MOOEC
The Massive Open Online English Course (MOOEC) launched in November 2013 was the first dedicated English as a Second Language (ESL) MOOC.[1] The free non for profit resource featured more than 50 free lessons at launch, developed by 15 Queensland colleges and universities including the University of Queensland ITCE, Griffith University GELI, Queensland University of Technology and many private providers. The platform on which MOOEC is built is aimed at the next generation of language learning technology[2][3] and incorporates components of Artificial Intelligence and advanced user interactivity.
ESL online[edit]
The use of Massive Open Online Courses, (MOOCs), as a language learning tool in ESL programs is a recent development and extension of Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) which dates back to the 1960s, when it was first introduced on university mainframe computers such as The PLATO (computer system) project, initiated at the University of Illinois in 1960, a seminal point in the early development of CALL (Marty 1981).[4] With the advent of the Internet the availability and development of CALL programs reached a wider audience. A variety of CALL programs are currently published on the internet, with fees ranging from free to expensive,[5] while other programs remain available only through internal university language courses.
The use of the computer as a language learning aid parallels the development in microchip processing power. Sanders (1995) covers the period from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, focusing on CALL in North America.[6] Delcloque (2000) documents the history of CALL worldwide, from its beginnings in the 1960s to the dawning of the new millennium.[7] Davies (2005) takes a look back at CALL's past and attempts to predict where it is going.[8] Hubbard (2009) offers a compilation of 74 key articles and book excerpts, originally published in the years 1988-2007, that give a comprehensive overview of the wide range of leading ideas and research results that have exerted an influence on the development of CALL or that show promise in doing so in the future.[9] A published review of Hubbard's collection can be found in Language Learning & Technology 14, 3 (2010).[10] Butler-Pascoe (2011) examines the history of CALL from a different point of view, namely the evolution of CALL in the dual fields of educational technology and second/foreign language acquisition and the paradigm shifts experienced along the way.[11]
The first MOOCs were an extension of the open educational resources (OER) movement. The term MOOC was coined in 2008 by Dave Cormier of the University of Prince Edward Island and Senior Research Fellow Bryan Alexander of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education in response to a course called Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (also known as CCK08). CCK08, which was led by George Siemens of Athabasca University and Stephen Downes of the National Research Council, consisted of 25 tuition-paying students in Extended Education at the University of Manitoba, as well as over 2200 online students from the general public who paid nothing.[12] All course content was available through RSS feeds and online students could participate through collaborative tools, including blog posts, threaded discussions in Moodle and Second Life meetings.[13] Stephen Downes considers these so-called cMOOCs to be more "creative and dynamic" than the current xMOOCs, which he believes "resemble television shows or digital textbooks."[12]
MOOCs have continued to develop in the 21st Century. Jim Groom from The University of Mary Washington and Michael Branson Smith of York College, City University of New York hosted MOOCs through several universities. Early MOOCs did not rely on posted resources, learning management systems and structures that mix the learning management system with more open web resources.[14] MOOCs from private, non-profit institutions emphasized prominent faculty members and expanded existing distance learning offerings (e.g., podcasts) into free and open online courses.[15]
Recent developments have seen the use of a virtual world as a learning environment such as PierSim.[16] which Duncan, Miller, and Jiang (2010)[17] believe enhance the interactivity and user experience of the student.
Collaboration[edit]
From its inception MOOEC was designed as a collaborative project between public institutions and private providers in the English as a second language industry, whereby content authors shared knowledge and skills to advance the pedagogy of online language learning as conceptualized by Ciborra & Patriota (1998).[18] Rather than a generic content management system, the basis for development is driven by content authors requirements to give interactivity to lesson material, and in particular the kind of theoretical underpinning and practical application essential in second language acquisition.[19] as applied to the online teaching environment.[20]
Applications[edit]
Two applications of note[1] which are designed to emulate the student experience within the ESL classrooms are MOOEC TALK and MOOEC Conversation Partner. The MOOEC TALK application targets pronunciation challenges for ESL students in nine language categories using video instruction and a custom HTML5 based audio recording application to compare the shape of sound waves made by a native speaker and the users own recording and utilises Minimal Pairs to access the users phonological ability providing online pronunciation and elocution lessons for ESL learners.
MOOEC Conversation Partner is a response to the perceived need for online lessons to become more interactive and mimic scenarios that are present in a real world classroom such as pair work. Based on a Chatterbot, the Conversation Partner has embedded grammar rules to provide feedback but differs in that it is highly structured towards the ESL students grammar range and sentence construction.
