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CurrentIssuesinEmergingeLearningVolume2Issue1MOOCTheoreticalPerspectivesandPedagogicalApplicationsArticle6January2015InformationLiteracyinMOOCsPaulBondUniversityofPittsburgh,paulbond@pitt.
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Availableat:https://scholarworks.
umb.
edu/ciee/vol2/iss1/6INFORMATIONLITERACYINMOOCSPaulBondiUniversityofPittsburgh-JohnstownINTRODUCTIONThisarticleexaminesinformationliteracyinthecontextofMOOCs.
Thearticlelooksatanumberofdefinitionsofinformationliteracyandtheiraccompanyingstandards.
Theconceptofmetaliteracyasanumbrellaforanumberofliteraciesisalsodiscussed.
ThepurposeofthisistoestablishabroadunderstandingofinformationliteracyinordertoshowthemanywaysitconnectstoMOOCs.
MOOCsareexaminedbriefly.
ThefocushereistodistinguishthedifferenttypesofMOOCsandthedifferentlearneractivitiesthatgoonwithinthem.
ThisstudyofMOOCsisbasedonrelevantliteratureanddirectobservationsfromtheexperienceofparticipatinginMOOCsoverthepastfewyears.
MOOCshavebeencategorizedasxMOOCsandcMOOCs.
xMOOCsexistinawidevariety,andencompassrangesoflearneractivities,requiringvaryinglevelsofinformationskills.
Astheyareallonline,theyallrequiresomelevelofdigitalandcomputerliteracy.
cMOOCsaremoreparticipatoryinnature,andhavefairlywelldefinedprinciplesandlearneractivities.
Thelearneractivitiesofaggregating,remixing,repurposing,andfeedingforwardaremappedtoAssociationofCollegeandResearchLibraries(ACRL)informationliteracystandardsandperformanceindicators.
TheimportanceofthisforMOOCsistwo-fold.
One,aslibrarianorganizationshavebeenpreachingforsolong,informationliteracyskillsmustbetaught,developed,andcontinuallyreinforcedateveryeducationallevelasalifeskill.
Two,MOOCdevelopersandfacilitatorsshouldbereadytofindwaystosupportandencouragelearnerparticipation,andtorecognizethesignificanceofthelearningskillsatworkwithintheMOOCenvironment.
Thisalsohasimportancewithinthebroaderrealmofeducationandeducationpolicy,asithighlightsthelevelofskillsforindependent,self-directedlearning.
DemographicstudiesindicatethatmostMOOCparticipantshavebachelordegreesorhigher(Balch,2013;Belanger&Thornton,2013;Breslowetal.
,2013).
Thisreinforcestheideathatahighlevelofinformationskills,asmighthavebeendevelopedthroughprioreducationalattainment,isnecessaryforsuccessfulparticipationinaMOOC.
INFORMATIONLITERACYTheACRLintheUnitedStatesdefinedinformationliteracyasthe"setofabilitiesrequiringindividualstorecognizewheninformationisneededandhavetheabilitytolocate,evaluate,anduseeffectivelytheneededinformation"(2000).
TheACRLdefinesfivestandardsforinformationliteracy,eachwithseveralperformanceindicatorsandoutcomes.
Thestandardsare:1.
Theinformationliteratestudentdeterminesthenatureandextentoftheinformationneeded.
2.
Theinformationliteratestudentaccessesneededinformationeffectivelyandefficiently.
3.
Theinformationliteratestudentevaluatesinformationanditssourcescriticallyandincorporatesselectedinformationintohisorherknowledgebaseandvaluesystem.
4.
Theinformationliteratestudent,individuallyorasamemberofagroup,usesinformationeffectivelytoaccomplishaspecificpurpose.
5.
Theinformationliteratestudentunderstandsmanyoftheeconomic,legal,andsocialissuessurroundingtheuseofinformationandaccessesandusesinformationethicallyandlegally.
(ACRL,2000)TheSocietyofCollege,NationalandUniversityLibraries(SCONUL)WorkingGroupintheUnitedKingdompresentedasomewhatdifferentvisionintheirpublication,TheSevenPillarsofInformationLiteracy:CoreModel(2011).
Theydefinedinformationliterateindividualsasshowing"anawarenessofhowtheygather,use,manage,synthesiseandcreateinformationanddatainanethicalmannerand[having]theinformationskillstodosoeffectively"(p.
3).
