Serendipity35

In the last year, few acronyms have dominated higher education discussions and blogs more than MOOC. The first massive open online course appeared in 2008 but recent initiatives by universities like MIT and Stanford and organizations like Coursera and Udacity have brought the idea to the forefront. They have also raised questions about whether the rise of MOOCs spells opportunity or danger for higher education.

On Tuesday, July 31 at 1:00 p.m. ET, Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC)  will welcome George Siemens, creator of the first MOOC and associate director of the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute at Athabasca University, to discuss, "MOOCs: Open Online Courses as Levers for Change in Higher Education." The webinar, part of the ongoing Summer Learning Series, is free and open to the public.

The term MOOC -- first coined to describe a course on Connectivism by Siemens -- refers to entirely open and online courses where disparate participants collaborate using online resources and social media. Some MOOCs operate as a free, no-credit addition to traditional online classes. Others operate completely outside the lines of traditional institutions. Today, more than a dozen universities are experimenting with individual MOOCs or large collaborations to deliver multiple courses.

You and your colleagues are invited to join NGLC to learn more. No registration is required.
The webcast will be hosted inside the NGLC Adobe Connect webconferencing room at https://educause.adobeconnect.com/_a729300474/nglc   To join, simply click the link and select "Enter as a Guest," type in your name and affiliation (e.g., John Doe, American High School), and click "Enter Room."

Once inside the room, audio will be provided through your computer speakers and presentation slides will advance on your screen. You can interact with fellow attendees and presenters using the chat feature inside the room.

Each session will be recorded and an archive will be posted on the NGLC Archived Events page http://nextgenlearning.org/the-community/archived-events on the day following the event.