MOOCs as LIS Professional Development Platforms: Evaluating and Refining SJSU's First Not-for-Credit MOOC

Beyond for-credit offerings, some library and information science (LIS) schools are exploring MOOCs as a means to promote lifelong learning and professional development. Using web surveys and descriptive content analysis methods, this paper empirically addresses if, in LIS programs, MOOCs can fill a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of education for library and information science 2014-10, Vol.55 (4), p.345-361
Main Authors: Stephens, Michael, Jones, Kyle M. L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic libraries
Achievement Gains
Alliances
Colleges & universities
Course Content
Course Organization
Curriculum Design
Curriculum Development
Delivery Systems
Education
Educational Environment
Educational Opportunities
Experiential learning
Information science
Information Science Education
Juried Paper ALISE 2014
Large Group Instruction
Learner engagement
Learning
Learning Theories
Libraries
Library operations
Library science
Lifelong Learning
Likert Scales
Massive open online courses
Noncredit Courses
Online Courses
Online instruction
Online learning
Online Surveys
Open Education
Participant Satisfaction
Pretesting
Professional Development
Program Improvement
Qualitative Research
School environment
Social networks
Social research
Student Attitudes
Student Educational Objectives
Student Surveys
Study and teaching
Success
Teaching Methods
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Beyond for-credit offerings, some library and information science (LIS) schools are exploring MOOCs as a means to promote lifelong learning and professional development. Using web surveys and descriptive content analysis methods, this paper empirically addresses if, in LIS programs, MOOCs can fill a role and serve new populations of learners within large-scale learning environments. To do so, the authors use a MOOC they designed, built, and instructed as a test bed. Findings reveal that students did use the MOOC for professional development, that they expanded their knowledge and applied concept models learned in the course, and benefited from diverse viewpoints provided by the global community of learners. In addition to other findings, the research reveals that the authors' MOOC model was successful and there is significant opportunity for LIS programs to serve the profession through large-scale professional development learning environments like MOOCs.
ISSN:0748-5786
2328-2967