers reverse this strategy. MOOC-providers struggle to find sustainable business models. They test the opportunities to charge for access to teachers, technical support, student support services, exams, certificates and additional content. These services are often lacking or insufficient in MOOCs, but for decades, they have been obvious services included in traditional online education.

As the CEO of Campus NooA, I see that we need online courses for small- and medium sized businesses and organizations, courses with flexible start-up and progression and online education providers that handle a broader range of services that online students, teachers and staff need. I therefore have the following three questions related to the MOOC-advocates:

1. Small- and medium sized business and organizations have countless training and learning needs that are well suited for online courses, but not for MOOCs. One example is the course Spanish for adopting parents, which Campus NooA developed in collaboration with Adopsjonsforum for about 50 adopting parents in Norway. Even for such small groups of people, online courses can be flexible, cost effective and good. So, why don’t we focus more on flexible online courses for smaller and closed groups?

2. Today, people often have busy lives with job- and family responsibilities that require flexible start-up and progression plans. Campus NooA and some other providers specialise in this. So, I wonder if the MOOCs represent a setback regarding this flexibility?

3. Why should universities and colleges provide open online courses to everyone? Shouldn’t they focus on providing a wide range of good online services to their own students? And not only individual MOOC courses, but complete Bachelor, Master and Doctoral programmes?

Finally, it is thought-provoking that online education has not developed as swiftly as I thought when I wrote my 1989 article: in Search of a Virtual School.

Noen MOOC-refleksjoner

Mandag la MOOC-utvalget frem en sluttrapport de selv kaller «hårete» og andre vil oppleve som hår i suppen. Utvalget foreslår tiltak som til sammen krever årlige investeringer på 130–380 millioner kroner. Dette skaper en velkommen debatt, fordi den bidrar til å sette fokus på alt det viktige som er gjort – og kan gjøres i nettbasert utdanning.

Tidligere i sommer var jeg med på å utarbeide Kragerø-erklæringen om nettbasert utdanning sammen med en gruppe på 14 nordiske eksperter tilknyttet NooA - Nordic open online Academy. Våre diskusjoner gjorde det klart at nettbasert utdanning og læring dekker en mye mer omfattende rekke av aktiviteter, utfordringer og muligheter enn MOOCer gjør. Sakene og uttalelsene vi diskuterte i Kragerø ble fulgt opp av en nettbasert Delphi-prosess der vi forbedret og prioriterte uttalelsene slik at de resulterte i følgende erklæring og 23 gode argumenter for nettbasert utdanning:

«Vi har sterk tro på at dagens verdier og praksis innen nettbasert utdanning vil forbedre, innovere og til og med revolusjonere læring og utdanning i hele verden. I mange tilfeller kan den være mer fleksibel, økonomisk og åpen enn tradisjonell utdanning. Nettbasert læring og utdanning kan potensielt ivareta alle aktiviteter i skoler og høgskoler, ikke bare gjennomføringen av enkeltstående kurs slik MOOCer gjør. Vi oppfordrer politikere, byråkrater, ledere, forskere, kursutviklere, lærere og studenter til å utvikle, fremme og støtte nettbasert utdanning av høy kvalitet.»

Norge trenger bærekraftig nettbasert utdanning. Vi må blant annet unngå feilene svenskene gjorde da de opprettet Nätuniversitetet. I løpet av tre år sprøytet de inn flere hundre millioner kroner til høgskoler og universiteter som utviklet nettstudier. Det resulterte i mange gode nettstudier – som døde hen - da de ekstraordinære midlene tok slutt. Slike initiativ kan være konkurransevridende og sparke ben under bærekraftige nettskoler som ikke kan konkurrere med gratistilbudene.

Det kan også være nyttig å ta lærdom av et EU-prosjektet: Megatrends in E-learning Provision. I boken Online Education – Global e-learning in a Scandinavian perspective, presenterer jeg prosjektets analyser av 26 store, vellykkede nettskoler. Kanskje er det mer å lære av erfaringene fra de ti store, initiativene som ikke lyktes. MOOC-interesserte bør lese prosjektets anbefalinger - særlig den første av de syv som handler om de mislykkede prosjektene: Many governmental online education initiatives have not been sustainable. Winix-prosjektet og IT-Fornebu viser at dette ikke bare gjelder andre land.

MOOCene roses for å være gratis og åpne for alle. Samtidig kritiseres de for stort frafall, dårlig studentoppfølging og manglende forretningsmodeller. Dette minner meg om argumentene vi hørte i skolefjernsynets og skoleradioens glansdager.

Men både skolefjernsyn og MOOCer trenger en bærekraftig finansiering for å bestå. Derfor er det tankevekkende at bransjen vil legge ut sine tjenester gratis, når avisbransjen nå reverserer denne strategien. Internasjonalt ser vi at MOOCene sliter med å finne bærekraftige forretningsmodeller. De eksperimenterer med å ta betalt for tilgang til lærere, teknisk support, studieveiledere, eksamener, kursbevis og undervisningsmateriell. Dette er tjenester som ofte mangler i MOOCer, men som norske nettskoler har lang og god erfaring med.

Som daglig leder av Campus NooA, ser jeg behov for å satse på kurs for små og mellomstore virksomheter, studier som har fleksibel oppstart og progresjon, og en nettskole som ivaretar alle behovene til studenter, lærere og ansatte. Derfor stiller jeg følgende tre spørsmål rundt dagens MOOCer:

1. Små og mellomstore bedrifter og organisasjoner har svært mange opplæringsbehov som egner seg som nettkurs, men ikke som MOOCer. De aller fleste kurs er veldig spesialiserte og henvender seg faktisk til en veldig begrenset gruppe deltakere. Ett eksempel er nettkurset spansk for adoptivforeldre som Adopsjonsforum og Campus NooA utviklet for noen titalls vordende adoptivforeldre. Slike nettkurs kan være fleksible, kostnadseffektive og gode. Så, hvorfor satses det ikke mer på dette?

