A case study of work-based learning through the design of edX MOOCs for Latin America and the Caribbean
Freire, Fabian

PublishedSeptember 2020
JournalOpen Praxis
Volume 12, Issue 3, Pages 383-397
CountryUnited States, North America

ABSTRACT
This exploratory case study analyzed the reported learning experiences among the multidisciplinary practitioners employed in the development of edX courses for a pioneering MOOC program targeted at Latin America and Caribbean. It applied work-based learning theory and activity theory to answer the question of whether and how a group of 20 participants—including subject matter experts, instructional designers, administrative assistants, platform technicians, and media producers—experienced work-based learning through their collaboration during the MOOC program’s initial professionalization period. Using qualitative research methods via interviews, observation, and document analysis, it illuminated the practical, pedagogical, and organizational factors that participants identified as critical for succeeding in their jobs. The principal study finding indicated that the entirety of participants experienced work-based learning in response to systemic tensions related to one or more of the five phases of the MOOC design cycle. The secondary findings concluded that participants encountered significant pressures and opportunities for learning as a result of: developing educational resources or learning activities (80%), the need for improving organizational processes (85%), and facing constant technological upgrades (75%). Finally, the study recommends that MOOC design teams (a) rethink the role of the instructor vis-à-vis the techno-pedagogical affordances of the MOOC platform, and (b) design adaptive organizational structures that support a plurality of sociomaterial workflows.

Keywords open education · MOOCs · edX · adult education · work-based learning · Latin America · Caribbean

LanguageEnglish
ISSN2304-070X
RefereedYes
RightsCC BY
DOI10.5944/openpraxis.12.3.1096
Export optionsBibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar



AVAILABLE FILES
1096-4514-2-PB.pdf · 616KB1 download



Viewed by 92 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 educational resources: Global report 2017
Three documents have been developed in the framework of the 2nd World OER Congress. The two documents: Open Educational Resources: From Commitment to Action and the Open Educational Resources: Global Report 2017 provide ...
Match: caribbean; latin america; north america

Open education
Pisutova, K.
Introduction to some concepts of openness in education. This presentation addresses concepts of Open Licensing (Creative Commons licenses), Open Content, Open Coursewere, Open Educational Resources, and Open Teaching ...
Match: open education

Sustainability of open education through collaboration
de Langen, Frank
The definition of openness influenced the sustainability of business models of Open Education (OE). Yet, whether openness is defined as the free (re)usage of resources, or the free entry in courses, there always is a ...
Match: open education; moocs

Something for everyone? The different approaches of academic disciplines to Open Educational Resources and the effect on widening participation
Coughlan, Tony; Perryman, L -A.
This article explores the relationship between academic disciplines? representation in the United Kingdom Open University's (OU) OpenLearn open educational resources (OER) repository and in the OU's fee-paying ...
Match: open education; work-based learning

Determination of teachers’ perspectives and level of readiness towards MOOCs for tolerance education
Arnavut, Ahmet; Bicen, Hüseyin
New opportunities are now provided in individual’s lives due to the development of technology. This has led to changes in educational environments as well as technology, which has removed barriers to participation due ...
Match: moocs; adult education

From OER to MOO Cs: Critical perspectives on the historical mediation trajectories of open education
Alevizou, Giota
This article considers the intersections between digital and open education to explore how openness, as a value and currency, has conditioned the mediation trajectories of pedagogical knowledge domains and communicative ...
Match: open education; moocs

A new ecology for learning : An online ethnographic study of learners’ participation and experience in Connectivist MOOCs
Saadatmand, Mohsen; Kumpulainen, Kristiina; Ilsley, Paul
This dissertation focuses on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which have emerged and heralded as new online learning environments able to serve large numbers of students. Identifying two main types of MOOCs known as ...
Match: open education; moocs

Adoption and impact of OER in the Global South
Hodgkinson-Williams, Cheryl; Arinto, Patricia B.
Education in the Global South faces several key interrelated challenges, for which Open Educational Resources (OER) are seen to be part of the solution. These challenges include: unequal access to education; variable ...
Match: moocs; latin america

MOOCS: What The Open University research tells us
Ferguson, Rebecca; Coughlan, Tim; Herodotou, Christothea
This quality enhancement report recommends priority areas for university activity in relation to massive open online courses (MOOCs). It does this by bringing together all The Open University’s published research work ...
Match: open education; moocs

An Introduction to Open Education
Arts, Yvette; Call, Hannah; Cavan, Melissa; Holmes, Theresa P.; et al.
This open-access edited volume features chapters by leading and emerging authors and researchers in the field of open education and open educational resources. Sections include the foundations of OE and OER, current ...
Match: open education; united states; north america