{"218561":{"#nid":"218561","#data":{"type":"news","title":"MOOC Matters: Offering Labs Online","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFiguring out how to offer the lab component of a course has been a challenge for faculty members as they develop massive open online courses (MOOCs) \u2014 until now.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s Introductory Physics MOOC, which launched on May 20, is using video labs to simulate the experience students would typically have in the classroom. This topic has become the focus of one of seven mini innovation hubs that are researching questions related to MOOCs and online learning. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn some ways, the video labs provide students and instructors with a better experience than being in a traditional lab,\u201d said Ed Greco, an instructor in the School of Physics and \u201cchampion\u201d of the innovation hub that is examining the question of labs in MOOCs. \u201cThe videos single students out in a way that forces them to demonstrate their knowledge in a brief period of time, and it\u2019s easier for instructors to hone in on who is getting the material and who isn\u2019t.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere are 17,000 students enrolled in the MOOC, 11 of which are a part of a for-credit Georgia Tech version of the course where students have both online and on-campus experiences. (More details on the structure of this MOOC will be featured in a future Whistle article.)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll students are asked to complete five labs as part of the course, which will wrap up the last week of July. Each lab requires students to do the following:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERecord a moving object (using any device that will take video).\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAnalyze the video using the free video analysis package, Tracker.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECreate models of motion using computer programs written in Python\/VPython.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECompare the observations to the models.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECreate a five-minute video lab report.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EUpload the video to YouTube.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVideos are then graded by fellow classmates based on a six-item rubric that includes questions such as \u201cDoes the author state the problem and show a result?\u201d and \u201cIs the video easy to follow?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut, there have been a few challenges when it comes to the labs. For example, many of the students enrolled in the course live in countries that ban YouTube.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cStudents living in places like Pakistan and China where they don\u2019t have access to YouTube have been pretty frustrated with the lack of an alternative,\u201d said Mike Schatz, the professor leading the MOOC. \u201cSo we\u2019re going to have to think of a way to work around this with future versions of the course.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen there\u2019s the issue of engagement. Schatz estimates that of the thousands of students enrolled, about 1,000 are actually regularly participating in some aspect of the course, whether it\u2019s watching lectures, completing homework or quizzes, or participating in the online forum. But he estimates that only 300 to 400 are doing the labs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoth Schatz and Greco agree that this is an issue that this hub will be considering as they tweak the course, which they hope to offer again in the fall.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re still trying to figure out what we should expect of MOOC students when it comes to things like time spent on assignments and the money we should expect them to pay for a textbook,\u201d Greco said. \u201cOnce we get a better handle on this, it will help us address the poor retention numbers that MOOCs typically have.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo join the hub, email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:edwin.greco@physics.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EGreco\u003C\/a\u003E. For more about the MOOC, email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mike.schatz@physics.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchatz\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFiguring out how to offer the lab component of a course has been a challenge for faculty members as they develop massive open online courses (MOOCs) \u2014 until now.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Figuring out how to offer the lab component of a course has been a challenge for faculty members as they develop massive open online courses (MOOCs) \u2014 until now."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2013-06-24 08:44:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:23","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-06-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"218511":{"id":"218511","type":"image","title":"Online Video Labs","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894885","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:05","alt":"Online Video Labs","file":{"fid":"197194","name":"mooc_lab_report.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mooc_lab_report_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mooc_lab_report_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":102265,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mooc_lab_report_0.jpg?itok=SzqkOsdE"}}},"media_ids":["218511"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"34551","name":"Ed Greco"},{"id":"52391","name":"massive open online courses"},{"id":"68221","name":"Mike Schatz"},{"id":"43811","name":"MOOCs"},{"id":"166937","name":"School of Physics"},{"id":"68231","name":"video labs"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}