TheSCONULmodelincludessevenstandards,called"pillars,"andidentifiesseveralabilitiesandunderstandingsforeachone.
Theirstandardsare:1.
Abletoidentifyapersonalneedforinformation2.
Canassesscurrentknowledgeandidentifygaps3.
Canconstructstrategiesforlocatinginformationanddata4.
Canlocateandaccesstheinformationanddatatheyneed5.
Canreviewtheresearchprocessandcompareandevaluateinformationanddata6.
Canorganiseinformationprofessionallyandethically7.
Canapplytheknowledgegained:presentingtheresultsoftheirresearch,synthesisingnewandoldinformationanddatatocreatenewknowledgeanddisseminatingitinavarietyofways(SCONULWorkingGrouponInformationLiteracy,2011)TheSCONULmodelusessomedifferentterminologyfromtheACRLstandardsbutcoversthesamegeneralconcepts.
Inparticular,itismoreexplicitinbreakingdowntheideaofusinginformationintoorganizing,synthesizing,creatingandpresentinginformation.
Italsopresentsthemodelasnonlinear,usingacirclemetaphor,andmultidimensional,inthatindividualscandevelopfromnovicetoexpertinthedifferentskillareas.
TheACRLStandardshavecomeundercriticism.
Kuhlthau(2013)saidtheydidnotaccuratelyreflecttheprocessespeoplegothroughinlearning.
SheseestheACRLstandardsasembracingamechanisticandlinearviewoftheinformationsearchingprocess,ratherthanrecognizingtheuncertaintyandcomplexityofit.
Ifinformationliteracyistrulytoenable"students'self-directedlearning"(p.
96),thentheaffectivecomponentoftheprocessshouldbeaddressedaswell.
Fister(2014)wrotethatthestandardswereoverlyorientedtowardsundergraduateresearchpapersandfailedtoaddressthecreativeandsocialaspectsofinformationliteracy.
TheACRLisrevisingitsstandards(S.
Bell,2013)asofthiswritinginearly2014toincorporatetheconceptofmetaliteracy,whichconsidersinformationliteracyasablankettermcoveringanumberofotherliteracies,suchasvisualliteracy,digital/computerliteracy,andmedialiteracy(Jacobson&Mackey,2013).
ThisisinlinewithSCONUL,whichincludes"digital,visualandmedialiteracies,academicliteracy,informationhandling,informationskills,datacurationanddatamanagement"(SCONULWorkingGrouponInformationLiteracy,2011,p.
3)assubsetsofinformationliteracy.
TheACRL'srecommendationforareviseddefinitionofinformationliteracyis:Informationliteracycombinesarepertoireofabilities,practices,anddispositionsfocusedonexpandingone'sunderstandingoftheinformationecosystem,withtheproficienciesoffinding,usingandanalyzinginformation,scholarship,anddatatoanswerquestions,developnewones,andcreatenewknowledge,throughethicalparticipationincommunitiesoflearningandscholarship.
(ACRLInformationLiteracyCompetencyStandardsforHigherEducationTaskForce,2014,p.
4)Thesestandardsanddefinitionsareimportantbecauseinformationliteracyisconsideredtobethekeytolifelonglearning(ACRL,2000;Coonan,2011;Horton,2008),andanintegralpartofthelearningprocess(MiddleStatesCommissiononHigherEducation,2003).
Toengageinself-directedlearning,oneneedstoknowhowtoaskgoodquestions,howtofindandevaluateinformationinpursuitofanswers,andhowtosynthesizeandcommunicatethoseanswers.
Theseactivitiesarematchedbythevariousstandardsforinformationliteracy.
Learningtakesmanyforms.
Beyondtheformaleducationsystem,therearemodessuchascontinuingeducationandprofessionaldevelopment,on-the-jobtraining,andpursuitofpersonalinterests.
ArelativelyrecentdevelopmentineducationistheMassiveOpenOnlineCourse,orMOOC.
MOOCswillbediscussedinthesectionthatfollows.
MOOCSWiththeamountofmediahypeMOOCshavegarneredoverthepasttwoyears,itisexpectedthatmostreaderswillhavesomeknowledgeofMassiveOpenOnlineCourses.
TheyarelearningeventsthattakeplaceontheWeb,whichcanaccommodatelargenumbersofpeople,fromhundredsofparticipantstooverahundredthousand.
MOOCshavebeenbroadlycategorizedintocMOOCsandxMOOCs(Rodriguez,2012;Siemens,2012),althoughintheauthor'sexperiencetheyexistmoreinaspectrumthantwodistinctcamps.
xMOOCsarethetypethathashadthemostmediaattention.
