Can iMOOCs close the Opportunity Gaps?: the contribution of social inclusive pedagogical design.

Abstract

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are open courses made available online at no cost to the user and designed to scale up, allowing for a large number of participants. As such, they are a disruptive new development which has the potential to widen access to higher education since they contribute to social inclusion, the dissemination of knowledge and pedagogical innovation. However, assuring quality learning opportunities to all cannot be simply reduced to allowing free access to higher education. On the contrary, it implies assuring equitable opportunities for every participant to succeed in their learning experience. This goal depends on the quality of the learning design. To be successful, a massive open online learning experience has to empower learners and to facilitate a networked learning environment. In fact, MOOCs are designed to serve a high heterogeneity of profiles, with many differences regarding learning needs and preferences, prior knowledge, contexts of participation and diversity of online platforms. Personalization can play a key role in this process. In this article, the authors describe the iMOOC pedagogical model and its later derivative, the sMOOC model, and explain how they contributed to the introduction of the principles of diversity and learner equity to MOOC design, allowing for a clear differentiation of learning paths and also of virtual environments, while empowering participants to succeed in their learning experiences. Using a design-based research approach, a comparative analysis of two course iterations each representing each model is also presented and discussed. KEY WORDS: distance education, open learning systems, online learning, equal opportunity in education, education for all. RESUMEN Los cursos en línea abiertos y masivos (MOOC) son cursos abiertos disponibles en línea sin costo para el usuario y diseñados para ampliarse, permitiendo un gran número de participantes. Como tales, son un nuevo desarrollo disruptivo que tiene el potencial de ampliar el acceso a la educación superior, ya que contribuyen a la inclusión social, la difusión del conocimiento y la innovación pedagógica. Sin embargo, garantizar oportunidades de aprendizaje de calidad para todos no puede reducirse simplemente a permitir el acceso gratuito a la educación superior. Por el contrario, implica asegurar oportunidades equitativas para que cada participante tenga éxito en su experiencia de aprendizaje. Este objetivo depende de la calidad del diseño de aprendizaje. Para tener éxito, una experiencia de aprendizaje en línea abierta y masiva debe empoderar a los alumnos y facilitar un entorno de aprendizaje en red. De hecho, los MOOC están diseñados para servir a una gran heterogeneidad de perfiles, con muchas diferencias con respecto a las necesidades y preferencias de aprendizaje, conocimiento previo, contextos de participación y diversidad de plataformas en línea. La personalización puede jugar un papel clave en este proceso. En este artículo, los autores describen el modelo pedagógico iMOOC y su derivada po...

Utilizing an SDL Approach in Designing a Gamification-Based MOOC to Enhance Autonomous Learning

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“…Such democratization aligns with the principles of equitable access, as advocated by leading educational theorists (Ahmad et al, 2022;Wu & Wang, 2022). Furthermore, MOOCs have emerged as crucibles for pedagogical experimentation, providing educators with an opportunity to explore a variety of innovative techniques and technologies (Azevedo & Marques, 2017;Goopio & Cheung, 2021;Teixeira et al, 2019). This experimental ethos holds the promise of redefining the future of education, making it more adaptable to the evolving needs of learners.…”

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“…We from the academy believe that the creation of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) could help bridge social gaps in relation to access to quality, inclusive, and equitable education for those groups that have historically been excluded but are interested in sustainable engineering practices, specifically related to the drinking water system in Ecuador. In this sense, the MOOCs have a disruptive approach because they are easily accessible, free of charge, and can be massified, allowing for the participation of a large number of students, contributing to social inclusion, the distribution of knowledge and educational innovation [12].…”

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