Massive Open Online Courses as affinity spaces for connected learning: Exploring effective learning interactions in one massive online community

This paper describes a participatory online culture – Connected Learning Massive Open Online Collaboration (CLMOOC) – and asks how its ethos of reciprocity and creative playfulness occurs. By analysing Twitter interactions over a four-week period, we conclude that this is due to the supportive nature of participants, who describe themselves as belonging to, or connected with, the community. We suggest that Gee’s concept of an affinity space is an appropriate model for CLMOOC and ask how this might be replicated in a higher education setting

A Framework for Interaction and Cognitive Engagement in Connectivist Learning Contexts

Interaction has always been highly valued in education, especially in distance education (Moore, 1989; Anderson, 2003; Chen, 2004a; Woo & Reeves, 2007; Wang, 2013; Conrad, in press). It has been associated with motivation (Mahle, 2011; Wen-chi, et al., 2011), persistence (Tello, 2007; Joo, Lim, & Kim, 2011), deep learning (Offir, et al., 2008) and other components of effective learning. With the development of interactive technologies, and related connectivism learning theories (Siemens, 2005a; Downes, 2005), interaction theory has expanded to include interactions not only with human actors, but also with machines and digital artifacts. This paper explores the characteristics and principles of connectivist learning in an increasingly open and connected age. A theory building methodology is used to create a new theoretical model which we hope can be used by researchers and practitioners to examine and support multiple types of effective educational interactions. Inspired by the hierarchical model for instructional interaction (HMII) (Chen, 2004b) in distance learning, a framework for interaction and cognitive engagement in connectivist learning contexts has been constructed. Based on cognitive engagement theories, the interaction of connectivist learning is divided into four levels: operation interaction, wayfinding interaction, sensemaking interaction, and innovation interaction. Connectivist learning is thus a networking and recursive process of these four levels of interaction

Addressing Injustices through MOOCs: A study among peri-urban, marginalised, South African youth

The legacies of colonial rule continue to impact everyday life, particularly in education. These structural inequalities are often reinforced and amplified in online ‘global’ education through a form of digital neocolonialism, which is where hegemonic powers indirectly control or influence marginalised groups through the internet or information technology. In striving for justice-oriented online education models, this study analyses to what extent Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), produced both internationally and locally, support (or could support) the needs, preferences, and aspirations of marginalised South African youth and address the material, cultural-epistemic, political, and geopolitical injustices they face. To evaluate what South African peri-urban youth desire in their education and futures, as well as the challenges they experience, a seven-part survey was conducted with 250 youth from five townships in South Africa. Responses showed that whilst participants strongly value and aspire to further their education, financial difficulties, infrastructural barriers, family problems, and lack of emotional support and life mentorship limit them from achieving this. Participants reflected on how colonial and apartheid legacies have affected their educational experiences and identities through inferior quality of education, forced languages, forgotten histories and incongruent values, cultural norms and practices. In parallel, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 MOOC designers, from South Africa and the USA, to investigate the ways in which efforts, if any, were being made to reach students most in need of quality education. Interviews covered themes of openness, accessibility, and justice. It was found that, depending on the MOOC designer’s understanding of social justice and decolonial thought, they placed varying emphasis on addressing different forms of injustice. Some focused on resource, access and infrastructural barriers, while others focused on issues of content relevance and knowledge production. Furthermore, MOOC designers’ attempts to address injustices strongly related to their own identities and lived experiences, highlighting the importance of plurality of thought and epistemic diversity in the producers of MOOCs. Drawing on the historical injustices and lived experiences of the youth, and the attempts to address injustices by the MOOC designers, it was ascertained that there is no one size-fits-all formula to creating equitable MOOCs. Rather, depending on the purpose and target audience of the MOOC, nuanced approaches to addressing injustices are suggested. These approaches are shaped by various leverage points that influence the types of, and the extent to which, participatory methods, accessibility measures, knowledge sources, assessment and critical pedagogy are implemented. Additionally, the importance of these leverage points varies over the MOOC’s lifecycle, from inception and design, to implementation and assessment. Bearing in mind the broad-ranging injustices that youth participants raised, these approaches are presented with great caution that educational technologies and open education are not panaceas but if designed and used appropriately and justly, can be tools for liberation

A New Ecology for Learning : An Online Ethnographic Study of Learners’ Participation and Experience in Connectivist MOOCs