MOOCsintheUnitedStatesareprimarilyproducedbythenon-profitconsortiumedX,whichlendsthe"x"totheterm,andthefor-profitstartupsCourseraandUdacity.
Variousotherorganizationsaroundtheglobe,suchasFutureLearn,iversity,Open2StudyandOpenLearning,arealsodevelopingMOOCs,althoughthisauthordoesnothavedirectexperiencewiththeirplatforms.
TheU.
S.
xMOOCstypicallyfeaturerecordedvideolecturesandmachine-gradedassessments,housedinalearningmanagementsystem(LMS).
Studentinteractionmayoccurinthreadeddiscussionforums,andtheremaybepeergradedassignments.
LearningactivitiesinxMOOCsaremainlyconsumptive.
Contentisprescribedbythedevelopers,andparticipantmasteryorunderstandingofthecontentismeasuredthroughtests.
Traditionalinformationliteracyskills,likefinding,evaluating,synthesizingandpresentinginformationaretypicallyexercisedonlyminimally.
Computerliteracyanddigitalliteracyskillsareexercisedinnegotiatingcourseinterfacesintheonlineenvironment.
SometimesparticipantssetupFacebookgroupsorinteractthroughTwitter,outsideoftheMOOCenvironment.
Understoodthroughthebroaderlensofmetaliteracy,thereareinformationliteracyskillsatworkinxMOOCs.
Thesecomputeranddigitalliteraciesarebaselineskillsnecessaryforparticipation,orevenregistration,inxMOOCs.
GiventhatxMOOCstendtofocusonthetransferratherthantheproductionofknowledge,however,informationliteracyasstrictlydefinedbytheACRLstandardsplayslessofarolethanincMOOCs.
AndersonandDron(2011)categorizedthreegenerationsofpedagogyforonlinelearning.
Theyarecognitive-behaviorism,social-constructivismandconnectivism.
ThesecategoriesareusefulforunderstandingthedifferenttypesofMOOCs.
Cognitive-behavioristpedagogytendstobedominantinxMOOCs.
ThecMOOCsarenamedafterconnectivism,theemergentlearningtheorythatunderpinstheirphilosophy.
Theyaretypicallydecentralizedandemphasizetheproductionofcontentoverconsumption.
Participantsareencouragedtopursuetheirowngoalsandforgetheirownlearningpaths,sotraditionalassessmentsarerare.
Thenextsectionwilldiscussconnectivismindetail.
CONNECTIVISMConnectivismwasthetopicofthefirstcoursetobecalledaMOOC(Siemens,2008),andformedthetheoreticalbasisfortheearlyMOOCs.
ConnectivismisatheoryoflearningdevelopedlargelybyGeorgeSiemensandStephenDownes.
Itwasdevelopedinresponsetodeficienciestheydetectedinotherlearningtheories,suchasconstructivism,cognitivismandbehaviorism.
SuchtheoriesdidnotsufficientlyaccountfortheimpactoftheInternetonourunderstandingofthenatureofknowledgeandlearning(F.
Bell,2011).
Asanemergingtheory,connectivismhashadsomecriticism(Kop&Hill,2008),butthatdiscussionisoutsidethescopeofthisarticle.
WhileDownesoffersfoursuccinctconnectivistprinciplesforlearning,namelyautonomy,connectedness,diversityandopenness(Tschofen&Mackness,2012)Siemens(2004)givesamoredetailedpicture:Principlesofconnectivism:Learningandknowledgerestsindiversityofopinions.
Learningisaprocessofconnectingspecializednodesorinformationsources.
Learningmayresideinnon-humanappliances.
Capacitytoknowmoreismorecriticalthanwhatiscurrentlyknown.
Nurturingandmaintainingconnectionsisneededtofacilitatecontinuallearning.
Abilitytoseeconnectionsbetweenfields,ideas,andconceptsisacoreskill.
Currency(accurate,up-to-dateknowledge)istheintentofallconnectivistlearningactivities.
Decision-makingisitselfalearningprocess.
Choosingwhattolearnandthemeaningofincominginformationisseenthroughthelensofashiftingreality.
Whilethereisarightanswernow,itmaybewrongtomorrowduetoalterationsintheinformationclimateaffectingthedecision.
