Learner reflections on the Web Science MOOC

Jo Corsi from the University of Southampton’s Research and Innovation Services has written this informative post about her experience so far as a learner on the MOOC. It is amusing to picture whole departments of the University disappearing under the weight of network diagram print outs :-)

It would be great to get some feedback from other staff and students who have been following the MOOC – have the discussions around the course topics changed the way you live or work in any significant way? Do let us know…

2 Responses to "Learner reflections on the Web Science MOOC"

Angie M says:

December 21, 2013 at 9:50 pm

The course exceeded my expectations – I thought we would be inundated with dense material that we had to make sense of – instead there were so many ways of getting information across, that it never became boring.

Fascinating and new to me were the interpretations of influence in social networks; I’m still getting my head round that. Before the course I had always thought Facebook was for teenagers – how wrong can you be. I had also visions of Facebook taking up all available time, even to the extent of updating one’s relationships ‘on the move’ – I guess it’s not really that bad.

Being a ‘soft systems’ person, I did not like the math, and my understanding of those equations is dim – but visualising with network tools is very OK. Since the course I have started using Twitter and Blogger, and have one or two other things added to my eternal ‘to do’ list.
Angie M says:

January 12, 2014 at 11:05 pm

Web Science Social Network – SU
(Addressing a key aspect of the first MOOC given by Southampton University).
Short Survey Results 12 January 2014

This survey (by a course participant) took place at the end of week 6 of the Web Science MOOC, the aim being to solicit views from any interested parties having a connection with the MOOC. This was a counterpoint to the MOOC survey which appeared at the end of the course, though obviously there was no target audience since the means to address the whole audience did not exist here.
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A secondary aim was to seek answers to a small number of questions, which would be unlike the questions in the end of course survey, which would provide feedback of potential interest to student and educator alike.
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Here is a summary of the information given in answer to the three last questions:
Q8 Fields represented in connection with the MOOC – Government; Education and ICT (commerce and industry)
Q9 Would you participate in a Web Science Social Network? 100% yes – the breakdown of participant’s roles being : Users; Technical Advisor; Administrator.

Q10 Enter any comment, which you feel is important, and which relates to this survey:

. The course has given a deeper understanding and awareness of what happens every day when we log onto the Web. There are endless possibilities and opportunities of extending and developing newly found skills in everyday life.

A Web Science Social Network would be valuable if there was the possibility of creating specific interest areas, similar to the course breakdown of subjects. This would enable users to focus on the aspects of Web Science which are of particular interest. It would not be a forum but should contain less cluttered presentation than the commonly used social networks – and be specific to MOOC SU. The design and ongoing admin should be planned in advance.

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