This session will present an example of how a course, originally developed as a MOOC, led to a blended course providing an opportunity for on-campus students to partner with entrepreneurs in another country to learn about challenges, develop increased cultural sensitivity, and increase their acumen for leveraging technology.
In 2014, 37,000 individuals worldwide enrolled in the first two cohorts of the “Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies” (BSV) massive open online course (MOOC). MOOCs offer education to millions of individuals each year at a minimal or no charge (Liyanagunawardena et al. 2014). Since 2014, the MOOC has surpassed beyond 135,000 registrants and is now available in 16 languages in 190 countries. However, there has been few intersections between MOOC engagement, with Coursera for example, and the traditional undergraduate learning transfer process. Until recently, many institutions were hesitant to become involved in contributing scholarship to a MOOC platform, like Coursera. It can be argued that the individuals engaging with MOOCs are a different demographic than the traditional degree-seeking student. Can both co-exist in parallel and offer similar outcomes. Redpath (2012) believes that MOOCs has had similar outcomes for student careers as face-to-face business education. From 2012 to 2016, 35 million individuals enrolled in MOOCs (Bersin, 2016). If this technology is “exploding” can higher education institutions find a way to integrate MOOC methodologies into their practices?
Our institution’s effort to offer a balanced “soft and hard skilled” learning experience lies within its SAGES (Seminar Approach to General Education) program. In 2017 and 2018, we offered the “Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economics” course with a writing partner from the English Department to undergraduate students within the SAGES curriculum. SAGES offers practice in “critical thinking, written and oral communication, quantitative reasoning, engagement with ethical issues and diversity, and an understanding of human culture and behavior”.
2. Classroom Experience
In the first installment of this SAGES course, Professor Goldberg utilized Coursera (MOOC) and Canvas to engage with a cohort of individuals taking the BSV course. Students were engaged in the same discussion forums and viewing the same material as the other participants from around the world. Of course, there was additional work that was required of the students to earn their grade at CWRU, but the beginning of merging MOOCs and traditional learned occurred with undergraduate participation in the BSV MOOC.
However, Goldberg soon realized that there was an opportunity to further integrate past practices with leveraging emerging technology and improving cultural competencies. This was done by having the second installment of the SAGES course (i.e. 2018 students) actually engaging in a cohort style with real-life Syrian entrepreneurs in an experiential learning process.
2.1 Setting up the Classroom
Goldberg has had experience working with the US Department of State on entrepreneurship, so it came as no surprise that he was able to secure a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It was with this partnership that he was introduced to an entrepreneur in Damascus, Syria who had a network of 40-60 entrepreneurs that were interested in taking the BSV MOOC. With the help of Suzanne Healy, Director of Online & Hybrid Learning Programs, he was able to propose a learning environment where undergraduate students could learn from and alongside aspiring Syrian entrepreneurs.
Before any technology was leveraged on campus, a Facebook group was created for all entrepreneurs to join and post their bio. The posts and comments glittered with enthusiasm. Entrepreneurs throughout the course expressed concerns of missing their families, insecurity of financial support (this occurs everywhere in the world), dependency on inconsistent internet connections and an understanding of sanctions in-regard to financial transacting. Why initiate the initial discussions on Facebook? As of September 30, 2018, Facebook had about 2.27 billion active users worldwide according to CNN (2019). According to the Pew Research Center, two-thirds of U.S. adults get their news from social media (2017). Facebook and social media are vehicles to which entrepreneurs connect with customers, partners, and investors. It was crucial that all students understood how to use and leverage social media in this context.
Earlier in the abstract, there was mention of dependency on case studies when it comes to entrepreneurship but the communication process there is no way for the receiver (reader/student) to have a dialogue with the entrepreneur. By utilizing the virtual classroom software Zoom, Syrian and undergraduate students were able to join the classroom. According to Coopman and Lull, distance speaking is “using technology to use a planned message/delivery from one physical space of another” (2018).
Understanding how to use virtual meeting rooms is important for one’s technical literacy when engaging with the workforce. Some common products include Zoom, GoToMeeting, Skype, WebEx, Google Hangouts, FaceTime and many more. In entrepreneurship, one must know how to use all of these and the goal of this class was to introduce a real-life example of how entrepreneurs and their partners, customers and investors utilize each of these software packages.
3. Classroom Material
One of the largest benefits to both students was the ability to collaborate in a MOOC-like environment, through a Learning Management System (LMS) like Canvas. Within the LMS assignments and discussions were enabled so all participants could collaborate on projects. On-campus students were to write reflective pieces on their understanding of the challenges and opportunities of growing a startup in Syria. The Syrian students/entrepreneurs received value from the community-based, cohort-style learning platform to talk through their journey and have a sounding board for questions. The prompts in the discussion boards, and supported in classroom discussions were supported by speakers (who also telecommunicated) who talked about the resources, success stories, and struggles within their ecosystem. There was an equitable distribution of information from the Cleveland and Syrian ecosystems as well as the United States and other countries. The case studies were from the actual entrepreneurs themselves and this was possible with the use of emerging technology in learning.
4. ConclusionBy offering a variety of learning tools, emerging technology can be a powerful tool to improve outcomes. With the use of Zoom, students were able to connect with aspiring entrepreneurs from Damascus, Syria and build meaningful relationships that positively impacted the entrepreneurs. They developed camaraderie with using social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn to share additional stories of their struggles that did not “fit” in the written assignments. In Canvas, all students were able to utilize discussion boards to talk through how to improve chances of success for each of the entrepreneurial ventures.
Students understood how individuals and organizations are addressing community issues in countries besides their own. The instructors were able to cover so much ground because they leveraged a mixed delivery of lectures, virtual communication, cohort style collaboration, and discussion boards.
ReferencesBresin, S. (2016, January 5). Use of MOOCs And Online Education Is Exploding: Here’s Why. Fortune. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2019/01/25/davos -discussion-creating-an-inclusive-future-to-drive-innovation/#5bc8dc2433b0
CNN Library. (2019, January 10). Facebook Fast Facts. CNN. Retrived from https://www.cnn.com/2014/02/11/world/facebook-fast-facts/index.html
Coopman, S.J. & Lull, J. (2018). Public Speaking: The Evolving Art, Fourth Edition. Boston, Massachusetts
Liyanagunawardena, T. R., Williams, S., & Adams, A. A. (2014). The impact and reach of MOOCs: A developing countries’ perspective. eLearning Papers, 38-46.
Pew Research Center. (2017 September 5). In 2017, two-thirds of U.S. adults get news from social media. Pew Research Center Journalism & Media. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/2017/09/07/news-use-across-social-media-platfo...
Redpath, L. (2012). Confronting the bias against on-line learning in management education. Academy of management learning & education, 11(1), 125-140.