Thursday, April 25, 2013

April's Session


 In response to the growing academic interest in MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), the Chat Chow team brought in educators from the University of Wisconsin, Lacrosse to talk about their experiences creating a MOOC for that institution.   Mathematics professors Dr. Maggie McHugh and Dr. Robert Hoar, along with several others, developed a course designed to bring participants up to college level proficiency in math. 

The course grew out of a UWL program called the Fast Track that worked specifically with incoming freshmen who were not at college level in terms of math skills.  These students took a 6-week online math course before coming on campus and then were able to re-take the math placement test.  The course was so successful that the instruction team, with the help of a Gates grant, decided to take it to the MOOC level and offer it for free to the world at large. And indeed, participation was world-wide and the course attracted a wide variety of age and interest groups--not just college students. 


Because the MOOC is funded by a Gates grant, the developers needed to track a wide array of data about the project. McHugh and Hoar shared much of this with the group and then took questions.  They concluded with an offer to collaborate with math educators at SMU in the future. 

Missed the session?  View it here on Tegrity.  

From EDUCAUSE: What Campus Leaders Need to Know about MOOCs

From Inside Higher Education: The World is not Flat

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