An Analysis of Participants’ Experiences from the First International MOOC Offered at the University of Oslo
Abstract This paper explores pedagogical practices and participants’ engagement in learning activities during the first international Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) offered by the University of Oslo through the FutureLearn platform in 2015. The data were collected using pre- and post-...
Main Authors: | , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Universitetsforlaget
2018-01-01
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Series: | Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.idunn.no/dk/2018/01/an_analysis_of_participants_experiences_from_the_first_int |
Summary: | Abstract
This paper explores pedagogical practices and participants’ engagement
in learning activities during the first international Massive Open
Online Course (MOOC) offered by the University of Oslo through the
FutureLearn platform in 2015. The data were collected using pre-
and post-course surveys and participant observations. We used the
acquisition and participation metaphors of learning proposed by
Sfard (1998) as a conceptual framework to inform our analyses and
discussions. The data indicated that new pedagogical practices are
in the making for online learning, involving elements of existing
practices and radically new ones. The instructors had sole authority
in developing and curating course contents, thus following the acquisition
metaphor of teaching and learning. In addition, the data indicated
that, overall, the learners had a positive experience of learning
by participating in the MOOC. The learners engaged in online discussion
forums, interacting asynchronously with fellow learners and mentors.
The discussion forums promoted knowledge sharing and collaborative
learning activities among diverse groups (joiners, surveyors, and social
learners). The apparent contradiction between teaching according
to the acquisition metaphor and the learners’ preferences for the
participation metaphor was resolved by some of the learners through
self-organised scaffolding. The teachers did not interact enough
with the learners and so, to compensate, some learners took on facilitating
roles. We discuss our findings in terms of the related work and
contemporary trends in online learning and higher education research,
including learning analytics, formative assessment, personalization,
collaboration support, and lifelong learning. |
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ISSN: | 0809-6724 1891-943X |