Posted on 14 March, 2014 by Bryony

MOOCs must move beyond open enrolment and demonstrate a true commitment to reuse and long-term redistribution

This post was contributed by Leo Havemann, a learning technologist at Birkbeck, and Javiera Atenas, a teaching and learning technologist at UCL’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (UCL STEaPP) and PhD candidate at the Universitat de Barcelona. It was originally published on the LSE Impact of Social Sciences blog.

In contrast with the type of openness encouraged by Open Education Resources and Open Courseware labels, the openness of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is severely limited. Consequently, Leo Havemann and Javiera Atenas find the recent growth of high quality online learning content is not able to be used to its full advantage. The process of opening up MOOC resources would add value to the resources by reaching a wider community. But most importantly, HE institutions currently investing in MOOCs could demonstrate, beyond reasonable doubt, their real commitment to openness and improved access to education for all.

In 2013, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) suddenly gained a degree of notoriety, even outside the higher education sector. While the initial hype is dying down, MOOCs continue to grow in number and represent a significant new form of public engagement for universities. With the launch of the Open University’s FutureLearn platform back in September, many more UK institutions have joined a European charge into this previously US-dominated space. So, why should MOOCs open up? Are they not, by definition, open? Well, yes, maybe, and sort of.

Credit: [Ed] (CC BY-NC-SA)

At the risk of stating the obvious: online learning is not in itself very new, but MOOCs differ from traditional online distance learning courses in the sense that they offer open enrolment, free of charge (and therefore, often grow to ‘massive’ proportions). As such, they represent an exciting development in HE, appearing to promise a newfound equality of access to high quality content from top universities. But equal access does not necessarily translate into equal achievement. Early MOOC research has found that participants who are already university educated and digitally literate are, unsurprisingly, best placed to benefit. For many students, and especially those starting out in HE, a classroom-based or blended learning experience represents a more manageable and supported path towards a qualification.

Although MOOCs can be considered a new strand of the wider Open Education movement, they may reflect a quite different form of openness than this label sometimes implies. For advocates of Open Educational Resources (OER), resources which have been developed in public institutions should be made available to the general public, especially with a view to their unrestricted use and repurposing by educators around the globe.

Since 2002 UNESCO has argued for a global ‘free trade’ in educational resources which should have been licensed under the Creative Commons framework, explicitly permitting educators to perform the four Rs: Reuse, Revise, Remix and Redistribute. OER are often conceived of as single units of content, which can be made available through repositories such as Jorum, but they can also be packaged up in the form of whole courses (or, to make an important distinction, as ‘courseware’, which does not imply that any teaching is included). Launched in 2002, MIT’s Open CourseWare (OCW) allows open access to the resources indefinitely, as well as unrestricted downloading of the learning materials. In the OCW model, the materials can typically be downloaded individually or as a package, providing educators and students with a range of options for reuse.

In contrast with the type of openness implied by the OER and OCW labels, the openness of MOOCs (especially those offered by elite institutions on high-profile commercial platforms) appears to be mainly of enrolment. Access to the content is usually for the duration of the course only, and restricted to registered participants. Also, in many MOOCs, the content by default is copyrighted (‘all rights reserved’) rather than openly licensed, closing off the possibility of reuse without previous agreement of the intellectual rights holder. One platform’s terms states that participants are prohibited from reproducing, copying, selling, or explaining the content of courses, which may only be download content for non-commercial purposes and personal use. It is difficult to say whether institutions sign up to these terms because they are considering how they might one day recoup their investment in course development, or whether these unnecessarily restrictive terms and conditions (apparently covering all available courses) are simply imposed by the platform providers – but the consequence is that this high quality online learning content is not able to be used to its full advantage.

For this reason we consider it would be interesting for MOOC developers to ‘open up’ the materials they produce, and – perhaps after the initial run of the actual MOOC – place the content in open repositories for retrieval and reuse by the scholarly community. In order for this to happen, such content could be openly licensed, certainly requiring attribution, but perhaps, for example, permitting the creation of derivative works, while mandating that the original or adapted versions are ‘shared-alike’ (thereby preventing commercial publishers profiting from their resale without agreement and payment for their use).

