1. Are MOOCs the answer?
What is the question?
Yvonne Belanger
MOOCs in STEM: Exploring new educational technologies
June 5 – 6, 2014
San Jose State University

2. Overview
• The Foundation’s Postsecondary Success
Strategy
• How did we (collectively) get here? The forces
shaping higher education
• Questions about MOOCs – ours and yours

3. POSTSECONDARY
SUCCESS
An Overview of Our Education Strategy

6. THE CHANGING FACE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
© 2013 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
|
6
“Nontraditional” college students are the new normal.

8. A COMPLETION CRISIS
© 2013 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
|
8
College graduation rates are even worse for low-income students.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics

9. EDUCATION EQUALS EMPLOYMENT
© 2013 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
|
9
There is a relationship between college education and social mobility.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey

10. The Rising Cost of Not Going to
College

11. COLLEGE TUITION IS STEADILY RISING
© 2013 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
|
11
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

12. DEBT WITHOUT DEGREE
© 2013 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
|
12
Students are burdened with more college debt but often not graduating.
Source: Project on Student Debt

13. Higher education isn’t the only thing
changing…
The internet in real time http://pennystocks.la/internet-in-real-time/

14. Emerging technologies are shaping
higher education…
Trends over the next 2 years…
• Integration of Online, Hybrid, and Collaborative
Learning
• Growing Ubiquity of Social Media
Trends over the next 3-5 years…
• The Shift from Students as Consumers to
Students as Creators
• The Rise of Data-Driven Learning and Assessment
NMC, 2014 Horizon Report

15. Strong forces are changing the higher
education landscape
Rising tuition
Rising student
debt
Declining public
investment
Demographic
shifts
Changing faculty
Globalization
Emerging technologies
Big data
Cloud Computing
Networked video
Something new
we haven’t seen
yet…

16. A Perfect Storm for Higher Ed?

17. Flying into the storm

18. Led by your curiousity…
How can I make my course more engaging without
sacrificing rigor?
Can we build digital tools that leverage cognitive
science principles and enhance retention?
Can we use learning analytics to
create a more efficient learning path
for students?
Can MOOCs support interdisciplinary cross-
campus programs of study?
Could MOOCs help us reimagine STEM
educator recruitment, training and professional
development?
Can MOOCs improve face to face and
remote laboratory learning?Does flipping the class using MOOCs
increase student satisfaction?
What types of online learning
experiences are most effective at
increasing learning motivation?
How can MOOCs engage learners with
little or no college experience in STEM?

19. Inspired by MOOCs to explore and
experiment…
How can we leverage technologies and
content from MOOCs to improve
instruction for students whose habits have
been shaped by the networked digital age?
What are the key indicators of student
success in different delivery formats
(online, hybrid and face to face)?
Can MOOCs be leveraged to close achievement
gaps for women and URMs in STEM introductory
courses?
Do MOOCs offer opportunities to promote and
increase flexibility in instructor-student
interaction?
What does it take to flip a class using a
MOOC?
Does flipping the class with MOOCs
increase student satisfaction?
What happens when you convert a
not-for-credit MOOC into a for credit
course?
Can MOOCs help us build learning communities of
current and future STEM faculty to spread
evidence-based high impact teaching practices?

20. We’ve been curious also…
MOOC Research Initiative
Reports available Monday at moocresearch.com/reports
Ithaka S+R study of
MOOCs in Maryland

21. What is a MOOC?

22. How can we raise the level of the
conversation and engage faculty?

23. Can MOOCs help diverse population of
undergraduate learners?

24. HOW WILL
UNIVERSITIES
TRANSFORM TO
LEVERAGE A
NETWORKED DIGITAL
VIDEO WORLD?
Image credit: Boston Globe, May 18, 2014
Image credit: Temple University

25. N
How will faculty roles evolve in the digital
age?
Mohammed Noor (left) and Roger Barr
(right), faculty at Duke University

26. Can new technologies broaden access
to lifelong learning opportunities?
Zeke Emmanuel, University of Pennsylvania

27. How will
industry use
MOOCs?

28. Is a balanced view emerging?
Irrational
exuberance
Fear and
loathing
http://cbcse.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/MOOCs_Expectations_and_Reality.pdf

29. Can faculty-driven innovation chart a
path through the perfect storm?
Image credit: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/05/14/faculty-group-continues-anti-mooc-offensive

32. FOLLOW US
www.GatesFoundation.org
@Dan_Greenstein
BillandMelindaGatesFoundation
www.ImpatientOptimists.org
@ybelanger
@GatesEd
© 2013 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
| 32