Count me among the thousands who have started a MOOC but have not completed a MOOC. I’m kicking off an official series on this blog as a sort of cautionary tale. Much like TV producers need to devote lots of time and resources to keeping, finding, building and satisfying an audience so do we as producers of instructional materials need to carefully cultivate and groom our audience of learners.
On a week by week basis, I’ll observe what’s working for me in the world of learning: what’s engaging, what’s compelling, and what makes me drop off as a learner. Hopefully, we can take some cues from the huge wealth of “learning experiments” going on all around us via apps, MOOCs, and online tutorials.
I realize what works for me won’t work for everyone. I identify as a sort of “modern” learner — I want it to be portable, easy to digest, fun, stress-free, affordable, accessible, and on my own terms. Finding out what works is something each learner needs to do. Maybe we need to expand the definition of learning styles to go beyond auditory, visual, and kinesthetic to include preferences like “short, easy, fun, and free.”