Visualising structure and agency in a MOOC using the Footprints of Emergence framework

Reviews of research into MOOCs have identified two areas needing further research; the individual learner experience and the role of the teacher/facilitator. In this paper we examine the teacher/facilitator’s role as MOOC designer in achieving an appropriate balance between structure and agency in the design of a specific MOOC, and consider whether this balance was achieved by analysing the learners' experience of this MOOC. To do this we used a tool known as Footprints of Emergence, which enables designers, teachers, learners and researchers to visualise the course design and their learning experience in any course. Drawing Footprints of Emergence requires deep reflection on 25 factors which influence learning in complex learning environments, such as MOOCs. The context for this research was the Competences for Global Collaboration MOOC (cope15) offered by FH Joanneum, in Graz, Austria, in Spring 2015. Through negotiation and taking advantage of a diversity of competences and experiences, the team designed a hybrid learning space with a multitude of resources and learning paths. They used an approach which combined Salmon's model for moderating small groups of learners with the principles of connectivism and the structuring of xMOOCs. In using this approach the teachers needed to adopt unfamiliar roles as open practitioners and relinquish control over their students. The visualisation offered by the design footprint of cope15 helped to frame their discussion and planning. The MOOC design required learners to assume responsibility for their own learning, deal with uncertainty and be open to a holistic learning experience. At the end of the MOOC they were asked to draw a Footprint to reflect on their learning experience and provide a written reflection. 30 participants agreed to their Footprints and written reflections being analysed for this research. The Footprints show that a balance between structure and agency was achieved for these learners. They experienced neither too much prescription nor too much chaos in the MOOC design and learning processes. These preliminary findings suggest that attention to structure and agency using the Footprints of Emergence visualisation tool enables the design of a MOOC to meet learners’ needs, and supports end of course reflection and evaluation

Learners’ experiences in cMOOCs (2008-2016)

This research began in 2008 (the year of the first MOOC) with the aim of increasing understanding of the diversity and complexity of participants’ learning experiences in connectivist, massive, open, online learning environments (cMOOCs). Through their ‘massiveness’ and openness these MOOCs have the potential to influence traditional conventions of teaching and learning in Higher Education institutions by placing learners in new, uncertain and unpredictable environments. I have published 21 peer-reviewed works that have been cited by many other researchers in the field. These works contribute to an understanding of the theory and practice of MOOC pedagogy, individual participants’ learning experiences in MOOCs and the roles of teachers in facilitating these experiences. This has led to the development of a multi-dimensional framework (known as ‘Footprints of Emergence’), which takes a holistic approach to reflecting on and evaluating open learning. This unique framework, has been used in the UK, Europe, the USA and Canada to explore the design of open learning environments and to elicit and make explicit tacit understandings of individual learning experiences, positioning such experiences on a spectrum between prescribed and emergent learning. My work has been collaborative, open and emergent. The research has drawn on social learning theory and connectivism to conduct empirical research into MOOCs. The research findings highlight the diversity of participants in MOOCs and their vulnerability to imbalances of power relations, which can lead to isolation and exclusion, particularly in the absence of sound ethical teaching and learning practices. This is significant because MOOCs can be experienced as liminal spaces in which participants can have transformational learning experiences. I propose that a new perspective on the balance between structure and agency to support these transformational experiences is required. The Footprints of Emergence framework is suggested as a useful tool for determining what an appropriate balance might be. This research has implications for the methods used for investigating learning experiences in cMOOCs, the design of these MOOCs and the changing roles of teachers, learners and researchers in these environments. The research suggests that innovative methods and frameworks are needed for cMOOC research, that the design of cMOOCs should take greater account of the complexity of open environments, that new responsibilities are required of teachers and that a fresh perspective is needed on the ethics of teaching and learning in MOOCs

Participant association and emergent curriculum in a MOOC: can the community be the curriculum?

We investigated how participants associated with each other and developed community in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) about Rhizomatic Learning (Rhizo14). We compared learner experiences in two social networking sites (SNSs), Facebook and Twitter. Our combination of thematic analysis of qualitative survey data with analysis of participant observation, activity data, archives and visualisation of SNS data enabled us to reach a deeper understanding of participant perspectives and explore SNS use. Community was present in the course title and understood differently by participants. In the absence of explanation or discussion about community early in the MOOC, a controversy between participants about course expectations emerged that created oppositional discourse. Fall off in activity in MOOCs is common and was evident in Rhizo14. As the course progressed, fewer participants were active in Facebook and some participants reported feelings of exclusion. Despite this, activity in Facebook increased overall. The top 10 most active participants were responsible for 47% of total activity. In the Rhizo14 MOOC, both community and curriculum were expected to emerge within the course. We suggest that there are tensions and even contradictions between ‘Community Is the Curriculum’ and Deleuze and Guattari's principles of the rhizome, mainly focussed on an absence of heterogeneity. These tensions may be exacerbated by SNSs that use algorithmic streams. We propose the use of networking approaches that enable negotiation and exchange to encourage heterogeneity rather than emergent definition of community

