Contribute to MOOC Guidelines during tomorrow's FridayLive

Amy Woodgate returns to FridayLive tomorrow, April 12th, 2:00 PM ET to continue the conversation about MOOCs. Register here. 

The #edcmooc "eLearning & Digital Cultures" is the TLT sMOOCher's second MOOC. Below are the guidelines that have emerged from our previous conversations as captured by Steve Gilbert. We will continue to add to these guidelines and welcome your contributions as well. Comment below or add to the Google doc. 

For People Enrolling in a MOOC-like Resource for the First Time

1.    Double-check that you have registered as required - notice whether you have received an email by the designated starting date...  register again if you have any doubts.

2.    Understand what the expectations of the sponsoring institution are of each participant; understand what your own expectations (goals, amount of time and effort, ...) as early and specifically as possible.

3.    Jump in and try it and notice what elements seem to be good/bad fits for your own learning style and preferences.

4.    Use your own reflective abilities to identify characteristics of MOOCs that are most comfortable and likely to be effective for YOU - characteristics that you will seek again in future MOOCs.

5.    Make some choices very early (even before you select your first MOOC) about what you want to get out of it and how much massive amounts of info and multiplicity of media will be appealing or overwhelming... avoid the "richest" most "connectivist" MOOCs at first?   Don't be embarrassed or feel guilty about finding one kind or another more comfortable after you begin!  

6.    Offer live synchronous event at end of MOOC to debrief in all directions (from instructors to learners, from learners to instructors, etc.)

7.    Good to have Twitter feed visible at "top" (entry page) of the MOOC website

8.    Explore tools like TweetDeck to participate in (and manage) Twitter interaction

9.    Understand the purpose of groups within a MOOC - required, informal, optional, ... synchronous, asynchronous, ...  text-only,  text+voice, ....  eg.  Voicethread...   formed based on interest, geography, time zone, ...

10. Notice the influence, power of hearing people's voices - live or recorded!  Google+ Hangout or Voicethread

B.  For People Who Will be Using MOOC-like Resources to Teach Others

1.    If you are requiring a group of learners to use all or part of a MOOC or similar resource, TELL THEM QUITE EXPLICITLY HOW TO REGISTER, AND HOW TO CONFIRM THAT THEIR REGISTRATION WAS ACCEPTED.

2.    How do you find out what options - technologically, logistically, legally,  and ethically - apply to identifying and making "outside" use of resources that are made available within the MOOC

3.    Double check how fully, effectively and completely any archives or recordings of "events" within the MOOC include elements that are important for later use - or for use by people who did not participate in the actual event initially.