This dissertation focuses on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which have emerged and heralded as new online learning environments able to serve large numbers of students. Identifying two main types of MOOCs known as connectivist MOOCs (cMOOCs) and instructivist MOOCs (xMOOCs), emphasis is placed on the learning ecology of connectivist MOOCs and how the format, with all of its attention on learner-centered pedagogy and social media invite collaboration and networking. The thesis provides detailed analysis and description of learners’ experiences and perceptions of participation and their use of online tools and resources in the process of learning and networking. CMOOCs promote the ideals of re-structuring the spaces of learning from classrooms to open networked ecologies that enable learners to have greater control over their learning experiences, content, and use of technologies. The study builds on the theoretical foundations of networked learning and connectivism that undergird the affordances of technology in promoting connectedness among learners, resources, networks and communities. The investigations into personalized learning and ecological learning design shed light on the significant role of learners and acknowledge their autonomy in creating their learning environments. The study employed and developed “online ethnography” to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of learning in cMOOCs from the perspectives of learners themselves. Data were gathered from several MOOCs over a five-year period through participant observation, interviews, open-ended questions, surveys, and online artifacts. The findings demonstrate that cMOOCs are learner-centered ecologies in which learners participate in the flow and generation of knowledge by creating and sharing content through networked technologies such as blogs, wikis, Twitter, and Facebook. Developing a personal learning environment (PLE) in cMOOCs enhances learner autonomy and creates a space for them to aggregate, remix, repurpose content, reflect, and share their learning experiences. Additionally, the results indicate that participation in cMOOCs requires learners to assume active roles in a spirit of openness in forming their learning experiences and networking activities; to develop digital competence to manage the abundance of resources. Theoretical understandings and empirical evidence of the sub-studies helped delineate cMOOCs as an open networked learning ecology that positions a learner at the intersection of personalized and networked situations to foster processes of self-directed learning and connectedness in open online contexts. The study contributes to the knowledge and pedagogy of open networked learning and provides insights to help universities, course designers, MOOC providers, instructors, and participants improve online learning experiences.Tämä väitöstutkimus käsittelee merkittäviksi uudenlaisiksi verkko-oppimisen ympäristöiksi muodostuneita massiivisia avoimia verkkokursseja (massive open online courses, MOOCs). MOOC-ympäristöjen kaksi päätyyppiä ovat vuorovaikusta ja yhteydenpitoa painottavat kurssit (connectivist MOOCs, eli cMOOCs) ja opetusta painottavat kurssit (instructivist MOOCs eli xMOOCs). Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan, kuinka osallistujat hahmottavat ja jäsentävät cMOOCs-kurssien oppimisen ekologian. Tutki-mus tarjoaa yksityiskohtaisen analyysin ja kuvauksen oppijoiden osallistumisen kokemuksista ja havainnoista sekä heidän online-työkalujen ja resurssien käytöstä toimiessaan cMOOCs:ympäristössä. Siirtämällä oppimisen luokkahuoneista avoimiin verkostoituneisiin ekologioihin cMOOC-kurssit pyrkivät muuttamaan oppimisen tiloja mahdollistaen oppijoille suuremman vastuun oman oppimiskokemuksensa muodostumiseen. Ne tarjoavat myös oppijoille mahdollisuuden ottaa käyttöön laajan valikoiman teknologioita joiden avulla he valitsevat, luovat, jakavat sisältöä sekä tuottavat materiaalia tiedon virtaan. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen perusta on verkottuneessa oppimisessa sekä konnektivismissa, jotka korostavat teknologian käyttömahdollisuuksia oppijoiden, resurssien, verkostojen ja yhteisöjen välisen vuorovaikutuksen rakentamisessa. Keskeisiä ovat esimerkiksi henkilökohtaisen oppimisen (personalized learning) sekä ekologisen oppimisen (ecological learning) suunnittelu, jotka painottavat oppijoiden keskeistä roolia sekä tunnustavat heidän autonomiansa omien oppimisympäristöjensä luojina. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin ja samalla kehitettiin online-etnografiaa pragmaattisena tutkimusmetodina, jonka avulla voidaan paremmin ymmärtää oppimisen dynamiikkaa cMOOC-oppimisympäristöissä. Aineistoa kerättiin useilta verkkokursseilta osallistuvan havainnoinnin, haastattelujen, strukturoitujen ja avoimia kysymyksiä sisältävien kyselylomakkeiden sekä online-tuotosten avulla reilun viiden vuoden aikana. Tulokset osoittavat, että cMOOC-kurssit ovat oppijakeskeisiä ekologioita, joissa oppijat osallistuvat tiedon tuottamisen ketjuun luomalla ja jakamalla sisältöä verkottuneiden teknologioiden, kuten blogien, wiki-alustojen, Twitterin ja Facebookin avulla. Henkilökohtaisen oppimisympäristön (personal learning environment, PLE) kehittäminen cMOOC-kursseilla mahdollistaa oppijan autonomian sekä luo heille tilan, jossa voi koota, yhdistellä, uudelleen järjestellä ja suunnata sisältöä sekä reflektoida ja jakaa omia oppimiskokemuksia. Lisäksi tulokset osoittavat, että cMOOC oppimisympäristöihin osallistuminen edellyttää oppijoilta aktiivisen roolin omaksumista ja avoimuutta heidän oppimiskokemustensa ja verkostoitumista koskevien toimintojensa muodostamisessa. cMOOCs oppimisympäristöt edellyttävät oppijoilta myös digitaalisten kompetenssien kehittämistä, joilla tarjolla olevien resurssien runsautta on mahdollista hallita. Tutkimuksen tuottama teoreettinen ja empiirinen ymmärrys massiivisista avoimista verkkokursseista mahdollistaa viitekehyksen luomisen avoimen verkostoituneen oppimisen ekologialle (open networked learning ecology) joka asettaa oppijan henkilökohtaisten ja verkottuneiden tilanteiden risteyskohtaan sekä edistää itseohjautuvan oppimisen ja yhteyksien luomisen pro-sesseja avoimissa online-konteksteissa. Tutkimuksen tulokset hyödyttävät avoimia verkottunutta oppimista koskevaa tietoa ja pedagogiikkaa sekä tarjoavat näkökulmia, jotka auttavat, MOOC-ympäristöjen tarjoajia, opettajia ja osallistujia kehittämään online-oppimisen kokemuksia

