Abstract
The massive open online course (MOOC) is a new approach for teaching online. MOOCs stand apart from traditional online classes in that they support thousands of learners through content and assessment mechanisms that can scale. A reason for their size is that MOOCs are free for anyone to take. Here we describe the design, development, and teaching of a MOOC called Maps and the Geospatial Revolution. We explore the geography of the student population, the experience of teaching a MOOC, and evaluate its impacts on learning. We conclude with several key challenges and opportunities we see for MOOCs in geography.
Highlights
Recent years have seen the rise of a new model for distance learning: the massive open online course (MOOC)
Critics of MOOCs point out that very small percentages of students complete most MOOCs, that their pedagogical model leaves much to be desired when compared to educational experiences that allow for close interaction between instructors and students, and that they are largely taken by students who are already highly educated (Emanuel, 2013)
In this paper we have described the design, development, and teaching of the first MOOC on geography
Summary
Recent years have seen the rise of a new model for distance learning: the massive open online course (MOOC). MOOCs are unique compared to other models of distance learning because they are designed to scale educational experiences to tens of thousands of students around the world at one time.
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