(Siemens,2004)Bell(2011)pointsoutthreeissueswithotherlearningtheories:"theirintrapersonalviewoflearning;theirfailuretoaddressthelearningthatislocatedwithintechnologyandorganizations;andtheirlackofcontributiontothevaluejudgmentsthatneedtobemadeinknowledge-richenvironments"(p.
102).
Theothertheories,inBell'sview,didnotsufficientlyaccountforself-directed,independentlifelonglearning.
Downesconsideredskillsandaptitudeforself-directed,independentlifelonglearningtobesomethingofaprerequisiteforparticipatinginaMOOC:"MOOCsexpectthattheirparticipantswillbemotivatedandwillhavelearnedhowtolearn"(2012b).
Hogue(2014)likewisepositsthatthereisan"expecteddigitalliteracylevel"ofparticipants.
Hill(2013b)discernedfourarchetypesofMOOCparticipants,whichhelabeledlurkers,drop-ins,passiveparticipantsandactiveparticipants.
Lurkersobserveandmightsamplealittlecontent.
Drop-insparticipateatsomelevelonatemporarybasis,withoutintendingorattemptingtocompleteacourse.
Passiveparticipantsconsumecontentwithoutcontributing.
Activeparticipantsconsumecontent,engageinassessmentsandprovidepeerfeedback,andparticipateindiscussionsinforumsinandoutsideofcourse.
Hillpointsoutthatindividualsdonotnecessarilystickwithonedistinctrole.
Healsonotesthatsomeparticipants,insomecasesthemajorityofparticipants,aretherefortheMOOCexperienceratherthanthecontentofthecourse.
Inpractice,cMOOCsfollowapathofguidedorcommunalinquiry,andmaybeseenasmorelikecommunitiesofpracticethancourses.
AsDownesputit:It'saboutactuallyempoweringpeopletodevelopandcreatetheirownlearning,theirowneducation.
Sonotonlydotheynotdependonusforlearning,butalso,theirlearningisnotsubjecttoourvalue-judgementsandprejudices.
.
.
.
It'saboutreducingandeventuallyeliminatingthelearneddependenceontheexpertandtheelite-notasacelebrationofanti-intellectualism,butasaresultofwidespreadandequitableaccesstoexpertise.
(2012a)Participationinthesecommunitiesoccursthroughfourgeneralactivities:aggregating,remixing,repurposing,andfeedingforward.
Siemens,DownesandCormier(2011),inintroducingoneoftheirMOOCs,explainedtheseactivities:Aggregatemeansto"pickandchoose"amongcontent.
Inordertohavesomethingforeveryone,andinordertoaccommodatelearnersfromavarietyofbackgrounds,withdifferentlevelsofexperienceandexpertise,somecoursesincludemorecontentthanonepersoncouldreasonablybeexpectedtointeractwithanddigestwithinthecourseschedule'stimeframe.
Aggregationthenisanevaluativeprocess,whereinthelearnerconsidershisorherownknowledgeandknowledgegaps,engaginginintrospectiveself-evaluation,andexaminesavarietyofcontenttodeterminewhatisbestsuitedtothelearner'sparticularsituation.
(Siemensetal.
,2011)Remixisexplainedaskeepingtrackoftheaggregatedcontent,eitherlocallyinadocumentor,preferably,onlineinablogorsomeothersocialmediaservice.
Thisisawayoforganizingandcuratinginformation.
Repurposeistheactofbuildinguponthecontent-drawingconnectionsbetweenelements,makingconnectionstoothercontentoutsidethecourse,addingpersonalthoughtsandunderstandings.
Thisisawayofsynthesizingandcreatinginformation.
Feedforwardispubliclysharingindividualwork.
Thiscanbedonethroughblogs,video,imagesorotheronlinemedia.
Dunaway(2011)alsoexploredtherelationshipbetweenconnectivism,informationliteracyandlifelonglearning,notinginparticulartherelationshipbetweenactivelearning,commonlyadvocatedintheliteratureoninformationliteracy,andconnectivistlearningactivities.
McBride(2012)soughttotakethisexplorationastepfurtherbyputtingconnectivisttheoryintopracticeininformationliteracyinstruction.
Thenextsectionbuildsonthisworkbydevelopingavisualrepresentationoftheconnections.
MAPPINGTHESTANDARDSThelearningactivitiesincMOOCs-aggregate,remix,repurpose,feedforward-ataglanceappearcloselyalignedwiththeACRLinformationliteracystandards.
