Distributed Online Course for Educator Training

The general digitalization of contemporary society leads to a change in the use of learning technology in engineering education. The aim of this article is to present the advantages of the corporate online course for faculty members’ advanced training developed at Tomsk Polytechnic University. The general goal of this course is to supply engineering teachers with the new tools for their professional activities. Based on the analysis the different types of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), the authors dwell on the pedagogical aspects of the new course, such as openness, transparency, internal communication, and external deposition of the educational products obtained by participants in the courses. The proposed model of online course is distinguished by a distributed and problem-based character coupled with high level of the transparency and internal openness. Within the framework of the course the participants share Google Documents and Blogs with each other and with the tutor performing peer-to-peer communication. It is shown that proposed model of educator training leads to more effective results than other commonly used MOOCs. After the course is finished, all educational products achieved by participants are archived and become accessible for external users. Their rights are provided by Creative Commons Attribution. As a result of the implementation of the course, the University’s resource of open access educational and didactic materials is being maintained and developed.

1. Cormier, D. (2008). The CCK08 MOOC – Connectivism course, 1/4 way. Dave’s Educational Blog. 10-Feb. Available at: http://davecormier.com/edblog/2008/10/02/the-cck08-mooc-connectivism-course-14-way/

2. Downes, S., Siemens, G. Connectivism and Connective Knowledge Course (CCK08). Available at: https://sites.google.com/site/themoocguide/3-cck08---the-distributed-course

3. Baturay, M.H. (2015). An Overview of the World of MOOCs. Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci. Vol. 174, pp. 427-433.

4. Morrison, D. (2013). The Ultimate Student Guide to xMOOCs and cMOOCs. Available: http:// moocnewsandreviews.com/ultimate-guide-to-xmoocsand-cmoocso/

5. Dhawal, Shah. (2018). By The Numbers: MOOCs in 2018. Class Central MOOC Reports. Available at: https://www.classcentral.com/report/mooc-stats-2018/

6. Pilli, O., Admiraal, W. (2015). A Taxonomy of Massive Open Online Courses. Contemporary Educational Technology. Vol. 3. No. 7, pp. 223-240. Available at: https://paperity.org/p/150037755/ataxonomy-of-massive-open-online-courses

7. Starodubtsev, V.A., Kiselyova A.A. (2014). Blog as a Tool of E-Learning. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. No. 7, pp. 86-92. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.)

8. Grechushkina, N.V. (2018). Online Course: Definition and Classification. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. Vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 125-134. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.)

9. Conache, M., Dima, R., Mutu, A. (2016). A Comparative Analysis of MOOC // Informatica Economică. 2016. Vol. 20 No. 2. Рp. 5–14. URL: https://paperity.org/p/219848222/a-comparativeanalysis-of-mooc-massive-open-online-course-platforms

10. Conole, G. (2013). MOOCs as Disruptive Technologies: Strategies for Enhancing the Learner Experience and Quality of MOOCs. Revista de Educación a Distancia. No. 39, pp. 1-17. Available at: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=54729539001

11. Young, J.R. (2018). MOOCs Are No Longer Massive. And They Serve Different Audiences Than First Imagined. EdSurge. Aug 21. Available at: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-08-21-moocs-are-no-longer-massive-and-they-serve-different-audiences-than-first-imagined

12. Semenova, T.V., Volkova, K.A. (2017). Types of Integration of Mass Open Online Courses into the Academic Process of Universities. Universitetskoe upravlenie:praktika i analiz = University Management: Practice and Analysis. Vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 114-126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/umpa.2017.06.080 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.)

13. Dalsgaard, C., Thestrup, K. (2015). Dimensions of Openness: Beyond the Course as an Open Format in Online Education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning. Vol. 16, no. 6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v16i6.2146.

14. Clark, D. (2013). MOOCs: Who’s Using MOOCs? 10 Different Target Audiences. Donald Clark Plan B. Apr 25. Available at: http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com.cy/2013/04/moocs-whos-using- moocs-10-different.html

15. Comer, D., Baker, R., Wang, Y. (2015). Negativity in Massive Online Open Courses: Impacts on Learning and Teaching, and How Instructional Teams May Be Able to Address It. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching. Vol. 10, pp. 93-113. Available at: http://www.columbia.edu/~rsb2162/CBW2.pdf

16. Chen, Y. Investigating MOOCs Through Blog Mining. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning. Vol. 15, no. 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v15i2.1695

17. Starodubtsev, V.A. (2015). Personalized MOOCs in Blended Learning. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. No. 10, pp. 133-144. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.)