WISJ Annual Flagship 2024: What worked, what didn't, and what's next for online courses

I have only recently heard about Women in Science Japan (WISJ), and I have nothing but the highest praise for them. They organize several events and study sessions that support women pursuing scientific careers, in more than a performative way. 

There's not much on the cover slide, no? Please feel free to contact me!

In their second annual flagship event, I presented a lightning talk which is a rehash of the presentation I made at the International Christian University Natural Science Forum. It was wildly changed though since the NS Forum is intended for an hour while the lightning talk is for ten minutes max only (it may have only been eight minutes actually...). Still, I tried to put some insight I gained from my work in RIKEN there. The result is that... well... I unsurprisingly overran my time. There is so much more I wanted to say, but at least I felt people got something out of it.

Anyway, I recommend every science professional in Japan to join WISJ! There are people in Tokyo, but they also have a strong contingent in the Kyushu area. There could be more elsewhere that I am just not aware of. They do a really great job at creating safe spaces, so some events may not be for everyone. Not that the group assumes somebody could be unsafe, but building such culture requires work that could be more manageable with baby steps.

For a copy of relevant materials (e.g., presentation, paper) or any questions you may have, please feel free to reach out to me through the Contact Me gadget on this blog's sidebar.

Details

Title: What worked, what didn't, and what's next for online courses

Authors: May Kristine Jonson Carlon

Venue: Women in Science Japan Second Annual Flagship Event

Date: October 26, 2024

Abstract

The year 2012 is widely regarded as the Year of the MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), with several courses from prestigious universities attracting massive enrollments in competitive fields like machine learning and business. MOOCs captured the imagination of many, offering the potential to make high-quality education widely accessible. Some even predicted that the university system as we know it would be replaced by credentialed, high-production online courses. However, a decade later, even with the forced shift to online education during the pandemic and the rise of new content creation platforms, online learning is not much more mainstream than past distance learning methods like correspondence courses. In this talk, I will discuss what makes online courses so compelling, why learners often struggle to succeed in them, and what promises and challenges emerging educational technologies hold for making online courses more effective. I will draw on my research in online education, my work as an instructional designer, my experiences as an online master's student, and my aspirations as an academic seeking to broaden my reach in sharing my thoughts.