For this module, I joined an xMOOC on the online platform edX. The topic I choose is “Python Programming Introduction.” I choose this topic not only because I am familiar with these topics but also because I can compare this course and the course I take in UVic.
The course structure is pretty similar to our online courses in UVic. There are five sections in the main interface: lectures, calendar, discussion, FAQ and progress. However, the course teaching method is very new to me. Instead of teaching students course materials in the lectures, this course requires students to learn knowledge through many programming projects. Lecture videos are just introductions to those projects. My task is establishing a group for the project and developing the idea to achieve project goals. For me, it’s like telling me where my finish line is, but I can choose whatever route to reach that line. I felt very comfortable when I was trying to talk about the project details with my teammates.
Our team held team conversations in Discord, and we shared our project materials on GitHub. Once we finished our project, the course owner created an AI testing machine for the project evaluation. More than 30k students registered for this course, and only AI can deal with this amount of assignment load. I only finished the first module of this course since this course is a one-year-long MOOC.
I didn’t see or use the connection between students and the course professor. This is understandable to me since there are so many people in this course. The study atmosphere was comfortable and relaxing because there was no due for the project. The only problem I was worried about was plagiarism. Coding study requires many references and imitation to come up with programmers’ own functions. In this course, if someone copies the work from others, I have no idea if that AI machine can detect that. I think this is important because this course also provides a verified certificate for students’ resumes. If a student copies works from others all the time and finishes this course, his or her future employer may be cheated by those certificates.
After finishing this module, I saw the potential of online education in the future. Initially, I thought MOOC would be like a typical online course with different topics. Students can choose whatever they like to learn and gain everything from the lectures. However, I underestimated the power of time and space in pedagogy. My mind was bounded because our ordinary course has the concept of ‘term.’ Students are asked to finish something during a limited time. MOOCs, have the flexibility to think, work and study at any time.