Moderating MOOCs: Challenges in and Solutions for the Massive Discussion Forum

This session will present transferable strategies developed for policymaking and other massive open online collaborative contexts and provide direction for immediate implementation in the massive open online classroom. Well-established strategies for effective online learning cannot be implemented without significant modification of the massive open online classroom. In particular, MOOC discussion forums and "traditional" online classroom discussion boards necessarily serve different functions. Massive enrollment leaves student-instructor contact at a premium, makes moderation a challenge, and simultaneously creates tremendous possibility for community building and the use of novel instructional strategies. To meet these challenges and leverage new opportunities, course designers must use an alternative approach.