In practical terms, it would be simple for MOOC resources to be uploaded to an OER repository, either individually or as a package. Alternatively, entire MOOCs could be converted into OCW once the course has finished, and made available for download, either through OER repositories or even via the host MOOC platform itself. The process of opening up MOOC resources will add value to the resources by reaching a wider community, and promote the authors and institutions which provided the MOOC. But most importantly, in this way, HE institutions currently investing in MOOCs could demonstrate, beyond reasonable doubt, their real commitment to openness and improved access to education for all.

. Reply . Category: Higher education . Tags: MOOCS, open access

Posted on 21 February, 2014 by Bryony

Why you CAN go to university AND do better than anyone thought you could!

This blog is written by Professor Patrick Tissington, Head of Birkbeck’s Department of Organizational Psychology. It is aimed at de-mystifying the process of getting a degree. He, in common with the vast majority of undergraduates, found it really hard to figure out exactly what he needed to do in order to pass. Many postgraduate students experience the same feelings as they have frequently been away from education for some time.

I wasn’t in any way ready to go to university aged 18 and went out into the world with terrible A-level results but with a sense of adventure that took me to Africa, around Europe, the Army and eventually into a sales job. I finally plucked up the courage to continue my education aged 29. I had done nothing educational between leaving school and my arrival at university, which meant I had literally no clue as to how to do well.

Study Skills for Business and Management

Worse still, my previous experience of education had left me believing that I was frankly not all that clever. I suspect this will be a familiar state of affairs to many Birkbeck applicants! Over the next three years, slowly I eventually worked out how to get through the degree. But it only really clicked into place in my final year – worryingly close to my final exams.

I am well aware that the world has changed since I was at university so I paired up with a recent business graduate (Christos Orthodoxou) to research these issues. Our findings inspired us to write a book which takes students step by step through the things you need to do in order to do well at university. But here is a taster:

1. Make best use of your lecturers

Your teachers will be experts in the topics they teach and leading researchers in that area – at least they are at Birkbeck! That means they respond well to students who are also fascinated by their subject and you can get a lot more out of your time with them by understanding their motivations. For example, at a research intensive university like Birkbeck, teaching is only part of what lecturers do so don’t expect to be able to find them in their office when ever you want to talk to them. Make an appointment and prepare properly for the meeting with all your questions written down (even the nicest academic can appear intimidating to a student). If you can’t do a piece of coursework, make an attempt and bring it with you – even if it is virtually nothing. You need to show where you are.

2. Learn how to Mind Map

I was SO sceptical about this technique – until I tried it! They are sometimes called Spider Diagrams or Concept Maps. If you don’t know how to do them, there is a great deal about them on the web (and in our book!). You can use them to make notes in lectures, sketch out presentations and in revision they are massively helpful. We found a significant impact of this technique on degree grades – those with higher grades were more likely to have used them than those with lower grades. I think this is because Mind Mapping is a great way of summarising information in a way that you can easily make sense of even complicated information.

3. Reading at university is different to ordinary reading and you need to learn how to do it

This sounds a bit weird at first but it is so important. When you read normally, you will read every word, start at the beginning and carry on to the end. With academic reading, you need to skim through very large amounts of text to find the pieces you need to concentrate on. And then you will usually find the writing is so dense it can take a very long time to read even a short piece. But, if it is the right piece for your essay or coursework, it will be worth it. But it is rarely useful to read entire textbooks – certainly in business subjects.

