%0	Conference Proceedings
%A	Ponti, Marisa
%C	Oslo, Norway, Europe
%D	2014
%K	MOOC research
%K	MOOC
%K	mechanical MOOC
%P	1-10
%T	Hei Mookie! Where do I start? The role of artifacts in an unmanned MOOC
%U	http://mitopencourseware.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/mechmooc_ponti.pdf
%X	Three artifacts were examined in a Massive Open 
Online Course (MOOC) called Mechanical because 
there is no professor to offer the course. Employing the 
notion of inscription from actor-network theory, the 
analysis focuses on the action of facilitation embedded 
in these artifacts and the ways in which these actions 
unfold. Using online ethnography, this study attempts 
to explicate how the designers have delegated 
facilitation to these objects. The findings suggest that 
the artifacts play a distinct role in enacting forms of 
facilitation and sustaining the course without teaching 
presence. They indicate that the artifacts do not play 
simply an intermediary role, but work to redistribute 
facilitation and reformulate social relations. While 
online courses have relied primarily upon teachers, 
with the increased size and technological 
interdependence of this MOOC, the examined artifacts 
apparently remove the need for exposure to teachers, 
by providing participants with peer interactions and 
automated coordination and testing
%8	01/2014
%*	yes
%>	http://www.oerknowledgecloud.org/archive/mechmooc_ponti.pdf