Today, I brought the topic of ‘my new course within a course experience’ up in the staffroom at work. The topic of MOOCs raised a heated debate! The fact that anyone, anywhere, without prior experience or credentials can sign up and participate in a MOOC seemed to bother most of my colleagues. They even suggested that a MOOC wasn’t a qualification or of importance and that they should not be inserted into someones CV due to lack of value. However, if these individuals were to participate in a MOOC and experience the structure and knowledge gained from either an xMOOC or a cMOOC would they have a different perspective?

The fact that one can sign up and not necessarily need to pay may result in what Kozinet (2010) describes as a ‘lurker’ or a student that may not complete the course, which devalues the MOOCs worth. The fact that so many students can participate raises issue of quality. Baggaley (2014) speaks of MOOC advocates and the perception that MOOCs represent an ‘educational value meal’.  Stewart (2013) speak of the larger group learners within a MOOC and that they are a sea of unknown names and faces to which the teacher cannot humanly assess and validate the learning of each individual. There is such a variety of MOOCs that ones experience of a MOOC can influence their thoughts and perception of Open Education.

References:

Baggaley, J., 2014. MOOCS: digesting the facts. Distance Education, 35(2), pp.159–163.

Kozinets, R. V. (2010) Chapter 2 ‘Understanding Culture Online’, Netnography: doing ethnographic research online. London: Sage. pp. 21-40.

Stewart, B., (2013). Massiveness + Openness = New Literacies of Participation? MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Technology, 9(2), pp.228–238.

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Will a degree made up of Moocs ever be worth the paper it’s written on ? The Guardian #mscedc https://t.co/Sl8Rd84s2Z

— Linzi McLagan (@LinziMclagan) February 15, 2017