Recommendations for Continuation
1. Offer both the MoM and the M4D courses again. Both can be described as novel and successful as measured by enrolment and participant satisfaction. The instructors could anticipate to gain more efficiencies in terms of time commitment as a result of their growing expertise.
2. The mooKIT platform is exceptional in its design and performance, particularly considering it was launched as a beta version for the MoM course. Compared to other platforms, mooKIT is intuitive to use and aesthetically appealing. It also proved to be functional across devices (e.g., tablets and mobile phones). On the design side, the platform has been constructed to be customizable and of low demand on a server. In combination, the features of the mooKIT platform will be attractive to individuals or organizations interested in pursuing MOOC initiatives independently. Its growth is promising.
3. The formula espoused by the course team relative to design, orientation, and application should be continued and advanced. The selection and design of content was eclectic and appealed to a broad range of learners. The design of the mooKIT platform was intuitive and sophisticated in its simplicity. It greatly improves on existing platforms and its feature as open source lends itself to great potential. The orientation of the course as open should be commended. Instructors made bold changes on the fly, including devising a Video assignment (and facilitating peer feedback) and extending the short course by one week. Such changes require a strong team that is able to collaborate and cooperate at a moment’s notice. The fact that this occurred predominantly between Kanpur in India and Vancouver in Canada makes these efforts all the more impressive. It is perhaps having an eclectic team that such changes were possible. The concept of the course team central to course design in the Open and Distance Learning milieu, and used in the MoM and M4D courses, should be contemplated and researched by an individual or organization interested in the design and delivery of MOOCs. Finally, the concept of application, where content is geared towards training and skill development, is an astute approach that maps well to the concept of sustainable development to which the MoM course is focused.
