The Future of MOOCs and Turbocharged Technologies in STEM Education

San Jose State University Foundation, San Jose CA

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT DESCRIPTION This project is conducting a conference to explore the use of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and how to more effectively integrate them into STEM teaching. The overall goal is to explore the future of MOOCs and other disruptive educational technologies in higher education. The conference is allowing STEM educators to share and gain knowledge regarding the advantages and limitations of MOOC implementations to help propagate a better understanding of how MOOCs function and where they best fit into the STEM learning community. It is bringing faculty and technology facilitators together to provide an opportunity for open strategic discussions of disruptive learning technologies and creating an environment that enables and encourages open dialog between university faculty/staff/administrators, representatives from MOOC providers, and other constituents interested in online STEM learning. The project is helping to further an understanding of: 1) the role of MOOCs in modern academia in STEM fields, 2) how to best introduce them into a university setting, and 3) how they may supplement traditional and flipped STEM classrooms. The project is generating a publication that summarizes the discussions, findings and follow-on activities that result from the conference workshop. BROADER SIGNIFICANCE Information garnered throughout the conference is being shared with participants who, in turn, are taking the knowledge back to their institutions and utilizing it to improve teaching and learning in their STEM fields. The project is helping further the understanding of how to best implement MOOCs into traditional academia, in a way that complements institutions, while also providing maximum benefit to students. The knowledge and ability to provide lower cost, high quality STEM education promises not only to produce immediate benefits, but also to help produce more effective, far-reaching, and long-term national STEM results. The participants are sharing the conference information with others in their particular STEM fields and at their institutions, resulting in widespread propagation of MOOC-oriented discussions and knowledge. All conference results and documents are being published on a conference website, along with a summation of the overall findings. Participants are publishing papers and contributing articles as a result of the conference; producing valuable information regarding MOOCs that is being used nationwide on an anytime/anywhere basis by anyone who is interested in exploring new STEM learning environments.