For all new Moodle MOOC members just starting off:

For all new Moodle MOOC members just starting off:

Yesterday I commented on Martin Tobon's blog of Sunday, 14 July 2013, 11:44 AM. One of his preoccupations (that used to be mine) is the following: " There is a critic in the web to MOOC, this is that there is no order and that it tends to be chaotic, besides it says there seems not to be a guide to solve your questions. I have to say that I have noticed that Dr Deutsh has been prompt to answer or to invite people to continue but I have not noticed people grouping around a specific purpose. I mean, what to we need to create , in fact, a learning community?"

In order to help out other new users of the Moodle MOOC, I would like to share, and expand on my answers to Martin.

Yes Martin. As a member of the MOOC you are in an organic learning environment, still in the throws of creation. The "Big Bang" started at the beginning of June when attendees were allowed to choose their study environment based on their Moodle experience, Beginners M4B, Experienced Teachers M4ET or Managers M4M. The initial M4M section was split into groups who worked together to furnish weekly activities for the other sections to discuss and use. These activities included digital artefacts, engaging activities, literature studies on Teaching On-line, and scheduling and presenting a live on-line class. All of these materials are still available under the Week 1-4: Add your task entries. Basically the three sections M4B, M4ET and M4M all have the same content but with slightly different responsibilities and tasks.

You will find that, indeed, there is order in the apparent entropy of the expanding MOOC universe.
It may not be noticeable at first. This, I think, is due to the flipped-classroom nature of the materials offered.
Please see Dr. Nellie's video(s) in Week 4: Add your task forums under my entry Tom's Tortuous Think Tank. Class 1 - The Advent of WEB 3.0, of Thursday, 27 June 2013, 12:50 PM:
http://moodle4teachers.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=899 Are you all ready for a change of plans?

In the "flipped-class" scenario, investigation of the subject is done by students in advance, and (in the case of the MOOC) all questions and ambiguities are answered and explained, student2student, student2teacher and teacher2student afterwards (in the forums) when the student has a working knowledge of the subject and better understands it. In this way, each student may work at his/her own pace until they understand completely the subject at hand.

For those of you who are starting at a later date, I think it's very important that you follow the thread of the weekly classes as stated in the M4T Moodle Experience News http://moodle4teachers.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=29  Here Nellie tells you, week after week, what is expected of you as a student of the MOOC.
Follow these instructions precisely, post and answer in the forums and blogs, complete your tasks at your own pace, there is no immediate time-limit for the MOOC, and, most of all, enjoy yourselves.

Have fun!

Don't forget the News Forum under Updates & Support of the section you belong to, and the M4T: Blog under Site Blogs. Let your opinion be known by posting and answering in the Forums.

Remember that you have to blog about the weekly classes and post about your experiences of the MOOC in How are you doing?

Apart from the weekly class videos and tutorials, you may also be interested in additional material available on Nellie's Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/nelliemuller/videos

Hope you all enjoy the MOOC as much as I am still enjoying it and, like me, stay around after you've finished to help new in-coming participants.

Tom