Remix as Professional Learning: Educators’ Iterative Literacy Practice in CLMOOC

The Connected Learning Massive Open Online Collaboration (CLMOOC) is an online professional development experience designed as an openly networked, production-centered, participatory learning collaboration for educators. Addressing the paucity of research that investigates learning processes in MOOC experiences, this paper examines the situated literacy practices that emerged as educators in CLMOOC composed, collaborated, and distributed multimediated artifacts. Using a collaborative, interactive visual mapping tool as participant-researchers, we analyzed relationships between publically available artifacts and posts generated in one week through a transliteracies framework. Culled data included posts on Twitter (n = 678), a Google+ Community (n = 105), a Facebook Group (n = 19), a blog feed (n = 5), and a “make� repository (n = 21). Remix was found to be a primary form of interaction and mediator of learning. Participants not only iterated on each others’ artifacts, but on social processes and shared practices as well. Our analysis illuminated four distinct remix mobilities and relational tendencies—bursting, drifting, leveraging, and turning. Bursting and drifting characterize the paces and proximities of remixing while leveraging and turning are activities more obviously disruptive of social processes and power hierarchies. These mobilities and tendencies revealed remix as an emergent, iterative, collaborative, critical practice with transformative possibilities for openly networked web-mediated professional learning.ECU Open Access Publishing Support Fun

ECO D2.6 Web 2.0 requirements analysis

ECO sMOOCs are social and seamless and the pedagogical design puts the learner central, taking an active role and learning through interactions and connections with others. The platforms have to provide the features not only support social interaction but promote and enhance these. This deliverable puts forward what features can scaffold interactions, taking into account lessons learned from popular social media.Part of the work carried out has been funded with support from the European Commission, under the ICT Policy Support Programme, as part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) in the ECO project under grant agreement n° 21127

MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses)

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online courses available to anyone who can sign up. MOOCs provide an affordable and flexible way to learn new skills, advance in careers, and provide quality educational experiences to a certain extent. Millions of people around the world use MOOCs for learning and their reasons are various, including career development, career change, college preparation, supplementary learning, lifelong learning, corporate e-Learning and training, and so on

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – A MOOC for Academic Purposes

Since its fifth framework programme (1998–2002), the European Union has promoted gender equality and equal opportunities in the higher education sector and science and technological development. In its current framework programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe (2021–2027), the EU requires scientists to systematically integrate the concepts of sex, gender and intersectionality into their research paths and to promote equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in their working environments. However, for historical reasons, following the EU requirements is challenging, particularly for scientists in STEM disciplines. The University of Genoa is planning a MOOC suited to a large research institution audience to address this problem. The MOOC’s targets are researchers, scholars, administrative personnel and students interested in advancing EDI practices in the scientific fields. It enables them to understand the basic principles underlying the gender mainstreaming adopted by the EU and integrate methods and strategies related to sex, gender and intersectionality to progress towards an EDI-sensitive institution. Supported by a learner-centred instructional strategy, this chapter explores the choices related to EDI-sensitive methods and strategies adopted to develop and implement an online education path. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed