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MOOCs, Educators and Learning Designers in UK HE

MOOCs, Educators and Learning Designers in UK HE
MOOCs, Educators and Learning Designers in UK HE
MOOCs are frequently portrayed as “agents of change” in higher education impacting on institutional practices, processes and structures. Few studies have looked at the relationship between social change and the construction of MOOCs within higher education, particularly in terms of educator and learning designer roles and practices. This research takes a socio-technical perspective, combining the established analytical strategy of Socio-Technical Interaction Networks (STIN) with social theoretical frameworks of HE activity. These social theories are used as lenses through which to relate the STIN findings to the particular activities of educators and learning designers. This multi-site case study provides empirical evidence of the extent to which MOOCs are constructed in particular contexts, and the social implications of MOOCs for educator and learning designer roles and practices. Preliminary findings indicate that learning-designers occupy a hub-like position in the networks of actors involved in MOOC development within an emergent ‘third space’. The analysis also reveals how certain seemingly peripheral actors exert a strong influence of on course production processes and content. The work contributes to the body of STIN research in relation to the Web, and understandings of ‘third space’ activity in higher education by including analysis of both social and technical factors to account for changing practices and roles in HE
White, Steven
11ad3254-7def-4d57-8a74-12e8312d37f2
White, Su
5f9a277b-df62-4079-ae97-b9c35264c146
White, Steven
11ad3254-7def-4d57-8a74-12e8312d37f2
White, Su
5f9a277b-df62-4079-ae97-b9c35264c146

White, Steven and White, Su (2016) MOOCs, Educators and Learning Designers in UK HE. FutureLearn Academic Network, Milton Keynes, Glasgow, United Kingdom. 07 Jun 2016.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Other)

Abstract

MOOCs are frequently portrayed as “agents of change” in higher education impacting on institutional practices, processes and structures. Few studies have looked at the relationship between social change and the construction of MOOCs within higher education, particularly in terms of educator and learning designer roles and practices. This research takes a socio-technical perspective, combining the established analytical strategy of Socio-Technical Interaction Networks (STIN) with social theoretical frameworks of HE activity. These social theories are used as lenses through which to relate the STIN findings to the particular activities of educators and learning designers. This multi-site case study provides empirical evidence of the extent to which MOOCs are constructed in particular contexts, and the social implications of MOOCs for educator and learning designer roles and practices. Preliminary findings indicate that learning-designers occupy a hub-like position in the networks of actors involved in MOOC development within an emergent ‘third space’. The analysis also reveals how certain seemingly peripheral actors exert a strong influence of on course production processes and content. The work contributes to the body of STIN research in relation to the Web, and understandings of ‘third space’ activity in higher education by including analysis of both social and technical factors to account for changing practices and roles in HE

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MOOCs_Educators_Learning_Designers_in_UK_HE.pdf - Other
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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 7 June 2016
Venue - Dates: FutureLearn Academic Network, Milton Keynes, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 2016-06-07 - 2016-06-07
Organisations: Web & Internet Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 396900
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/396900
PURE UUID: a77d0c6e-00af-44f8-87a4-69a0fa47ff6e
ORCID for Steven White: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2296-7082
ORCID for Su White: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9588-5275

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 16 Jun 2016 13:28
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:03

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Contributors

Author: Steven White ORCID iD
Author: Su White ORCID iD

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