Data Viz MOOCs

This sequence sounds interesting: the Information Visualization Specialization offered by Coursera.

Chromebook Data Science

Not a bad idea: Chromebook Data Science is a series of MOOCs using just Chromebooks and accessible online apps for data science.

How to Learn Data Science - Free!

Free and online - here is a learning path for Data Science.

GIS and Geography MOOCs

Early 2015:

1. Geospatial MOOCs
2. Introduction to Geospatial Technology Using QGIS
3. Skills for the Digital Earth (Elmhurst College)

Upcoming:

1. Fundamentals of GIS for Conservation (6 modules from the Nature Conservancy)
2. Going Places with Spatial Analysis by Esri (upcoming, course outline).
3. Geospatial Intelligence & the Geospatial Revolution (starting 14 January 2015)
4. Introduction to GIS using gvSIG (24 November to 20 December 2014)

Starting now:

1. From GPS and Google Maps to Spatial Computing (started 23 September 2014)
2. Desktop GIS from Peggy Minnis at Pace University (started 1 September 2014, read syllabus here and enroll here)
3. Teaching Geography for the 21st Century (started 3 September 2014, more about this course from Joe Kerski) 
4. Introduction to GIS and Mapping by Open Online Education (started 1 September 2014)
5. GPS: An Introduction to Satellite Navigation, with an interactive Worldwide Laboratory using Smartphones by Stanford via Coursera (starts 13 October 2014).

Ongoing, finished, or closed:

1. Exploring Geographic Information Systems by Simon Fraser University. (Self-paced, but currently closed).
2. Introduction to Geospatial Technology using QGIS (and other open-source GIS courses under Academy Links, also great tutorials and labs on YouTube).
3. Maps and the Geospatial Revolution by PennState via Coursera (just finished).
4. Geodesign: Change Your World by PennState via Coursera (just finished.
5. Skills for the Digital Earth by Elmhurst College via Desire2Learn (just finished).

For a discussion of MOOCs, GIS, and Online Education in general consider "Crossing Borders" (a column by Doug Richardson in ArcNews Summer 2014).

John Sperling (University of Phoenix founder)

Marketplace ran an interesting piece about John Sperling, the founder of the University of Phoenix, who died recently at the age of 93.

CMS or LMS?

On one side you have the big-boys: Vista, Blackboard, Moodle, etc. - those are great if you want to run an online course and need all the tracking and assessment tools they provide. But what if all you want is a fun, easy-to-use, and intuitive shared space to exchange ideas, sources, and maybe some files with and among your students? You could go Facebook or Google+, but that creates a weird mixing between your private and professional life. Here are several options for light-weight course managements systems:

• Yammer. The basic version is free, the interface looks almost identical to Facebook, and everything is hosted somewhere in the cloud - no downloads or configurations.
• Podio. The Lite version for up to 5 people is free, above that it's $9 per person per month.
• Basecamp. Commercial, web-based product similar to Yammer. No free option!
• Commons In A Box. This is a great option, but requires a WordPress installation on your own server.
• Wordpress. Use as-is or with plug-ins (see Commons In A Box).
• Drupal. Very popular, but requires your own server to run (real or virtual).
• Entrada. Also very popular, but as with Drupal needs its own server.
• Google Classroom. Part of Google's Apps for Education - looks promising and here are the first impressions from ProfHacker.
• Schoology. This looks like a great option as well.

So...get friendly with your IT folks, use Yammer, convince your college admins to invest in a Basecamp package, or just commit to going Google!

mooc.org

mooc.org is (was?) a collaboration between Google and edX and was billed a platform for anyone to create MOOCs. Not much has happened since September 2013 and the mooc.org website remains basically a shell for the press release.

I wonder what's going on there...is the MOOC wave over as folks realized that you cannot make money offering free courses?

MOOC: Skills for the Digital Earth

4-weeks and free - not a bad deal - maybe worth trying: Skills for the Digital Earth by Elmhurst College on the Desire2Learn platform.

MOOC Completion Rates

Obviously, MOOC completion rates are terrible. Precisely how terrible is something that no MOOC provider or university wants us to know...enter MoocMoocher and her attempt to compile and synthesize MOOC completion rates.

For an interesting take on the future (or lack thereof?) of MOOCs - have a look at Joshua Kim's comparison between MOOCs and netbooks.

Virtual Fieldwork

Reality is overrated! Plus, it is expensive to take students off-campus and into the field - plus consider the liability. Even better: don't build actual lab facilities - implement a Bring-Your-Own-Device policy on your campus and use virtual labs. And - the Millenials love gaming - so why not use that in teaching? Finally - who needs a campus - let's go fully virtual! Here are some options:

• Virtual Fieldwork
• Virtual Labs: Chemistry and Biology
• Educational Gaming: SIMCITY
• Virtual Campus: Second Life

I'm sure there are many more...

The Future of Education (and Technology)

This video is worth watching (also available via YouTube) - a nice summary of what is wrong with the way we teach and learn today. Predictably, MOOCs are presented as one solution...I still don't see that until I get an answer to the fundamental question: who pays for the MOOC and the associated overhead?

What's a MOOC anyways?

The answer is pretty simple: a MOOC has to be massive = have so many students taking it that it becomes impossible, as an instructor, to actually interact with students in a meaningful way. In other words: a MOOC that's not actually massive is just an online course with bad pedagogy. I'm therefore not surprised to see the Big-3 LMS providers trying to get into the MOOC game. What does that mean? Just another excuse for college and university administrators to raise the enrollment numbers for online courses by claiming they are MOOCs.

The Automated Teaching Machine

Robots, Kafka, Rocketship, Dreambox, and ENGKEY - this all sounds like MOOCs to me! See for yourself: A Graphic Introduction to the End of Human Teachers.

Pathbrite

ePortfolios are becoming more and more common these days as a way for students to compile and present evidence of their learning and understanding - be that in a given course or for an entire 4-year degree program. On the other hand, many college course nowadays use some type of course management system (CMS) that is only accessible to the student and the instructor. Pathbrite is an attempt to combine a CMS with an ePortfolio that students can use (after college) to share their 'career readiness' with potential employers.

That all makes good sense - Pathbrite is free for instructors and $10 for students (per year). And that's the problem: is it reasonable to 'force' students to spend an additional $40?

Map MOOC

This could be fun: a 5-week MOOC about modern web-based digital mapping. After that you should be ready to take a real GIS class, for example at Westfield State University.

• Maps and the Geospatial Revolution

Digital Learners

Some interesting ideas by Joe Kerski (Esri) about what we today call 'digital learners':

• They prefer to access information randomly, rather than sequentially. (??)
• They want to learn simultaneously with others.
• They prefer instant gratification and rewards.
• They prefer learning 'just-in-time' what is immediately useful.

Nothing really new here - we have heard that for years about the so-called 'digital natives'. All I can say that the majority of my students may think that, but are too immature intellectually to pull it of. Plus, they are not technologically competent...unless you consider playing 90s music via Spotify on a smart device while tweeting and vining as relevant technological expertise.
Finally, framing, and advocating for, teaching, education, and learning as a video game is dangerous.

inklewriter and Story Maps

Hmm - this looks fun and possibly useful: a tool for writing interactive 'stories' that can be published as eBooks. Sounds like the perfect way to write textbooks for MOOCs: inklewriter
Somewhat related: Storytelling with Maps (by Esri) - they provide all the templates and base layers.