4. Learn the rules of writing essays, making academic presentations and how other forms of coursework work.

Whilst you are at university to learn (at least you should be!), you are also there to get the best grade you can. These days, employers really scrutinise how you have performed in all subjects so your grades are important. There is always a certain amount of what used to be called “exam technique” involved in getting good marks and you need to know how the system works in order to maximise your potential. Perhaps the most important thing I can pass on sounds apparently inane but believe me, is the single largest error I see: answer the question set. You will only score marks for answering the EXACT question set. You need to know what format the lecturer has specified and you need to know precisely what this is and follow it to the letter. Never go over (or under) word limits, get references in EXACTLY the right format, the right font etc.

5. Learn how to pass exams

Exams are perhaps the most stressful parts of your university career. You never quite know what they are going to be like and you have to wait for ages to find out how you have done. On top of this, my experience is that it is virtually impossible to know how well you have done – before you get the marks that is. You need to be relentless in getting to know the rules of the game. After checking whether the assessment is the same as previous years, find all the previous exam papers you can, pump the lecturer for clues (in a nice way!). Then look at the topics included in the course and selectively revise. Be focussed on learning the topics in a general sense but commit the key theories to memory. Some lecturers insist on having the dates completely right, others are less concerned with this. Find out what your markers are looking for and give it to them! Revise creatively – write out the key theories many times over. Use different coloured paper, paper your room with lining paper and write the important things up there. As the exam approaches, distill all your revision down onto smaller and smaller pages until you have your entire revision for an exam on one or two postcards.

I hope these give a taste of the sorts of skills that we have seen to be effective in helping students achieve the best results at university. To learn more, “Study Skills for Business and Management: How to Succeed at University and Beyond” published by Sage is now available at Waterstones, Amazon etc.

. 1 comment . Category: Higher education . Tags: study, success, university

Posted on 29 January, 2014 by Bryony

Birkbeck’s first visit to Saudi Arabia

This post was contributed by Steven Jefferies, from Birkbeck’s International Office.

January 2014 marked Birkbeck’s inaugural recruitment visit to Saudi Arabia. Quite what George Birkbeck would have made of this is difficult to discern, given that the Kingdom didn’t exist in its present form until 1932. He would have been intrigued by the destination; but would equally have recognised the College’s commitment to welcoming students of all backgrounds.

The favoured subjects of Saudi students are simultaneously a help and a hindrance in attracting students to Birkbeck. The Saudi government’s desire to diversify the nation’s economy away from oil means that scholarships are readily available for engineering and medicine, two areas that the college currently offers no tuition in. Luckily for Birkbeck however, the government is equally alert to the country’s need for a generation of civil servants, public officials and business professionals to support the future of the nation. Since the turn of the century Birkbeck’s Department of Management and Department of Applied Linguistics have both had modest numbers of Saudi students, and out of the twenty six that are currently enrolled, the majority are studying at postgraduate level in those two Departments. The goal over the next year will be to broaden the appeal of Birkbeck to Saudi students across all academic departments.

There are broadly speaking two set methodologies for achieving this aim: developing good relations with scholarship agencies and Saudi universities, and raising the university’s profile on the ground in Saudi by attending fairs and exhibitions. Although by Western standards interactions in the public sphere follow fairly strict conventions, face-to-face contact and strong personal relationships remain the key to successful business transactions, and so regular visits such as January’s are crucial.

From a diverse set of meetings held during the visit, it seems that there is potential for Birkbeck’s evening study model to appeal to aspiring Saudi postgraduates. The opportunity to develop a professional network and enhance employability through internships and work experience while studying is particularly appealing to women, and the large South-Asian expatriate community for whom employment prospects remain a crucial decision-making factor in university choices. In the long term raising Birkbeck’s profile could lead to a partnership with a Saudi university, something which the UK’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills is keen to endorse. Although the Saudi higher education sector is expanding rapidly, and already boasts a number of highly reputable institutions, their research profile is comparatively low in the West. This has led many Saudi institutions to take the dual approach of developing partnerships by sending their academics overseas, and seeking English-speaking universities to reciprocate.

