‘MOOCs’
Wrapping a MOOC: CFT Study Published in the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT)
Sep. 30, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director Last fall, Vanderbilt computer science professor Doug Fisher “flipped” his graduate-level course on machine learning. Instead of having his students read their textbook before class or watch lecture videos that he created, as is typical for a “flipped” classroom, Doug asked his students to prepare for class by taking another...
Lessons Learned from Vanderbilt’s First MOOCs
Aug. 19, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director When Vanderbilt announced its massive open online course (MOOC) initiative almost twelve months ago, one of the stated goals of the project was to explore ways that digital technologies might enhance Vanderbilt’s teaching mission. As faculty, staff, and students worked over the last year to launch Vanderbilt’s first three MOOCs,...
From a Student’s View: Taking a MOOC on Maps with Friends
Jul. 24, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director We’re soon coming up on the end of the first year in Vanderbilt’s MOOC (massive open online course) initiative, which is, I think, seven years in “MOOC years.” Vanderbilt has offered three MOOCs thus far, all on the Coursera platform, and there are three more in the pipeline. (You can...
Experiments in Open Education and Active Learning: A Report from the Celebration of Teaching
May. 21, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director, and Sarah Collier, 2013 Teaching Certificate Recipient and 2012-13 SoTL Scholar Colleges and universities across North America focus a significant amount of attention on the student-to-instructor ratios in their classrooms, often touting low ratios as reasons to enroll. In recent months, however, it has been fashionable to announce incredibly high...
Tweets from the Celebration of Teaching: Scientists in the Classroom, Academic Inquiry, and Open Education
May. 15, 2013—by CFT Director Derek Bruff When I attend an academic conference, I’m particularly active on Twitter, live-tweeting the conference by sharing observations, reflections, questions, and resources. A conference backchannel can provide a space for discussion and networking, share highlights from the conference with those not physically present, and serve as an archive for the event....
Learning and the MOOC, an Online Conference, April 3rd and 4th
Apr. 1, 2013—This Wednesday and Thursday, April 3-4, the Center for Teaching will host the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) Spring Focus Session titled “Learning and the MOOC.” This online event will be streamed in the CFT workshop space and will feature presentations by almost two dozen faculty and administrators from colleges and universities around the world experimenting...
A Conversation about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Mar. 1, 2013—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director Last Thursday, February 21st, the Center for Teaching and the Library hosted “Teaching to Thousands: A Conversation about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs),” an event featuring faculty panelists Douglas Schmidt (Computer Science) and Jamie Pope (Nursing). Doug and Jamie are participating in Vanderbilt’s Coursera pilot, each offering a MOOC on...
Upcoming Event: Teaching to Thousands: A Conversation about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Feb. 14, 2013—Join us for this upcoming Conversation on Teaching! Teaching to Thousands: A Conversation about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) Last September, Vanderbilt announced a partnership with Coursera, an online platform for open-access, non-credit classes, available at no cost to participants. Such courses have been dubbed “MOOCs,” or massive open online courses, and Vanderbilt faculty...
CFT Hosts International Scholar Catherine Easton to Study Educational Technology
Dec. 12, 2012—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director This year the CFT is hosting a visiting scholar, Catherine Easton of Lancaster University in the UK, where she teaches law. Catherine is in the United States as part of the International Scholars Program of the UK’s Higher Education Academy (HEA). She will explore how classroom response systems (“clickers”) and...
Teaching with MOOCs: Four Cases
Nov. 26, 2012—by Derek Bruff, CFT Director Last month in a blog post titled “Better Than a Textbook?“, I noted that some faculty find it easier to think about the massive open online courses (MOOCs) provided by vendors like Coursera as “super-textbooks” than as actual courses. Earlier this month, Vanderbilt computer science professor Doug Fisher wrote a...