Toexplorethisfurther,thefiveACRLstandardsandtheperformanceindicatorsforeachwereexaminedandcolor-codedaccordingtotheapplicablecMOOClearningactivity.
Someconnectionsbetweenthelearningactivitiesandperformanceindicatorswerestrongerthanothers.
Thecolorintensitywasadjustedtovisuallyrepresentthecorrelation.
Figure1TheACRLstandardswerecomparedtothedefinitionsanddescriptionsofthelearningactivitiesaggregate,remix,repurposeandfeedforwardlistedintheChange11MOOC(Siemensetal.
,2011).
AggregaterelatestoACRLstandards1and2,whichdealwithdetermininginformationneedsandaccessinginformation.
Inpickingandchoosingamongcontent,participantsconsider,whetherconsciouslyornot,theirowninterests,preferencesandknowledgegaps,anddecidewhatcontentandwhichformatsaremostappropriatefortheirneeds.
Remixrelatestostandards2and3intheaspectsofselecting,tracking,organizingandsummarizinginformation.
Repurposealignsstandards3and4astheydealwithusinginformationandcreatingnewinformation.
Feedforwardconnectstostandards4and5astheydealwithcommunicatinginformation.
Theseactivitiescanalsobecross-mappedtotheSCONULstandardsusingtheinformationliteracystandardsmapdevelopedbySeckerandCoonan(2011).
BecausecMOOCparticipantsareexpectedtochooseamongmaterialsuppliedbyfacilitatorsorgeneratedbyotherparticipants,indicatorsrelatingtoevaluatingsourceswereconsideredstronglycorrelated,whilethoserelatedtothesearchprocesswerelessstronglycorrelated.
Someoftheindicatorsconcerningeconomic,legal,andsocialissueswerealsolessstronglycorrelated.
Whiletheeconomic,legal,andsocialissuesofinformationusearepresentinMOOCs,thecoursestypicallyuseopenaccessorcreativecommonslicensedmaterials,sotheissuesconcernthefacilitatorsmorethantheparticipants.
ThepurposeofthisexerciseistodrawclearconnectionsbetweeninformationliteracyandconnectivistMOOCs,inordertomakeacasethatinformationliteracyskillsdeservetheattentionoftheMOOCcommunity.
Whileinformationliteracyisasignificantareaofconcernamonglibrarians,itislargelyignoredelsewhereinacademia(Badke,2010).
Mappingtherelationshipbetweenthelearningactivitiesandthestandardsprovidesatooltohelpraisethevisibilityofinformationliteracy.
MOOCACTIVITIESThissectionwilllookatspecificMOOCsandtheirlearningactivitiesastheyrelatetoinformationliteracy.
Thisistoillustratesomeoftheconnectionsinmoredetail.
INTRODUCTIONTOSONGWRITINGTheIntroductiontoSongwritingcourse,offeredbyBerkleeCollegeofMusicthroughCoursera,alignedwithmostpublishedaccountsoftypicalxMOOCs.
Thecoursecontentwasdeliveredprimarilythroughprerecordedvideolectures,someofwhichincludedinlinequizzes.
Theinlinequizzesinthiscourseweremultiplechoicequestionstypicallyaskingtheviewertorecallsomethingthelecturerhadjustsaid.
Thesequizzesassessedattentionmorethancomprehension.
Comprehensionwasassessedthroughlearningmanagementsystembasedmultiple-choicequizzes,whichwereauto-graded.
Learnerswereaskedtoapplyknowledgeinsongwritingexercises,whichwereevaluatedbyotherstudentsinablindpeerreviewprocess.
Learnerscouldinteractwitheachotherinadiscussionforum.
Basicdigitalandcomputerliteracyskillswerenecessarytofindandregisterforthecourse,andtoworkwithvariouselementswithinthecourse.
Courseresourcesincludedrecordedmusicloops,whichcouldbedownloadedas.
zipfiles,tutorialsonaudiorecording,alistofsuggestedreadingswithlinkstoAmazonforpurchase,andalistofsongsreferencedinthelectures.
Togetthemostoutofthecourse,onewouldneedskillstodownload,installandlearnaudiorecordingsoftware,toworkwiththe.
zipfilesandtouploadandsharerecordings.
SomestudentslocatedsongsfromthelistonYoutubeandsharedlistsoflinkswiththerestoftheparticipants.
SomestudentsformedFacebookgroupsfordiscussionandsharinginformationresources.
