Several people have asked me questions in regards to #IMMOOC recently, so I decided to blog about it to offer a bit more information and some of my personal experiences from the previous rounds. I hope it helps and I hope to see some familiar faces during the next round! 🙂

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.

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“. 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, you’ll just need to buy the book if you don’t have it already. Word on the street is that George will be creating an audio version of his book, narrated by George, himself. Hopefully it’ll be out before #IMMOOC starts!! 🙂

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

Update: next course starts on September 25th, 2017. Click here for the schedule, details, and to sign up!

The course is projected to start in October 2017, but an announcement will be made by George in September with the schedule and details. The first round of #IMMOOC was 6 weeks (which was in September-October 2016), the second round was 5 weeks (which was in February-March 2017).

Who runs #IMMOOC?

George, Katie Martin, a variety of guests and you, yes YOU! 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?

The book will be divided up into sections that you’ll have to read each week. 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, George and Katie will have guests and they will discuss the part of the book that was studied that week. During the second round of #IMMOOC, weekly Twitter chats were introduced and they were a mega success. I’m guessing that those will continue. They were moderated by Katie as well as Tara Martin, but who knows what will happen next round! 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. There will surely be new additions to this round and I can’t wait to see what George has up his sleeve!

Steps to follow to participate in #IMMOOC 3:

1. Sign up for the course here.
2. Get yourself a copy of “The Innovator’s Mindset“.
3. Take a selfie with the book and enter to win some amazing books by Dave Burgess Consulting Inc. 
4. The rest is for you to decide… create a blog if you wish, join the Twitter chats, read the book, 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?

Earlier this week, George sent out an e-mail to past participants (and people who have signed up for round 3 already) letting us know that they are hoping to have school teams join this round. If you are thinking of joining with some colleagues, you can contact George so he can connect you to get bulk book orders (10 or more). If you are thinking of joining solo, don’t be scared! The community is amazing and you will soon make strong connections and build amazing relationships. I “met” one of my best edu buddies through #IMMOOC, hi Lance! We have yet to actually meet, but we were accountability buddies during round 2, and since then, we’ve supported one another, pushed each others thinking, and collaborated on a couple of blog posts!

#SageCreekLRSD… I’ll be joining! We all have the book already, who’d like to do this with me? I know we will have our hands more than full with the opening of our new school, but remember, YOU get to choose how much you want to do in all of this. Who’s with me? 🙂