Microsoft recently announced the upcoming holding of 5 “MOOC” type courses to equip primary and secondary schools in their digital shift.
As their name suggests, MOOCs, or open and massive online courses (CLOM) in French, are free and take place on the Internet. They are intended for a large audience. In recent years, they have experienced a significant increase in popularity, in particular due to their great accessibility.
Recently, Microsoft, through its division Microsoft Education, funded a project of 5 MOOCs, which were jointly developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Michigan and the University of Queensland. It's on the platform of the non-profit organization edX that the courses will be broadcast. Their goal is to equip nursery, primary and secondary school workers on the adoption and use of digital technology in education.
The themes of the five courses
The first MOOC covers deep learning through transformative pedagogy. It will discuss the theories underlying deep learning and discuss how thoughtful use of ICT can help put this paradigm into practice.
The second concerns the gamification and serious games. By reviewing the relevance of these learning and teaching strategies, the course will offer tools and advice for schools wishing to integrate them into their practices.
It is on the thought design (design thinking) that will be the third course. After having seen the definition of this approach, we will discuss its relevance for 21e century and how different technologies can contribute to its implementation.
Finally, the fourth and fifth MOOCs will focus on development and management of innovation in schools and strategies for develop large-scale learning and teaching projects.
Registration and additional information
The courses, offered in English, will take place online and will begin between January and March 2017. You do not have to take them all, or take them in a specific order. To register, just go on the page of one of the MOOCs. Additional information, such as course duration and workload, is also indicated.
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