Informationresourcesthatthestudentsbroughttothecourseincludedmusictheoryresources,likechordcharts,andlinkstofurtherhelpwithlyricwritingandmusiccomposition.
Whiletherewasnotraditionalacademicresearchinvolved,theinformationliteracyskillsatworkherewerefindingandaccessinginformation,evaluatinginformationandcommunicatinginformation.
Discussionsofferedopportunitiesforsynthesizinginformation.
Withinthelearningmanagementsystemdiscussionforum,threadscouldbetagged,whichwouldbeanexerciseinorganizinginformation,butthisfunctionalitywasalmostneverusedduringtheobservediterationofthecourse.
INTRODUCTIONTOINFOGRAPHICSANDDATAVISUALIZATIONTheIntroductiontoInfographicsandDataVisualizationMOOC,offeredbytheKnightCenterforJournalismintheAmericasattheUniversityofTexasatAustin,wasnotconnectedwithanyofthemajorMOOCproviders(Coursera,Udacity,andEdX),butfollowedasimilarformat.
Contentwasdeliveredthroughacombinationofreadingsandrecordedlectures,understandingwasassessedthroughauto-gradedquizzesandpeerreviewedprojects,andlearnerinteractionwasfacilitatedthroughadiscussionboard.
ThecoursealsousedaFacebookgroupforinteractionandresourcesharing.
Thisgroupincludedthecourseinstructor,andremainedquiteactiveafterthecourseconcluded.
Subsequentiterationsofthecourseusedthesamegroup.
Basicdigitalandcomputerliteracyskillswereneededtojoinandparticipateinthecourse,justasintheBerklee/Courseracourse.
Courseresourcesincludedlinksandtutorialsforrelevantsoftwarepackagesforinfographicsanddatavisualization.
Thesesoftwaretoolsincludedbothproprietaryandfree,open-sourcepackages.
Suchtoolswerenotrequired,asparticipantswerewelcometodrawgraphicsbyhandandsharescansordigitalphotographsoftheirwork.
Giventhecoursetopic,therewasahigherlevelofinformationliteracyskillatplay.
Lectures,discussionsandassignmentsinvolveddiscussingandevaluatinginformationproductsandcommunicationtechniques.
Smallgroupforumsweresetupsogroupsofparticipantscouldcollaborativelycritiqueandevaluatevariousinfographicsaccordingtocriteriafromthelecturesandreadings.
Participantswereaskedtodesigntheirowninfographicsbasedonsupplieddata.
TheFacebookgroupfrequentlyfeaturedparticipant-contributedreadingsandgraphicsforadditionaldiscussion.
TheinformationliteracyskillsatworkinhiscourseincludedallthesameskillsastheSongwritingcourse,withmoreemphasisonevaluationandsynthesis.
Productionandpresentationwerealsointegralelements.
Asthesewereallcoretothetopicofthecourse,participantshadtheopportunitytodevelopmoreadvancedinformationskillsandvisualinformationskills,aswellasexercisetheskillstheybroughttothecourse.
UNIVERSITYOFMARYWASHINGTONDIGITALSTORYTELLINGDS106DigitalStorytellingDS106isafor-creditcourseavailabletothestudentsattheUniversityofMaryWashingtoninFredericksburg,Virginia.
Ithasbeenofferedbothinclassroomandonlineforms.
Theinstructorshavechosentorunthecourseopenandonlinesoanyonecanparticipateandcontribute,althoughonlytuition-payingstudentsreceivegradesandcredits.
Studentstakingthecourseforcreditarerequiredtoengageinavarietyofactivities.
Theseactivitiesareoptionalforopenonlineparticipants.
Themaincoursesite,ds106.
us,isaWordPressinstallationwhichpullsinblogsofallthecourseparticipantsthroughRSSsyndication.
Eachstudentisrequiredtogetawebdomainandsetupablog.
Thestudentsthenexperimentwiththeirblogsandpersonalizethem.
Throughoutthecoursethestudentswritereflectiveblogpostsaboutthecoursecontentandactivities.
Somecoursecontentisdeliveredthroughlectures,readingsandvideos.
Mostofthecoursecontentisgeneratedbytheparticipants.
Participantsareofferedavarietyofcreativechallengesandassignmentstoproduceimage,audioandvideosfiles.
Theyarealsoencouraged(orrequired,inthecaseoffor-creditstudents)tocreatecourseassignmentsandtutorialstohelpotherparticipantscompleteassignments.
Participantsareregularlyurgedtocommentoneachother'swork.