The weather in Saudi Arabia in January is a welcome retreat from the squalls of the United Kingdom. Business travellers to Saudi Arabia are advised to stick to a suit and tie, somewhat stifling in the heat and also a magnet for diverted gazes given that the majority of Saudis stick to the nation’s traditional dress: a thawb for men and an abaya for the women. As might be expected in a pious nation where kinship networks are the cornerstones of business and culture, Saudi hospitality is notably zealous: complete strangers will exchange pleasantries on the street readily and dinner hosts will do their upmost to treat every guest with dignity and honour. Contrary to public perception in the West, the majority will also welcome Western visitors with vigour, although the youthful progressivism that can be found in other Arab nations is tempered by strict adherence to the Kingdom’s official interpretation of Sunni Islam.

April will see Birkbeck venture once more to Riyadh, this time for the annual International Exhibition and Conference on Higher Education, attended in 2013 by nearly 500, 000 students. Attendance at the high profile government-sponsored event is a must for any university looking to raise their profile in the Kingdom, and Birkbeck will be one among many hundreds of global institutions. However, by prioritising the offer of evening study, Birkbeck will be the only institution in attendance presenting a genuine alternative for the career-conscious student seeking the highest quality university education. Of this, George Birkbeck would surely be proud.

. Reply . Category: Higher education . Tags: international students, recruitment, Saudi Arabia

Posted on 11 November, 2013 by Bryony

Birkbeck 190 years on

190 years since George Birkbeck announced his plans for an evening educational institution in London, Vice-Master Professor Philip Dewe reflects on how the College stays true to the mission and vision of its founder.

190 years ago today, George Birkbeck called a meeting at the Crown and Anchor tavern on the Strand in London, to discuss the idea of establishing a Mechanics’ Institute to educate London’s working population. That Institute went on to become Birkbeck College. Therefore, today seems like a very good moment to reflect on where the College is today, and how it has responded to modern-day challenges in making education available to working people in London.

When George Birkbeck announced his plans they met with fierce opposition from some quarters and accusations that he was “scattering the seeds of evil”. Some groups feared that “if you educated the sailors to the level of the captain then you would provoke a mutiny”. Luckily, in 2013, the benefits of a highly educated population have been more universally embraced, but that does not mean that as London’s only specialist provider of part-time and evening education the College no longer faces challenges.

A particularly acute recent challenge was the 2012 increase in tuition fees across England, as higher education institutions responded to the withdrawal of government funding for undergraduate courses. Across England, part-time enrolments decreased and at Birkbeck we thought long and hard about how we could continue to make higher education available to working Londoners in a model that met their needs and aspirations as learners. We decided that this year we would expand the number of courses that we offered in an accelerated version – three years for an undergraduate degree, rather than the four years of our traditional courses, but still taught in the evening to enable our students to earn money, gain work experience or raise families during the day.

When George Birkbeck published a notice in The Times to announce his public meeting at the Crown and Anchor he didn’t anticipate that nearly 2,000 men would turn up, crowding the tavern and spilling out onto the Strand. This year, the College has seen another inundation of students, hungry to learn and keen to take advantage of our prestigious teaching and to learn from our research-active lecturers. Demand for our new three-year programmes has been incredibly strong. The students that we have recruited onto these new programmes are similar in background to those who would previously have signed up to our four-year courses and I am delighted that we have been able to provide increasingly flexible study models for the students for whom our sort of provision is most appropriate. It is the ability of the College and our staff to develop and provide increasingly flexible study models that has enabled us to weather the latest storm and will enable us to continue going from strength to strength while offering something unique within the UK higher education sector.

Nearly two centuries on from the Crown and Anchor meeting, George Birkbeck’s rallying call that ‘now is the time for the universal benefits of the blessings of knowledge’ is as powerful and relevant as it was at the time. Having seen how the College has adapted and changed to face this challenge and those that have come before it, I think that we can confidently say that we have stayed true to the founding mission, and I am proud that we are a College that George Birkbeck would still recognise from his proposal on this day in 1823.

. Read all 3 comments . Category: Higher education . Tags: George Birkbeck, history, mission