Making ‘MOOCs’: The construction of a new digital higher education within news media discourse
Published | November 2014 |
Type of work | Special Issue: Research into Massive Open Online Courses |
Journal | The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning Volume 15, Issue 5, Pages 290-305 |
Original Publication | The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning |
Editors | McGreal, Rory and Conrad, Dianne |
ABSTRACT
One notable ‘disruptive’ impact of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has been an increased public discussion of online education. While much debate over the potential and challenges of MOOCs has taken place online confined largely to niche communities of practitioners and advocates, the rise of corporate ‘xMOOC’ ventures such as Coursera, edX and Udacity has prompted popular mass media interest at levels not seen with previous educational innovations. This article addresses this important societal outcome of the recent emergence of MOOCs as an educational form by examining the popular discursive construction of MOOCs over the past 24 months within mainstream news media sources in United States, Australia and the UK. In particular, we provide a critical account of what has been an important phase in the history of educational technology—detailing a period when popular discussion of MOOCs has far outweighed actual use/participation. We argue that a critical analysis of MOOC discourse throughout the past two years highlights broader societal struggles over education and digital technology—capturing a significant moment before these debates subside with the anticipated normalization and assimilation of MOOCs into educational practice. This analysis also sheds light on the influences underpinning how many people perceive MOOCs thereby leading to a better understanding of acceptance/adoption and rejection/resistance amongst various professional and popular publics.Keywords | discourse · education reform · eLearning · higher education · MOOC · news media |
ISSN | 1492-3831 |
Other number | 5 |
Refereed | Yes |
Rights | by/4.0 |
URL | http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1856 |
Other information | IRRODL |
Export options | BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar |
AVAILABLE FILES
Viewed by 73 distinct readers
CLOUD COMMUNITY REVIEWS
The evaluations below represent the judgements of our readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cloud editors.
Click a star to be the first to rate this document
▶ POST A COMMENT
SIMILAR RECORDS
Open Education: Introduction to selected papers
Gil-Jaurena, Inés
This issue of Open Praxis compiles selected papers presented at the Open Education Consortium Global Conference, held in Cape Town (South Africa) on March 8-10, 2017. Additionaly, the Innovative Practice section ...
Match: eLearning; higher education; MOOC
Perceived resources and technology acceptance model (PRATAM): Students' acceptance of e-Learning in Mathematics
Tarmuji, Nor Habibah; Ahmad, Salimah; Abdullah, Nur Hidayah Masni; Nassir, Asyura Abd; et al.
The methods of teaching in class are also affected with the rise of technology used in education. The lecturer or instructor may want to use innovative ways of teaching to capture the students' attention and to make the ...
Match: eLearning; MOOC
Initial trends in enrolment and completion of massive open online courses
Jordan, Katy; McGreal, Rory; Conrad, Dianne
The past two years have seen rapid development of massive open online courses (MOOCs) with the rise of a number of MOOC platforms. The scale of enrolment and participation in the earliest mainstream MOOC courses has ...
Match: eLearning; higher education
Exploring the experiences of instructors teaching massive open online courses in tourism and hospitality: A mixed methods approach
Lin, Jingjing; Cantoni, Lorenzo
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have existed as a disruptive educational phenomenon for nine years. Grounded in the roots of distance education, open education, Open Educational Resources, and OpenCourseWare, MOOCs ...
Match: eLearning; MOOC
Massive Open and Online Courses (MOOC) in an international perspective: New global agenda for innovation in higher education
Titlestad, Gard
This report is written based on a note provided by ICDE’s Secretary General Gard Titlestad to the Norwegian Government. It has been slightly modified to adapt it for an international audience and a working ...
Match: higher education; MOOC
MOOCS Massive Open Online Courses
Gaebel, Michael
Match: higher education; MOOC
Validation of non-formal MOOC-based learning: An analysis of assessment and recognition practices in Europe (OpenCred)
Witthaus, Gabi; dos Santos, Andreia Inamorato; Childs, Mark; Tannhauser, Anne-Christin; et al.
This report presents the outcomes of research, conducted between May 2014 and November 2015, into emerging practices in assessment, credentialisation and recognition in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Following ...
Match: higher education; MOOC
Why MOOCs while dealing with large numbers of distance learners
Aydin, Cengiz Hakan
This webinar focuses on a long-time open and distance learning provider institution’s MOOCs initiative. It does not only provide an insight about the instructional, assessment, and managerial strategies but also ...
Match: higher education; MOOC
How does quality assurance make a difference?
Ubachs, George; Mulder, Fred
Although e-learning has become mainstream provision in European higher education it has not yet become integral part of the QA systems.
Surveys like the E-learning Quality (ELQ) report (2008:11R) show that quality in ...
Match: eLearning; higher education
Russian perspectives of online learning technologies in higher education: An empirical study of a MOOC
Larionova, Viola; Brown, Ken; Bystrova, Tatiana; Sinitsyn, Evgueny
There has been a rapid growth of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in the global education market in the last decade. Online learning technologies are becoming increasingly widespread in the non-formal education ...
Match: higher education; MOOC