My experience at EMOOCs 2017 (by Muriell Mundaca)

Anyone who is interested in education is encouraged to learn more about new technologies. In particular, massive open online courses (MOOCs) are considered a very good alternative and/or complement to traditional education, which is why I was interested in getting involved with this event.

It is relatively easy to understand what MOOCs are, but it is not that obvious all the work that has to be done to fine-tune them. When I applied to be a volunteer, I was expecting to get to know more about these courses, and what I obtained in the end was not just a broad idea of what they are, but I had the opportunity to understand all the hidden work related to them, and I could also grasp its potential.

My role as a volunteer was to give support mostly with manual work. While doing different simple tasks with other volunteers and speakers, I got to know very interesting people, who I could not have known in other circumstances, and I could see how everyone could imagine many ways to integrate MOOCs into their careers, even when they had different professions.

Apart from the sessions, there were workshops, and as volunteers we could attend at least one of them. The workshop I attended  was “Green Keen?”, moderated by Gabi Hurlen, Aslak Ormestad and Emma Vestli, who are advisors at Oslo and Akershus University College. They explained us how convenient was to use a green background for layering two images –or video streams– together. It was not just a workshop on how to use this technology, but we also had an exciting discussion on the differences between traditional classroom and online learning… Should teachers read in front of the camera or not? There was no consensus, but everyone learned more about the benefits and disadvantages of choosing one way or the other. In any case, what the moderators made clear is that efficiency is not an irrelevant issue when you are producing a MOOC. 

Another workshop that I enjoyed a lot, although I attended as a volunteer and not as an attendee, was “Speaking on Camera”. This workshop, taught by Laura Penn, was ideal for people interested in improving their oral presentations. It is very well known how important it is to present information in a clear and effective way, but you don’t know the relevance of your voice and body language until you have the opportunity to hear someone like Laura Penn explaining how to connect with your hypothetical audience using precisely your voice and your body.

To conclude, I must say that this experience was extremely helpful and gave me the opportunity to understand more about online learning and non-conventional education and how I could integrate it into my professional life in the future. And, as I said before, it was also a good ocassion to meet different and inspiring people.