The need for higher education on a global and local level is ever increasing due to social, political and economical factors. Universities are faced with the challenge of educating larger student bodies with the same or even reduced resources. Efficient use of ict and adapted pedagogical design are means do meet this challenge. This paper presents a large scale ict based distance course in project management given at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University, Sweden. The course has been given seven times during the period 2006-2008, with a total of 2427 students. The aim of this paper is to explore the following specific problems related to online mega courses: (1) The low student completion rate, (2) The changed pedagogical and psycho-social work situation for teachers, (3) Communication and courses suitable for this type of format, furthermore the paper gives a number of suggestions based on our experiences and obtained knowledge about mega online course. This is done through the use of data collected through the educational platform in various databases, interviews with involved teachers, and surveys filled out by students. Some of the conclusions that are presented in this paper are: Most significant changes that influenced completion rate was assignment redesign, clear sequence of events through the assignments, introduced self study courses that enables students to learn the tools needed to complete the assignments. The biggest loss of students was between registering for the course and actually starting the course and when the course moved from theoretical study to practical application. Minor design errors led to huge amount of extra work. The need for development of an effective administrator interface is crucial and must not be forgotten. The psycho-social work situation for online teachers managing mega scale courses are significantly altered as compared to class-room teaching.
keywords:
ict, Distance Education, Large scale student body, lessons learned, design
