Comments on: World History MOOC Report 4: In which I waste my time.

By: World History MOOC Report 15: In which I watch “a global conversation about global history.” « More or Less Bunk

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 14:02:42 +0000

[...] be in it and won’t watch it because it’s not required. When I went back to the forums I remained extremely confused, but I also noticed for the first time that each individual comment has a number [...]

By: World History MOOC Report 6: In which I take one for the team. « More or Less Bunk

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 13:02:55 +0000

[...] only posts the lecture videos on a weekly basis, I assume when they’re ready), there’s a gigantic forum, but there’s no place where you can get an overview of the entire course at [...]

By: MOOCs and the longue duree : Historiann : History and sexual politics, 1492 to the present

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:19:30 +0000

[...] 1960s, and then with distance learning via closed-circuit TV and cable in the 1980s and 1990s. Via Jonathan Rees, Nick Carr runs down the “Prehistory of the MOOC,” from the 1880s to the present: Mail: [...]

By: Historiann

Historiann — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 15:42:50 +0000

Thanks so much for your coverage of this MOOC, Jonathan. I really appreciate your reflective posts on this.

By: This Week and Last Week … But (I hope) Not Next Week! » Novel Readings - Notes on Literature and Criticism

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 00:58:07 +0000

[...] One of the books I’m prepping for class this week is Gaudy Night–I find myself very sympathetic, on this reading, with poor Mrs. Goodwin who keeps having to leave work to tend to her sickly son. It is reassuring to think (or at least believe) that my own professionalism and suitability for my job isn’t being called into question the way Mrs. Goodwin’s is because I’ve had to cancel some office hours and miss a meeting or two! On the other hand, it hasn’t gotten conspicuously easier, in the intervening century, to find a really happy balance between the demands of work and the demands of family. Although it would be nice, once in a while, to take a real sick day and not actually do (or worry about) any work, I feel very fortunate that in this electronic age much of my work can be done from wherever, and whenever. My husband and I have also, for many years, been able to arrange to teach on alternate days, so that cancelling an actual class meeting is a rarity for both of us. It’s interesting to reflect on the complex triage we’ve developed. Classes trump meetings, meetings trump office hours, specific appointments trump office hours, office hours alone just get rescheduled, class prep gets done one way or another in the interstices, and research and writing … well, you can see how much non-essential writing I’ve been able to do in the past week! It’s interesting, I suppose, that for both of us actually making it to class is so clearly the top priority. I have learned that students don’t usually much mind a cancelled class here or there, but we put a lot of thought and planning into our courses and for us, a missed hour can throw off a whole sequence (though I have also learned that it’s easy to overestimate how much that really matters). We are still clearly convinced that there’s real value-added in our physical presence and face-to-face engagement with our students. Just call us “the enforcers.” [...]

By: Things we’ve been reading about | Education works

Things we’ve been reading about | Education works — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:27:01 +0000

[...] (and complementary) perspectives on Higher Education, gained from participation in MOOCs – Jonathan Rees blogs about how the failings of online course discussion boards which are not structured or [...]