2. Moderne mennesker har ofte jobb- og familieforpliktelser som medfører at de ønsker å starte kurs når det passer dem og fullføre i sitt eget tempo. Campus NooA og flere andre nettskoler har spesialisert seg på en slik modell. Vil MOOCene representere et tilbakeskritt for denne fleksibiliteten?

3. Hvorfor skal universiteter og høgskoler levere åpne nettkurs til alle? Bør de ikke konsentrere seg om å levere gode nettjenester til sine egne studenter? En virtuell skole? Ikke bare enkeltkurs, men hele Bachelor, Master og Doktorgradsstudier?

Til slutt er det en tankevekker at heller ikke nettbasert utdanning går så fort fremover. Interesserte vil kjenne igjen mange av argumentene i dagens diskusjoner fra min 25 år gamle artikkel: In Search of a Virtual School og min 15 år gamle Aftenpost-kronikk: Nettskoler - det nye elektroniske universitet.

The Kragerø Open Online Education Declaration 2014

Hasselholmen, near Kragerø in Norway

The Kragerø Open Online Education Declaration was conceived and signed by a group of 14 Nordic experts related to the field, attending Campus NooA's workshop on online education at the Hasselholmen Island from May 28 to June 1, 2014.

Our discussions revealed that online learning and education covers a much broader range of activities, issues and opportunities than MOOCs. Therefore, the issues and statements that were discussed during the workshop, then refined and prioritised through an online Delphi process, resulted in the following declaration:

We strongly believe that the current open education values and practice will improve, innovate and even revolutionize learning and education worldwide. In many cases, it can be more flexible, economical and open than traditional education. Online learning and education can potentially emulate all educational activities in schools and colleges, not only single courses as the MOOCs do. We urge politicians, bureaucrats, managers, researchers, course designers, teachers and students to develop, promote and support quality online learning and education, because it:

1. provides new opportunities to include people with disabilities, social anxieties and negative experiences from previous education
2. should be environmental and economically sustainable
3. fosters innovation and cooperation since it brings together people from a broad range of subject fields, countries, cultures and types of institutions
4. provides opportunities for people with work and family responsibilities
5. helps more people enjoy learning
6. is available any time (24/7/365) anywhere
7. is central in the open education movement which supports MOOCs, Open Educational Resources, Open Badges and transparency
8. is potentially the most cost effective way to reach out and provide learning to large groups of people
9. can be social, interactive and facilitate networking
10. can be current and up to date since digital learning resources can be more frequently updated than printed resources
11. supports cooperative learning with individual start-up and pacing which is good for people who find it difficult or inconvenient to follow the schools’ semester- and timetables
12. fosters internationalization and increased diversity
13. supports democratic values and humanitarian actions
14. is more agile and scalable to suit 21st century demands
15. focuses on people, enhanced by technology, it can demonstrate that technology can be our servant, not our master
16. fosters what Germans call "Bildung" and Scandinavians “Dannelse”
17. is flexible with regard to for example time, space and path
18. is available via mobile devices
19. benefits the next generation of learners worldwide
20. facilitates blended learning and flipped/scrambled classrooms
21. can be used for efficient educational administration, and a wide range of student support services
22. is used to teach almost everything
23. supports both humour and friendliness


The statements that received most votes are at the top. The work is still in progress and we realize that some of the statements can be grouped together, and we welcome comments and discussion that could result in further refinement of the declaration.

In alphabetical order:

Per Olav Apalnes, www.cogito.as

Astrid de Mora, www.ecademy.no

Bjørn Z. Ekelund, www.human-factors.no

Anne Fox, www.annefox.eu

Katrine Gjærum, www.censusfilm.no

Fred Johansen, www.hig.no

Nina Zoë Jørstad, www.storymaker-triangle.no

Jørn Bue Olsen, www.jbo-konsult.net

Ebba Ossiannilsson, http://e4qualityinnovationandlearning.blogspot.com/

Morten Flate Paulsen, www.nooa.no

Rune Riismøller, www.eaftenskolerne.dk

Edgar Valdmanis, http://edgarvaldmanis.no

Kristin Vigander, www.kristvi.net

Gunnar Østgaard http://myoutime.com/

Resting in MOOC peace?

Resting in MOOC peace?

With all the current fuzz about MOOCs, I found it interesting to revisit my 2009 article: Resting in e-learning peace, which I wrote after finishing the EU-project: Megatrends in E-learning Provision.

Now, I wonder if the MOOC advocates could learn something from the project conclusions?

The project identified 26 examples of large, successful e-learning initiatives that we could strive to emulate. However, there is also a lot to learn from the ten initiatives that failed to reach their targeted goals. So, here are the seven recommendations, based on the failed initiatives, wich are discussed in the article Resting in e-learning peace:

1. Be sceptical about top-down political and boardroom initiatives.

2. Be sceptical about a consortium of institutions that compete with each other and the consortium.

3. ‘Hard-nosed’ market research is essential for the success of any e-learning initiative.

4. E-learning initiatives should plan carefully for and carefully control their revenue and expenses.

5. The choice of courses and their accreditation are crucial.

6. E-learning initiatives should precisely define the relationships of their initiative to existing providers and the institutional model they will adopt.

7. E-learning initiatives should plan carefully to manage both their educational and business activities.