WHAT MAKES A

GOOD MOOC
LEARNING
RESOURCE?

sMOOC
Step by Step
Session 4

WHAT DEFINES A MOOC?

1
Defining a
MOOC

What is a
MOOC?
What are ECO
sMOOCS?

It is an online course designed for

large number of participants that
can be accessed by almost anyone
anywhere, as long as they have an
internet connection, is open to
everyone without entry
qualifications and offers a
full/complete course experience
online for free.
ECO sMOOCs differ from other
types because are social,
providing a learning experience
marked by social interactions and
participation, and seamless,
since ideally they should be
accessible from different platforms
and through mobile devices and
integrate with participants' real life
experiences through
contextualisation of content and
gamifications.

WHAT DEFINES A MOOC?

1
Defining a
MOOC

What makes a
MOOC?

In our perspective, a MOOC

includes educational content,
facilitates interaction among
peers (including some but limited
interaction with academic staff),
provides authentic activities and
tests, including feedback (with
well-designed rubrics for peerassessment and AI engines for
the integration of massive
qualitative assessment), has
some kind of (non-formal)
recognition options and provides
a study guide or syllabus.

PEDAGOGICAL
APPROACH
2
Pedagogical
Approach

How the
learning
process is
structured?

Learning is learner-centred and

based on the realization of eactivities. Learning should be
evidenced through the creation
of artifacts (texts, videos,
presentations, audio podcasts,
mind maps, etc.), published
online and freely accessible, that
demonstrate the learners
reflection, knowledge or
competencies regarding the
material studied and the topics
being addressed. Participants are
expected to take an active role
in, and be responsible for, their
own learning, but also to actively
engage in helping build a
supporting learning community.

PEDAGOGICAL
APPROACH
2
Pedagogical
Approach

How should
Activities be
designed?

Activities shouldnt be too rigid,

with heavy dependencies
between tasks and very
structured paths. A variety of
suggested tasks should be made
available, supporting and
scaffolding participants
exploration, reflection,
production and dialogue. As far
as possible, these tasks should
be authentic, i.e. emulating or
mobilizing real life settings,
drawing on participants personal
and professional experience,
flexible and open ended, which
means participants should ideally
have a fair amount of choice
concerning the process of
performing the task and its
output.

RESOURCES IN A
MOOC CONTEXT
3
Resources in a
MOOC context

What is
expected of a
learning
resource in a
sMOOC
perspective?

Resources provided as support

for learning are presented in the
context of a learning activity, not
as items in a repository. All
resources and materials should
be licensed as Open Educational
Resources or freely available on
the Internet. Ideally, the video
and audio resources provided,
besides being available through
streaming, should also be made
available for download in formats
compatible with most platforms.
Artifacts produced by
participants as evidence of their
reflection and learning become
part of the course materials, i.e.
they are available for other
participants to learn from.

CARACTHERISING
OPEN EDUCATIONAL
RESOURCES
4
Characterizing Open
Educational
Resources

It is easy to find it can be

located in multiple locations;
It is clearly described;
It is appropriately licensed
-uses a Creative Commons
license;

What makes a
good OER?

It comes from a trustworthy

source the information is
accurate and the authors reputed;
It is easy to modify and adjust to
different contexts of use;
It is fully accessible by all kinds
of users;
It complies with international
technical standards;
It is fit for the intended learning
purpose.

REFERENCES
Brouns, F., Mota, J., Morgado. L., Jansen, D.,
Fano, S., Silva, A., Teixeira, A. (2014). A
Networked learning Framework for Effective
MOOC Design: The ECO project approach.
Proceedings Eight EDEN Research Workshop EDEN RW8, 161-171. Oxford, UK
Teixeira, A. M., Mota, J. (2014). A Proposal for
the Methodological Design of Collaborative
Language MOOCs. In Elena Martn-Monje,
Elena Brcena, Language MOOCs: Providing
learning, transcending boundaries, pp. 33-47.
De Gruyter Open.
Teixeira, A.; Mota, J. (2013). Innovation and
Openness through MOOCs: Universidade
Aberta's Pedagogic Model for Non-formal
Online Courses. In Proceedings of the EDEN
2013. Oslo: EDEN. 332-339.