My MOOC platform dreams ..and Elon Musk’s Mars colony
In spring of 2015, I posted on a Coursera forum a suggestion for learners to form our own MOOC (massive open online course) platform from learner perspectives and goals. This post generated some interest, which quickly died out as Coursera reversed its policy on no-more-video-downloads on its new platform; the policy which had provoked my suggestion and the forum discussion, in the first place.
The idea of a learner-centred MOOC platform never really left my thoughts. My ideas for this platform was based on the premier not-for-profit model of Coursera, edX and Udacity. A MOOC platform that is targeted at people who are “interested in learning for mastery and personal satisfaction” and not merely in passing a test, earning university credits or formal certificates. A MOOC model where global social learning from experts takes place in a roomful of other experts on any and every subject-matter from all across the world. Where the voices of an inclusive, diverse and global audience of subject-matter experts can be heard. And I still hope that we can recreate this kind of MOOC wonder miracle.
Somewhere along, I was asked, “how do we get these expert instructors to provide lessons?” I said, there are already loads of quality free to use lessons on places like OCW and instructors (and administrators) who already share this vision. Another question was “how do we fund the building and operations of the platform?” I said, “volunteering, crowdsourcing, grants and donations, and other free resources.” “Who owns the platform?” I said it would be open access and owned by all humanity (I was thinking of starting the first global public corporation owned by every living person).
“Okay, so how do we get things started?”.
“We can start discussing in a virtual meeting place.”
One thing I’d like to get done first, is to try and replace the traditional MOOC video (historically, the most expensive and demanding part of making a MOOC) with a software generated video. So an instructor needs only to make a script (and maybe the instructor’s 3D picture). A software could create the video from the script, from the 3D image, inserting mini videos, photos, etc. The video might be generated on the server-side or on the client device to save bandwidth. This way lecture videos can be easily and quickly updated. Also, the video script can be user-modified, and those public user-mod/contributions can be voted on to surface the most acceptable alternatives/modifications to the script. The resulting script then does not have to be entirely linear but can take alternative paths. Each resulting video then would not have to be the same for everybody. A learner (user) may be able to customize their viewing/learning experience. For instance, a user may decide to view only the instructor’s script or choose how much or less of the top-voted or appropriate users modifications they want to see. And since changes can include pictures, small video clips, sound, etc. it should be possible for users to experience a much richer learning infused with the contributions of other people.
I made some small steps to test the waters, crowdfunding, a virtual meeting space, trying to get my local university to adopt MOOCs, encouraging people to take MOOCs in my locale. Most of these attempts had mixed successes. In part, because most existing MOOC platforms were working on eliminating the MO (massive open) from MOOCs and replacing it with something less massive and less open. In my mind, I still retain that idealistic dream that MOOCs can still reach the world especially if it is not combined with profiteering or maintaining the status quo.
And yet I felt my MOOC dreams still lacked something — inspiring, palpable and even surreal. Something that makes us re-explore and push our limits on our present knowledge. Some bigger-than-us purpose that unites us to learn and work together. Like a grand theme that has both big and small goals is measurable, achievable and capable of showcasing our best humanity. I felt it lacked this.
And then I thought I found it a few days ago or something just like it. As I watched Elon Musk’s Mars dream to land a probe by 2017 and put one million people in Mars 40–100 years from today. I became excited and swept along in the vision Elon Musk was painting, and my thoughts were how getting the Mars/interplanetary dream working would need lots of thinking — from tech, law, politics, social order, ethics, philosophy, environment, governance, the private sector and so on. Every aspect of human and physical existence would have to be thought and worked out. Like remaking a better earth and what better way to achieve this than to engage the public in thinking and working on these problems using the earth as both a model and test bed?
So I think of a MOOC platform where people can come together from everywhere in the world through the internet to think about and work on big and small human problems to make our (inter)planetary existence much better and successful.
Q: “How will this learner-centered MOOC platform be of individual and public benefit?”
A: I think if we can have people not merely getting quizzes right but also contributing to the body of scholarly knowledge and human development in general in an open format; through self-directed projects (products and services) such as essays, articles, artifacts, debates, social action, tutoring, mentoring, etc. these would benefit the public. And a better-educated society. I can imagine it might be a more egalitarian time if an interplanetary existence is not merely the product of only one or a few groups but of all groups. Individual benefits would be personal development, networking, community making, improving our self-efficacy and self-worth.
Still dreaming…
