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Massive Open Online Course Fosters Participatory and Collaborative Learning Experience

New York (October 10, 2013) - RIMS has announced its association with the Strategic Decision Group (SDG) and Dr. Carl Spetzler in offering a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that will begin on October 21.  This free five-week introductory course titled “Introduction to Decision Quality” encourages attendees to work in teams to learn the Decision Quality approach, which draws from the disciplines of business, engineering, psychology, organizational behavior and decision science. 

To learn more about this course, visit www.sdg.com/dq101-rims.

“RIMS is always assessing its products and services to ensure the Society delivers the best to its members,” said Kate Powers, RIMS Professional Development Director. “Taught by leading business professionals, Massive Opens Online Courses’ networked approach to learning creates an engaging learning environment that we’re confident will meet our members evolving needs.”

MOOCs have become a new trend in higher education and are rooted in the principles that education should be accessible, active and engaging.  MOOCs are grounded in social networking and are structured in a traditional manner: there is an instructor, students, assignments, reading resources and valuable take away information. 

Dr. Carl Spetzler has been a leader in strategy and innovation processes, helping corporate leaders cope with the lack of explicit strategic alternatives, deal with the complexities of uncertainty and risk over long time horizons and achieve lasting change. In addition to serving as the chairman and CEO of SDG, he is program director for the Stanford Strategic Decision and Risk Management certificate program, a partnership of SDG and the Stanford Center for Professional Development.

HOW THIS COURSE WORKS

Ø  Participants have the opportunity to join a social network group for team assignments, using a professional social platform, such as LinkedIn, to connect with teammates.

Ø  Once the course begins, the instructor will offer a series of lectures, assign reading and pose discussion questions.

Ø  Throughout the five week course participants will have access to 20 lectures, approximately 4-15 minutes in length.

Ø  The MOOC platform allows participants to communicate with each other to complete assignments.

Ø  Those who do not want the team experience may opt for a “team of one.”

Ø  Participants will receive a certificate upon completion of this RIMS/SDG course.