Lessons learned from the first worldwide accessible e-learning in Landscape Ecology

Abstract

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are distance learning tools for individualized learning. They allow students to learn at their own pace in a virtual classroom. We describe success and pitfalls of the MOOC Landscape Ecology, designed as an undergraduate University course taught by an international consortium of Professors covering theory and application of the field. The paper describes course performance with summary metrics, illustrates contents and didactic tools, and provides a list of suggestions for instructors who engage in distant learning. We identify the following five key success factors for this and related MOOCs: (1) commitment and passion of an international consortium of lecturers; (2) a sound mixture of theory and practice; (3) numerous field-videos; (4) content and skill-oriented practicums (here using R, GIS, remote sensing); and (5) interactive formats where students discuss and share their opinions. In all runs of our MOOC we experienced some difficulties with peer-assessed writing tasks due to widely differing “review cultures”. The instructor-paced MOOC attracted over 3500 students in 2018 and 2019, and had comparably high completion rates (14% and 11%, respectively), compared to typical MOOC completion rates ranging from 5% to 15%. Completion rates in our self-paced run in 2020 were 8-9% only.

A Knowledge Review on Integrated Landscape Approaches

“…The landscape scale is an operational area where realistic and sound sustainable development methods can be put in place [4,11,12]. This is because landscapes are more likely to adequately link broader (global) and finer (local) scale's actions [5].…”

“…Additionally, landscape-level investments can lead to sustainable outcomes, as well as profits [15]. According to Kienast et al [4], there are four key reasons why working at a landscape-scale is the most suitable scale for sustainability, which are (i) to assess land-use change, (ii) to investigate the effect of land-use change on ecological processes, (iii) for spatial planning and land-use decisions, and (iv) for people's everyday landscape maintenance.…”

“…The landscape scale is a broad concept, with no fixed or specific criteria to define it [4]. Wu [5] illustrates landscapes as multiple ecosystems over a watershed or a designated geopolitical area.…”

“…In the last 100 years, land-use change has accelerated in dynamics, due to the increased demand for goods and services [4]. Land-use change has delivered socio-economic benefits, but at the cost of overexploitation of natural resources, resulting in resources and ecosystems degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change [4,5].…”

“…In the last 100 years, land-use change has accelerated in dynamics, due to the increased demand for goods and services [4]. Land-use change has delivered socio-economic benefits, but at the cost of overexploitation of natural resources, resulting in resources and ecosystems degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change [4,5]. The primary driver of landscape conversion has been among others agricultural production (including livestock as a directly interconnected agricultural activity); indeed, it has been responsible for 80% of deforestation worldwide [6,7].…”