With round 4 of #IMMOOC just around the corner, and plenty of people wondering what all the fuss is about, I thought I would share a bit of information and some personal experiences from the previous rounds. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!!

When you’re feelin’ like you wanna grow
We will take you where you gotta go
Learnin’, reflectin’, everything is FREE
All you need is positivity

Educators of the world
#IMMOOC up your life
Every boy and every girl
#IMMOOC up your life
Leaders of the world
#IMMOOC up your life
Aaaaaah

Okay, I’m a sucker for Spice Girls, I just couldn’t resist… and a little birdie told me that this is Geroge’s favourite song.

What is a MOOC? What is #IMMOOC?

A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course which is FREE and offered through the web. #IMMOOC is the Innovator’s Mindset Massive Open Online Course, based on George Couros’ Book, “The Innovator’s Mindset“. In the previous 3 rounds, the #IMMOOC was solely based on Geroge’s book, but this time, for round 4, they are amping things up and are including 3 books from which to choose: “Empower” by AJ Juliani and John Spencer, “Learner-Centered Innovation“, Katie Martin‘s brand new book, and of course, “The Innovator’s Mindset”. If I had to simplify what this course is, I’d say that it is a book study on steroids. For the purpose of this post, I will answer the following questions as per #IMMOOC, since all MOOCs are different.

How much does it cost?

It is absolutely FREE, just pick which book you’d like to use for this round and get yourself a copy, if you don’t have one already… it’s as simple as that! Oh and wicked news for all those who don’t have time to read and would rather listen, “The Innovator’s Mindset”  is available as an audiobook, narrated by George himself! 🙂

When is the course? How long does #IMMOOC last?

Round 4 starts on Monday, February 26th, 2018 and will run for 6 weeks. There will be YouTube live sessions every Monday at 8CST (that you can also watch after the fact as well) and weekly Twitter chats on Thursdays at 8CST run by Katie, Tara Martin, Allyson Aspey, and myself. Click here for the schedule, details, and to sign up!

Who runs #IMMOOC?

This time around, Katie Martin will be running the show, but George, AJ, John, and Tara will be involved, too. There will also be a variety of guests to push our thinking, and you, yes YOU, will help to make this an incredibly rich experience for everyone involved! All participants help to make the course what it is, which is simply amazing!

What is the format of #IMMOOC? What can I expect? What will I have to do in order to participate?

In the past, the book was divided up into sections to be read each week, and I’m guessing it’ll be a similar format while meshing the books together (I know that “The Innovator’s Mindset” and “Empower” and are perfect duo – I’ve read them both, and I’m sure that “Learner-Centered Innovation will be the perfect addition). You will also be able to watch a YouTube Live episode each week (either actually watch it live or watch it later when the time is right for you). George even transfers the episodes to podcasts so you can simply listen if you’d rather do that. During these episodes, Katie will have guests and they will discuss the parts of the books that was studied that week. During the second round of #IMMOOC, weekly Twitter chats were introduced and continued to be a huge success last round, so they’re not going away. Blog prompts and fun challenges will also be shared each week to help you to reflect on all that you are learning. You are invited to blog (start one if you haven’t yet) and share your posts with the group. You are also encouraged to read other participants’ blogs and comment on them. Many people participate on Twitter (by using the hashtag #IMMOOC), and there is also a Facebook group. I cannot wait to see what this round brings with 3 powerful books!!!

Steps to follow to participate in #IMMOOC 4:

1. Sign up for the course here.
2. Get yourself a copy of “The Innovator’s Mindset“, “Empower“, or “Learner-Centered Innovation“.
3. Take a selfie with one of the books and enter the “Selfie Challenge” by clicking here!
4. Join the Facebook group.
5. The rest is for you to decide… create a blog if you wish (which I STRONGLY encourage you to do), join the Twitter chats, read one of the books, watch the episodes, have an accountability partner, just lurk by reading other participants’ blogs, comment on blogs, etc…

The beauty of #IMMOOC is that you can do as little or as much as you want, but let me tell you, the more you put in, the more you will get out of it. During the first round, I had told myself that I was going to do this thing my way and at my speed, but I ended up starting a blog and I’ve been hooked ever since. Once you join this amazing group of supportive and forward thinking educators, you will understand what all the fuss is about. Having said that though, know that this is self-directed learning at its best. You are in charge of your own learning. You can decide how you want to frame this experience for yourself… and isn’t that a beautiful thing?