Criticisms[edit]
Although a considerable amount of investment is being devoted to Moocs[21] students may not have the stamina to make the experience worthwhile[22] as evidenced by the high drop-out rate from courses.[23] A fundamental obstacle for ESL online courses is that language is above all an interactive and communicative process[24] and interacting with a computer terminal, laptop, or tablet is not authentic[25] and requires acceptance of the technology employed.[26]
MOOEC is no exception to the limitations of CALL as outlined by Ehsani and Knodt (2013)[27] and it remains unclear whether the implementation of next generation applications tools will overcome these limitations in terms of authenticity and learning motivation.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "MOOC online English course in Brisbane pips the Brits". NEWS Corp. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
- ↑ Falloon G. (2010) Using Avatars and Virtual Environments in Learning: What do they have to offer?, British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(1), 108-122.
- ↑ Bellotti, F., Berta, R., De Gloria, A., & Primavera, L. (2010). Supporting Authors in the Development of Task-Based Learning in Serious Virtual Worlds., British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(1), 86-107.
- ↑ Marty F. (1981) "Reflections on the use of computers in second language acquisition", System 9, 2: 85-98.
- ↑ "Reviews of Language Courses". Lang1234. Retrieved 12 Sep 2012.
- ↑ Sanders R. (ed.) (1995) Thirty years of computer-assisted language instruction, Festschrift for John R. Russell, CALICO Journal Special Issue, 12, 4.
- ↑ Delcloque P. (2000) History of CALL [Online]: http://www.ict4lt.org/en/History_of_CALL.pdf
- ↑ Davies G. (2005) Computer Assisted Language Learning: Where are we now and where are we going? [ Online]: http://www.camsoftpartners.co.uk/docs/UCALL_Keynote.htm
- ↑ Hubbard P. (2009) (ed.) Computer-assisted language learning, Volumes I-IV, Routledge: London and New York: http://www.stanford.edu/~efs/callcc/
- ↑ Language Learning & Technology (2010) 14, 3, pp. 14-18 [Online]: http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2010/index.html
- ↑ Butler-Pascoe M. E. (2011) "The history of CALL: the intertwining paths of technology and second/foreign language teaching", International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching (IJCALLT) 1, 1: 16-32: http://www.igi-global.com/ijcallt
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Parr, Chris (17 October 2013). "Mooc creators criticise courses' lack of creativity". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ↑ Cormier, Dave (2 October 2008). "The CCK08 MOOC – Connectivism course, 1/4 way". Dave's Educational Blog. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
- ↑ Masters, Ken (2011). "A brief guide to understanding MOOCs". The Internet Journal of Medical Education. 1 (Num. 2).
- ↑ The College of St. Scholastica, "Massive Open Online Courses", (2012)
- ↑ "The case study: piersim". Retrieved 20 Jan 2014.
- ↑ "A taxonomy of virtual worlds usage in education" (PDF). Retrieved 20 Jan 2014.
- ↑ Ciborra, C.U. & Patriota, G. (1998). "Groupware and teamwork in R&D: limits to learning and innovation". R&D Management 28 (1): 1–10.
- ↑ Krashen, Stephen D.& Terrell, Tracy D. (1983). The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom The Alemany Press ISBN 978-0-88084-005-7
- ↑ Warschauer, M. (2000). On-line learning in second language classrooms, An ethnographic study [Online]:http://www.gse.uci.edu/person/warschauer_m/docs/online_learning.pdf
- ↑ "The Maturing of the Mooc" (PDF). Retrieved 19 Jan 2014.
- ↑ "Are Moocs the best chance we have to satisfy a global thirst for education?". Retrieved 20 Jan 2014.
- ↑ Clow, D. (2013). MOOCs and the funnel of participation [Online]:http://oro.open.ac.uk/36657/1/DougClow-LAK13-revised-submitted.pdf
- ↑ Davies G., Bangs P., Frisby R. & Walton E. (2005) Setting up effective digital language laboratories and multimedia ICT suites for Modern Foreign Languages[Online]: http://www.languages-ict.org.uk/managing/digital_language_labs.pdf
- ↑ Lee, Kuang-wu. (2000). English Teachers' Barriers to the Use of Computer-assisted Language Learning[Online]:http://iteslj.org/Articles/Lee-CALLbarriers.html
- ↑ Wilkenson, T. W., & Sherman, T. M. (1996). Telecommunications-based distance education: Who's doing what? Educational Technology, 21 (11), 54-59.
- ↑ Ehsani, E. & Knodt, F. (2013). SPEECH TECHNOLOGY IN COMPUTER-AIDED LANGUAGE LEARNING: STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF A NEW CALL PARADIGM [Online]:http://llt.msu.edu/vol2num1/article3/
External links[edit]
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