MOOCs, SPOCs, and Next Generation eLearning: A Primer for Technical Communication Professionals

Speakers

Keith Boyd
Director of Business Strategy, Microsoft Corporation

Start

September 7, 2016 - 2:00 PM

End

September 7, 2016 - 3:00 PM

MOOCs, SPOCs, and Next Generation eLearning: A Primer for Technical Communication Professionals

In this informative webinar, Keith Boyd, Director of Business Strategy for online learning at Microsoft, will introduce you to the fascinating and fast changing world of Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and how they should impact your content strategy. In 2012, leading publications like the NY Times and Time Magazine made bold predictions that MOOCs would immediately change education forever, and while that hasn’t come true (yet), the seismic shifts in the way people learn are starting to be felt in multiple industries.

Should MOOCs be part of your content strategy? If so, how do you get started? What resources are available to you as a content professional to explore this emerging modality? And why would you make a bet on MOOCs over other emergent learning options? Learn from an experience Technical Communications professional why you shouldn’t dismiss this trend, and how an investment now could help you to future-proof your content strategy and increase loyalty and affinity to your product or service.

A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. In addition to traditional course materials such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, many MOOCs provide interactive user forums to support community interactions among students, professors, and teaching assistants (TAs). MOOCs are a recent and widely researched development in distance education.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do education events take place?

Webinars are held every Wednesday afternoon from 2-3 PM EDT/EST (GMT-4/5).

A majority of online courses are held Tuesdays-Thursdays between 10:00 AM-1:00 PM EDT/EST (GMT-4/5), as to not conflict with webinar times.

When will I receive the Adobe Connect instructions for an event?

Registered attendees will receive the Adobe Connect instructions three (3) hours before the webinar begins, approximately at 11:00 AM EDT/EST.

Registered attendees will receive the Adobe Connect instructions one (1) day before the online course begins.

To participate in a webinar and an online course, you must be able to access Adobe Connect, STC's online meeting space. You can test your Adobe Connect connection here. Adobe Connect is a standard web seminar tool (no separate download required) and all you need is a reliable Internet connection and phone line, or a computer with VoIP capabilities.

I registered for an online course, what are my next steps?

Once you register for an online course, you will receive a confirmation receipt that day. A majority of our online courses uses Moodle, STC's course management site, which attendees will receive the login instructions two (2) days before the course begins.

If you cannot access Adobe Connect and/or Moodle (as needed), then you will not be able to successfully complete an online course.

I registered for a webinar, but will be unable to attend. Will a recording be available?

If a registered attendee is unable to attend a webinar that day, they will receive an email with a link to the recording, and an evaluation link along with the PDF of the presentation.

I registered for a webinar and/or an online course, but cannot attend at that time. Will I receive a refund?

If a registered attendee is unable to attend a webinar and/or an online course, the cost is transferable to a future event, but is not refundable.  Online registration closes one-two business days before the education event begins.

I want to take a specific course that isn't listed online. Will it be offered in the future?

STC rotates its courses every year as we try to offer the most popular ones within the first half of the year. Online courses are subject to change or are offered more than once per quarter. If a course is not listed, STC will offer it again in the following year.

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