Making moocs on a budget/ Course outline/Orientation

Introduction
Creating a course with thousands of participants is no longer something that only well-funded universities can do. Even individuals who are experts in their subject matter, but not necessarily experts in technology and pedagogy, can create a MOOC, simply by using the right set of tools and techniques. This course provides you with the know-how to create your own MOOC, and connects you to a community of others with the same goal. Are you a lecturer whose courses ought to be available to thousands of students rather than a few dozen? Are you a teacher whose style and approach can inspire many students — and other teachers? Are you a trainer who wants to showcase his or her educational skills? Are you an artisan who can introduce others to the tricks of the trade? If you consider yourself an expert in the subject matter you want to teach, and have a working knowledge of computers and the Internet, you’re ready to go.

Manage your time
Traditional learning forces us to organize our time in order to actually attend a class. Learning on a MOOC involves the same commitment, but it’s up to each individual to create your own learning structure that suits your schedule. Planning your study schedule for the MOOC is crucial to completing it. We recommend that you use Google Calendar (Links to an external site.), or other online tools you might be familiar with, to develop your own study plan. For this MOOC, you should aim to set aside blocks of time totaling  2 to 4 hours for each module for the duration of the course – and you can set reminders to help you get organized. Try to set up a schedule for the first module, and adjust it if it’s not realistic.

Be an active learner
As a participant in this MOOC, you are part of a ‘learning community’ which is hugely diverse – you can find people with various levels of experience and expertise with online teaching tools, which we hope to be able to harness so that everyone has the opportunity to learn from the collective knowledge and experience of the group. In this sense, this course should not only be considered as a pre-packaged course on the creation of low-budget MOOCs, but also a catalyst for generating an additional knowledge- and experience-based body of knowledge that will be expanded through your participation and contributions – and which will be openly available for the benefit of everyone who wants to build a MOOC now, or in the future.

Make this MOOC count
If the subject dealt with in the MOOC is related to your work, why not ask your boss, HR department, professional association or those responsible for staff training and development in your area  if this MOOC can count towards continuous professional development credits and be acknowledged in your record. This course is  based on a belief that many of you have relevant expertise and experience and we encourage you to enhance the course by contributing to the discussion forums.

Take notes
There's a lot of material covered in this course which will be of use when you get to the point of building your own MOOC. Take notes as you go along - using paper and pen, devices or an online service, e.g. Evernote (Links to an external site.)

Make it more fun
Traditional learning environments have an important social element -  MOOCs are somewhat different. It may help to do this course with a friend or colleague so that you can discuss what you are learning with someone face to face – so why not share this link with someone you have regular contact with who might be interested in doing the course with you. If you don’t have someone to do the MOOC with, then why not socialize on our Facebook or Twitter account and join our Linkedin group  to participate in the discussions where you will have plenty of opportunities to discuss with other people on this course, and feel part of a virtual community with a shared purpose,

Additional resources
In addition to the course materials, you can find on this site a number of other resources developed as part of the Locomotion project. You are strongly advised to browse through these webinars, examples of MOOCs developed using low-cost methodologies, guidelines, presentations etc. to add to and make your learning journey more interesting.

Certification
There is currently no certification available on this version of the course. In the meantime, if you are interested in receiving a certificate of completion, please do the course with related quizzes on the Canvas learning platform