MOOC!

Having spent a loooooong time choosing, I eventually decided upon this edX MOOC:

As I wrote up on the Digital Hub, I picked it mainly for its name. I thought it was either biased or ironic (since looking at the course content, thought, it is neither, which is interesting). The topic is fascinating too, and while I know a little about media ethics I know zilch about investigative journalism.

I was also trying to pick a MOOC that would work well with the ethnographic project. My main priority (after the name, clearly) was to find a MOOC that would allow me to explore how significant the immediate context is to the development of community and discussion.

The next task was to decide about whether to come clean about the ethnography, and I felt as though I at least had to ask permission. I didn’t want to put it onto the forum, because I’d rather be a passive observer, so I found the email address of the course leader and contacted her directly. I said I’d anonymise everything, release no personal details, photos, anything that might identify a course participant, and said I’d be willing to consider complying with anything else she wanted. I haven’t heard back yet, but if she says ‘no’ then I will of course find something else…

UPDATE (12.2.17): course leader said yes! She’s just checking with Columbia’s Centre for Teaching and Learning but thinks it should be fine. Woo! 🙂