Thiscoursedevelopsmultipleliteraciesthroughpracticeandreflection.
Sincemuchofthecoursecontentisvisual,participantsengageinanalyzing,producingandevaluatingvisualinformation.
Audioassignmentsarealsoaprominentfeatureofthecourse,soparticipantslikewiseengageinanalyzing,producingandevaluatingauralinformation.
Sincealloftheactivitytakesplaceontheweb,andallofthecontentisproducedthroughdigitaltools,computeranddigitalliteracyskillsaredeveloped.
Thecoursealsohighlightssocialandethicalaspectsofinformation.
Manyoftheactivitiesinvolveremixingandtransformingexistingcontent,soissuesofcopyrightandfairusearebroughtintodiscussion.
MOBIMOOC:ACOURSEONMOBILELEARNINGMobiMOOCwasanopenonlinecourseonmobilelearning.
Itwasofferedintwoiterations,in2011andin2012.
ItwasorganizedbyIngedeWaardandconductedwithvariousfreeonlinetools,suchasGoogleGroupsandWikispaces.
Itdidnothaveanyinstitutionalsupport.
Coursecontentincludedreadingsandonlinelectures,whichwerepresentedliveandarchivedforasynchronousviewing.
Contentwasalsocontributedbytheparticipants,primarilythroughblogsinwhichtheyanalyzedandreflecteduponothercontent.
AsatypicalcMOOC,theaggregate,remix,repurpose,feedforwardactivitieswereasignificantfeature,enablingcollaborativepeerlearning.
Anumberofparticipantsbroughtintothecourseoutsidereadingsthatwererelevanttothetopicofmobilelearning.
ThesewerecollectedintoagroupZoterolibrary(https://www.
zotero.
org/groups/mobimooc/items).
Othercourseoutputsincludedworkingprojectsandanumberofpublishedresearchpapers.
Thesewerenotcourserequirements,butrathervoluntaryundertakingsbyvariousparticipants.
The2012iterationofthecourseincludedadesigncompetitionforfinalprojects.
Thiscourseexercisedthesamebasicdigitalandcomputerliteraciesastheothers,aswellassomeofthemoreadvancedparticipatoryliteraciespracticedinDS106.
Thebibliographywasanexerciseininformationorganization,andthecoursealsoledtodiscussionsofsubscriber-restrictedversusopen-accessresources,andinformationethicsregardingcopyrightandfairuseintheinternationalarena.
MOOCDEMOGRAPHICSTherehavebeenanumberofstudiesofthedemographicsofMOOCparticipants.
Somedetailsarehighlightedhere:Agraduate-levelcourseonComputationalInvestingreportedthat92.
6%ofcoursecompletershadcollegedegreesand88.
9%ofthosewhodidn'tcompletehadcollegedegrees(Balch,2013).
InacourseonInternetHistory,TechnologyandSecurity,73%ofthestudentshadadegree(Hill,2013a).
DukeUniversityreportedthat72%ofthestudentsintheirBioelectricitycoursehadabachelor'sdegreeorhigher(Belanger&Thornton,2013).
TheUniversityofEdinburghreportedthat70.
3%oftheparticipantsinsixcourseshadcompletedundergraduateorpostgraduateuniversity(MOOCs@EdinburghGroup,2013).
Courserareportedthat75%oftheirstudentshadatleastabachelor'sdegree(Hill,2013a).
AcourseonCircuitsandElectronicsofferedthroughedXreportedthat65%ofthestudentshadabachelor'sdegreeorhigher(Breslowetal.
,2013).
IntwocoursesonSustainabilityofferedthroughCoursera,73%ofstudentshadatleastabachelor'sdegree(Tomkin&Charlevoix,2014).
ThesestudiessuggestthattheaudienceforMOOCsisprimarilymadeupofexperiencedlearners.
Indeed,Downes(2012b)hasstatedthatMOOCswereoriginallyintendedforthisaudience.
StudiesofMOOCpersistenceandcompletionrates,typicallylessthan10%(Jordan,2013;Kolowich,2013;Marcus,2014),alsosuggestthattheMOOCenvironmentisnotforeveryone.
AstudybyTheOpenUniversityintheUKlikewiseindicatesthatMOOCsworkwellforadvancedlearnersbutnotsowellforthosewhoneedsupport(Sharplesetal.
,2013).
Independentself-directedlearningrequiresacertainamountofself-motivationandself-disciplineinanycase,butintheopenonlineenvironmentskillsarenecessaryaswellasaptitudes.
