Creating a Highly Engaging and Collaborative Environment in MOOCs - Based Remote Learning Through a TRIZ-Based Systematic Innovation Approach

EasyChair Preprint 3091

Abstract

“The reason why it is so difficult for existing firms to capitalize on disruptive innovations is that their processes and their business model that make them good at the existing business actually make them bad at competing for the disruption”- Clayton Christensen. When companies prepare themselves to meet the disruptive forces, the very first task is to quickly train their employees on various disruptive trends and technologies. Training at this large a scale, need big investments – of money from the businesses and of time from the employees - these are scarce resources in the current VUCA world. We tried to scale up our training, while keeping the cost low, by building rich digital content and started exploring a blended learning approach. However, effectiveness of various remote training methodologies has always been under the radar - a recent study pointing out while 6% of MOOC learners finished their courses during 2014-15, only 3.13% completed during 2017-18. This demands for a major revamping of the remote training methodology. It is important to understand the underlying disadvantages of the current system that act as deterrents to learners’ education eventually failing to capitalize on the learners’ curiosity. We used a powerful structured innovation methodology – TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) – to overcome the disadvantages and remove the deterrents. We first identified the root cause of the existing shortcomings. After identifying the causes, we proceeded to find ways to overcome the disadvantages by formulating contradictions (that arise because improving a certain parameter worsens another parameter). We resolved these contradictions systematically by using TRIZ Inventive principles. The result of following such a structured innovation methodology is a redesigned Remote Training process with higher learner engagement and higher effectiveness of Digital learning while promoting a collaborative ecosystem of learning.

Keyphrases: Effective training, MOOCs, Remote Learning, Root Cause Analysis, Systematic Innovation, TRIZ methodology, blended learning, collaborative learning, corporate training, function model, inventive principle, inventive problem solving, mooc based remote learning, online course, online training module, triz based systematic innovation

@booklet{EasyChair:3091,
  author    = {Sayantan Mukherjee and Shankar Venugopal},
  title     = {Creating a Highly Engaging and Collaborative Environment in MOOCs - Based Remote Learning Through a TRIZ-Based Systematic Innovation Approach},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 3091},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2020}}