Hi Christie, thanks for commenting here. I agree with your expectation. I have done many MOOCs but also my master’s was completely online (03-05) and not sure I ever came across an online learning experience without an introductory activity. I think MOOCs are quite different from for-credit online courses, though, and it is not the first time I see a course designed by people who are experts in eLearning (or in this case blended learning) who don’t seem to necessarily be experts in MOOC design. I think BlendKit was run before as a MOOC, though, so I am surprised this never came up!
Anyway, I am glad we connected. I dislike overly structured collaborative activities, but I like to have some. I guess the lack of structure has left us to connect on our own and find each other, which in itself is great. I have a few people on BlendKit that I know from before, so I’d actually be happy to have made a few good solid new online colleagues/friends like you 🙂 Looking forward to seeing you around as we go…