Learner Experiences with MOOCs and Open Online Learning

Contributors


Mary Bisheh received her Master’s in Curriculum Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. A Fulbright scholar and world traveler, Mary is very interested MOOCs have affected international education. A secondary school teacher of seven years, she is currently teaching middle school Social Studies in Evergreen, Colorado. She can be reached at mbisheh@gmail.com.

Hui-chieh Chen received her Master’s degree in Learning Technology from The University of Texas at Austin. She is currently teaching English in junior high school in Taiwan. She is interested in technology integration for teaching and learning. Taking MOOCs is a new experience for her and she regards MOOCs as a source for self-learning in Taiwan. She can be reached at nectarchen@gmail.com.

Bahaa G. Ghobrial is a doctoral student in the Department of Radio‐TV‐Film, at the University of Texas at Austin. He is researching how digital media can contribute to online learning. He is also interested in finding new ways to bridging the digital gap so people in the developing countries can benefit from using MOOCs. He can be reached at Bahaag@utexas.edu.

Mihyun Lim is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction specializing in Learning Technologies. She is interested in how people learn online and how online settings change the way people learn. Her research interests also include technology integration and best practices in teaching and learning. She can be reached at mhlim@utexas.edu.

Cindy Londeore recently finished a master's degree in science education and is ready to take on the world of curriculum development. She took her first MOOC for this project, and now she can't stop taking them! She can be reached at clondeore@gmail.com, or @clondeore on twitter.

Michael Mendoza originally wanted to be a concert pianist, but soon took up languages working as a translator, researcher and instructor in both French and Arabic. A graduate student in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at UT Austin and a frequent presenter of papers on Arabic Linguistics at conferences such as MESA, AIDA, Jil Jadidand others, he intends to continue as an Arabist, translator and musician. He can be reached at michael.allen.mendoza@gmail.com

Afriannoor Miradinata is a past Ford Foundation fellow and is currently working as a government employee in Indonesia. He is interested in distance learning, and that interest is triggered by the fact that remote areas in Indonesia have limited access to technology. He believes technology can reduce significant barriers in education quality in remote areas. He can be reached at a.miradinata@gmail.com

Michael Ota received a master’s of education in learning technologies from The University of Texas at Austin and is currently pursuing a second master’s in special education. He teaches math and technology in a specialized school for students with autism and emotional disorders. Michael hopes to takes his MOOC experiences and develop social skills curriculum for individuals with cognitive disabilities. His most current information is atwww.michaelota.com and can be reached at michael.ota@utexas.edu

Jennifer Ramirez is a masters student in STEM education who works professionally as a math content specialist. She is interested in math curriculum development and would like to develop MOOCs for secondary mathematics. The MOOC she describes in this book was the first that Jennifer took and fully completed. She plans to use MOOCs to pursue topics she is interested in and to increase her math content knowledge. She can be reached at JTausiani@gmail.com

Anne Valauri is a masters student in Early Childhood Education at the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently a graduate and teaching assistant. She is interested in distance education for early childhood teachers, the use of web 2.0 tools, and the digital divide in elementary classrooms. She is still using DuoLingo to work on her language skills for teaching multilingual classrooms. She can be reached at avalauri@utexas.edu

Dr. George Veletsianos studies learner, instructor, and scholar experiences and practices with emerging technologies and pedagogies in online learning contexts. He is Canada Research Chair in Innovative Learning and Technology and Associate Professor at Royal Roads University. He blogs at http://www.veletsianos.com and can be reached at veletsianos@gmail.com