Insomecases,suchasthegraduate-levelcourse,itmightbeexpectedthattheaudienceisatanadvancedlevel.
Zazani(2013)foundahighpercentageofrespondentstoherMOOCsurveywereaffiliatedwithhighereducation,althoughthatmaybeduetothecoursetopic,e-learninganddigitalcultures.
InaMOOConinformationliteracysetupbylibrariansfromtheAssociationofIndependentCollegesofArtandDesign,95%oftheregistrantswereotherlibrariansandfaculty(Maberry,2013,October25).
ThisisundoubtedlyanexampleofindividualsjoiningaMOOCfortheexperienceratherthanthecontent,anditmaysaysomethingaboutthelevelofstudentinterestininformationliteracyasasubject.
INFORMATIONLITERACYANDMOOCSWhileinformationliteracymaynotbeapopularcourseofstudy,itdoescompriseanimportantsetofskillsforparticipationinMOOCs.
DifferentMOOCsrequiredifferentsetsandlevelsofskill,buttheyallrequiresomebasicdigitalandcomputerliteracies.
ItappearsimportanttohaveamoreadvancedlevelofinformationliteracytoparticipatefullyandcontributetosomeMOOCs.
ItisalsoreasonabletoexpectthatengaginginaMOOCshouldhelpdevelopinformationskillsthroughexerciseandapplication.
Stewart(2013)pointedoutthatMOOCsofanytypecanhelpdevelopdigitalliteracyskills,dependingonthetypesofactivitiesofferedtoparticipants.
ThisobservationcouldbeexpandedtothefullspectrumofinformationliteracyskillsputintopracticewithinMOOCs.
TheJointInformationSystemsCommittee(JISC)reportonLearningLiteraciesfortheDigitalAgesimilarlyrecommendsdevelopinginformationliteracyskillsthroughparticipatoryonlinelearningenvironments(Beetham,McGill,&Littlejohn,2009)likethosefoundinMOOCs.
Ifattentionisnotgiventodevelopingtheseskills,thentheMOOCenvironmentrunstheriskofbecomingmoreexclusionary(deWaardetal.
,2014).
CONCLUSIONThispaperhasdelineatedconnectionsbetweeninformationliteracyandMOOCs.
Informationliteracyisanintegralpartoflearning,andakeytolifelonglearning.
Themodelsofinformationliteracyarebeingadaptedtoevolvinglearningenvironments,suchasthoseenabledbytheweb.
NewlearningenvironmentslikeMOOCsrequireabaselinelevelofinformationliteracy.
MOOCsfollowingaconnectivistpedagogyrequireamoreadvancedlevelofinformationliteracyifparticipantsaretotakefulladvantageofthecourses.
Thesefactorsindicatethattheseskillsarebecomingincreasinglysignificant,soitisnowmorevitalthaneverthattheyaredevelopedthroughoutaperson'seducationalcareer.
MOOCdevelopersoweittoMOOCparticipantstogivecarefulconsiderationtothekeyroleinformationliteracyplaysinsuccessfulMOOClearning.
Asmoreofthecoursesmovetowardsadoptingmoreofaconnectivistpedagogy,incorporatingmoreparticipatoryactivities,theywillbeaskingmoreoftheparticipants.
Developersshouldbepreparedtosupportlearnersininformationliteracydevelopmentiftheywanttoincreaseparticipationandpersistence.
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wordpress.
com/2013/03/16/our-edcmooc-paths-to-finding-information-results/iPaulBondisareferencelibrarianandlibraryinstructioncoordinatorattheUniversityofPittsburgh'sJohnstowncampus.
Befittingthatrole,heisanadvocateandpractitionerofinformationliteracyandlifelonglearning.
HehasbeeninvolvedinnumerousMOOCsoverthepastfiveyearsasaparticipantandobserver.
Hehasalsoco-taughtsomelessthanmassive,sortofopen,partlyonlinecoursesontopicsliketheinternet,digitalstorytelling,andtruecrime.
PaulearnedhisMLSfromSUNYatBuffaloin2008andhasworkedinavarietyofschool,academic,andpubliclibraryenvironments.
HisprofessionalmembershipscurrentlyincludetheAmericanLibraryAssociationandtheAssociationofCollegeandResearchLibraries.
Hisotherinterestsincludeopeneducation,lifelonglearningandinstructionaltechnologies.
Email:paulbond@pitt.
edu