How ToMOOC: How to create
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STEP1
Preliminary Meetings
Meetings are held between the instructor and the center staff about the upcoming online course. Staff consults the instructor on his/her educational policy, requests, and expectations. Then, they together decide the general course outline, such as course content, course period, video production, provision of assignments, and support assistance including TAs.
Instructor
- Provides the center staff with explanations about course content, learning goals, lecture style, and available TAs, among other topics.
Center Staff
- Explains the process leading up to the provisioning of a course.
- Draws up a general outline of the course according to the instructor's requests.
- Adjusts the course in coordination with edX
STEP2
Providing an Introductory Course Page ("Course About Page")
An introductory page for the course called "Course About Page" is published via edX to attract learners before the course starts. The page includes materials such as an introductory video ("Course About Video") and the course overview, and it is produced to highlight attractive features of the course.
Instructor
- Works together with the center staff to produce the Course About Video regarding the course content.
- Develops a course syllabus.
Center Staff
- Creates scenarios and storyboards for the Course About Video based on preliminary meeting results.
- Shoots and edits the video.
- Creates the Course About Page and publishes the page along with the Course About Video via edX.
STEP3
Producing Course Content
Lecture videos are shot and edited, and assignments are created in accordance with the process discussed in preliminary meetings. The entire course content is prepared before providing the lectures online.
Instructor
Center Staff
- Shoots and edits the lecture videos.
- Using the prepared script, adds subtitles to the lecture video.
- Uploads the course content onto the edX website.
STEP4
Providing the Course Online
Course content is released every week. Learners' lecture video viewing history and their answers to assignments can be checked in real time.
Instructor
- Responds to questions on the Discussion forum. TAs and the center staff share the responsibility of responding to questions; although, some instructors may prefer to respond themselves.
Center Staff
- Provides course content online.
- Provides course-related information for learners online.
- Opens and administers Discussion forum threads.
- Addresses technical problems.
STEP5
Ending Online Course
After completing a course, learners meeting certain requirements are given a verified certificate signed by the instructor.
Instructor
Center Staff
- Issues verified certificates.
- Archives the course content.
- Analyzes learners' log data and provides analysis result feedback to the instructor at a later date.
There are many available options, such as electronic blackboard, whiteboard, and image synthesis using the chroma key technique. It is also possible to conduct an experiment or survey in advance for use as course material, if necessary.
Lecture videos are provided online, often around 10 minutes in length for ease of viewing. Usually, shooting a one-week volume of lecture videos requires two two-hour sessions.
One or, if possible, more teaching assistants (TAs) conversant with the discipline are required for the production of course materials and course operation. TAs check lecture content before going online and post and respond to questions on the Discussion forum.
EdX, founded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, is a MOOC platform with members including the world's leading universities and institutions. Kyoto University joined edX as a partner school and provides courses under the name of KyotoUx through edX.
A one- or two-minute public relations video promotes the appealing features of the course. To attract learners, the Course About Video is released on the edX website several months before the course starts.
A scenario for the Course About Video is created, containing a narration and the instructor's script. Using the scenario, images and a shot sequence are storyboarded to indicate what scenes will comprise the Course About Video.
The instructor prepares a script for the lectures. The script is shown on a display monitor, known as a prompter, during the video shoot. The instructor reads the script on the prompter while giving his or her lecture, thus freed from the need to know the lecture content by heart.
To present lecture slides, an electronic blackboard is available.
EdX provides many tools for creating assignments. For details, refer to the reference material.
Lecture videos published on the edX website are subtitled. Subtitles are created based on lecture video scripts.
During the course period, Discussion forum is set up for each lecture and used to receive and respond to questions or feedbacks from learners. Responses related to the content may be provided by the instructor, the TAs, or the center staff. It is strongly recommended to hire more than one TA conversant with the relevant discipline.
As the course progresses, learners are informed in a timely manner of the related information such as the due dates of assignments and the release of new content, among other notifications.
The center staff responds to questions concerning technical matters.
EdX awards a learner a verified certificate under the following conditions: (1) When registering with a course, a learner enrolls in the course upgrading to the "verified track" at a fee from the "audit track" at no fee, and (2) the learner successfully completes the course with a passing grade. Learners who enroll in the audit track at no fee will not be given the certificate, despite achieving a passing grade.
Passing grade used to certify successful course completion may be established at the discretion of the instructor. The instructor is allowed to assess the learners' results either on a pass/fail basis or on a grading basis such as A/B/C/F.
After the course period, the course content is archived on the edX website, allowing access to almost all lecture videos and assignments. However, Discussion forum of the course will not be available, and no certificate will be issued for the archived content.
After the end of the course, the research team for assessment will create a course report compiling the attributes and learning activities of learners and provide a feedback to the instructor.