Rhizo14: A Rhizomatic Learning cMOOC in Sunlight and in Shade

The authors present findings from the first stage of research into a “home-grown” connectivist MOOC, Rhizomatic Learning: The Community is the Curriculum (Rhizo14). We compare the surface view of the MOOC that has been presented in a range of open blog posts and articles with the view from beneath the surface that we have found in data we have collected (some anonymously). Our analysis reveals a positive, even transformative, experience for many participants on the one hand, but some more negative experiences and outcomes for other participants. These findings highlight the need for further research on the ethical implications of pedagogical experimentation, interrelated processes of community and curriculum formation, the role of the MOOC convener, and learner experiences within MOOC communities. In this paper we report on the alternative experiences of Rhizo14 participants and identify issues that we will explore in deeper analysis in forthcoming publications.</p

Connectivism and Dimensions of Individual Experience

Connectivism has been offered as a new learning theory for a digital age, with four key principles for learning: autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness. The testing ground for this theory has been massive open online courses (MOOCs). As the number of MOOC offerings increases, interest in how people interact and develop as individual learners in these complex, diverse, and distributed environments is growing. In their work in these environments the authors have observed a growing tension between the elements of connectivity believed to be necessary for effective learning and the variety of individual perspectives both revealed and concealed during interactions with these elements. In this paper we draw on personality and self-determination theories to gain insight into the dimensions of individual experience in connective environments and to further explore the meaning of autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness. The authors suggest that definitions of all four principles can be expanded to recognize individual and psychological diversity within connective environments. They also suggest that such expanded definitions have implications for learners’ experiences of MOOCs, recognizing that learners may vary greatly in their desire for and interpretation of connectivity, autonomy, openness, and diversity

Connectivism and Dimensions of Individual Experience

Connectivism has been offered as a new learning theory for a digital age, with four key principles for learning: autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness. The testing ground for this theory has been massive open online courses (MOOCs). As the number of MOOC offerings increases, interest in how people interact and develop as individual learners in these complex, diverse, and distributed environments is growing. In their work in these environments the authors have observed a growing tension between the elements of connectivity believed to be necessary for effective learning and the variety of individual perspectives both revealed and concealed during interactions with these elements. In this paper we draw on personality and self-determination theories to gain insight into the dimensions of individual experience in connective environments and to further explore the meaning of autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness. The authors suggest that definitions of all four principles can be expanded to recognize individual and psychological diversity within connective environments. They also suggest that such expanded definitions have implications for learners’ experiences of MOOCs, recognizing that learners may vary greatly in their desire for and interpretation of connectivity, autonomy, openness, and diversity

Investigación y aprendizaje abiertos

This paper describes the authors’ journeys from traditionally closed to open research, and the development of a theoretical framework, and some practical tools and a 3D graphic palette, for designers, teachers and learners to use, to describe the dynamics of learning in the new open learning courses and events, including MOOCs and other interactive learning spaces. Using a narrative approach, the authors draw on their recent research experience to explore the influences on this shift and how it aligns with their increasing work in emergent learning. The shift has itself been an emergent process. Changes in the both open research and open learning are based on ‘social software’, which changes the relationship between public and private space, and formal and informal forms of speech and writing. This creates a new hybrid, or ‘mashup’ between open research and open learning, which goes beyond ‘open scholarship’Este documento describe los viajes de los autores desde una investigación tradicionalmente cerrada a una abierta; el desarrollo de un marco teórico y algunas herramientas prácticas, y una paleta gráfica, para que los diseñadores, profesores y estudiantes puedan utilizar, para describir las dinámicas de enseñanza en los nuevos cursos y eventos de enseñanza abierta, incluyendo MOOCs (CMAOs en español) y otros espacios interactivos de enseñanza. Al usar un enfoque narrativo, los autores recurren a su reciente experiencia de investigación para explorar las influencias en este cambio, y cómo se alinea con el aumento de trabajo en la enseñanza emergente. El cambio en sí mismo es un proceso emergente. Cambios tanto en la investigación abierta como en la enseñanza abierta, tienen su base en el ‘software social’, el cual cambia la relación entre el espacio público y privado, y las formas del habla y escritura formal e informal. Esto crea un nuevo híbrido, o un ‘mashup’, es decir una mezcla, entre investigación abierta y enseñanza abierta, que va más allá de una ‘beca abierta’

Campus virtuales : revista científica iberoamericana de tecnología educativa

Resumen basado en el de la publicaciónMonográfico con el título: Nuevos tiempos y nuevos modelos pedagógicos. MOOCsSe describe la experiencia de los autores en cuanto al cambio de la investigación tradicional a la investigación en acceso abierto, el desarrollo de un marco teórico y algunas herramienta prácticas y una paleta gráfica en 3D. Material dirigido a diseñadores, profesores y alumnos para describir las dinámicas de aprendizaje en los nuevos cursos abiertos incluido los MOOCs y otros espacios interactivos de aprendizajeES