E-Learning in FE & HE - Two Interesting Links

The FELTAG (Further Education Learning Technology Action Group) horizon scanning report looks at what the significant technology might be in the next 5 to 10 years in the vocational, education and training (VET) sector. MOOCs, social media, telepresence (remote working) and learning analytics all get a look in. It’s a good summary of the different technologies.

If you’re interested in what it really takes to create a good quality MOOC (and some of the business models) then John Colchrane’s long article is totally worth the effort. Creating a MOOC that works and doesn’t have a huge dropout rate is a lot of hard work. Bespoke e-learning video is expensive to produce and to do it well you need a significant technical support. Assessment tools are limited and still not much more than online quizzes. The point is that creating the MOOC is more like writing a textbook and publishing - big upfront effort and then low marginal costs to add learners.

The conclusion in the John Colchrane article is that it can be worthwhile and the”flipped classroom” can work, particularly where there is a set body of well established material/knowledge that needs to be studied (maybe as a pre course taster). The context of the article is HE and if anything that makes it a more interesting read for someone in the vocational skills/FE sector - MOOCs that work in FE may in the end be quite different.