I had heard Professor Bol from ChinaX mentioned Degree of Freedom during this week’s office hours, but didn’t realize he was talking about the review of that course that I just published in Monday’s newsletter. Since it’s not available on the web yet (I republish most of these course reviews at MOOC News and Reviews), here’s a link to a browser based version of the newsletter containing the write up of ChinaX:
Degree of Freedom News – January 13, 2004 – ChinaX – Finished – Audiences
Hi Jonathan,
Could you explain it bit how “talking heads replaced by conversations between colleagues” worked and how you expierenced it?
I first encountered this technique in HarvardX’s Ancient Greek Heroes class where, rather than having the professor talking into the camera, each “lecture” consisted of the HeroesX team (which rotated between different members – although always including Professor Nagy) sitting around a table (or in chairs) talking to one another about the subject being studied that week. The same information you would get from a lecture was being communicated, but the style of delivery made the experience more intimate than would be a podium lecture. (You can hear the HeroesX team talk about why they structured the course this way at http://degreeoffreedom.org/interview-with-the-edxharvardx-greek-hero-mooc-team/).
ChinaX mixes things up a bit more, with some lectures conversational, some straight “sage on stage” and some on-location segments or interviews with outside experts, so it’s actually the most diverse of any MOOCs I’ve taken, “lecture”-wise. But the important point is that MOOCs are starting to develop a new visual language for e-learning, which I think is one of the major contributions they have made to online education to date.
Thanks for your insight!