- Research Articles
- Open access
- Published:
Model for democratisation of the contents hosted in MOOCs
Modelo de democratización de los contenidos albergados en los MOOC
International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education volume 12, pages 3–14 (2015)
Abstract
Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have emerged as a new educational tool in higher education, based on gratuity, massiveness and ubiquity. Essentially they suggest an evolution of the Open Learning Movement based on principles of reusing, revising, remixing and redistributing open educational resources (OER). However, in contrast with the content of OERs, content hosed in MOOCs tends to be paywalled and copyrighted, which restricts its reuse. Philosophically, the main problem with MOOCs is the inaccessibility and inadaptability of their resources, challenging democratic open access to knowledge. A number of authors and organisations consider it an ultimate necessity to open up MOOC resources. Therefore in this paper three strategies to open up MOOC contents are proposed: to deposit the materials in repositories of OER (ROER) as individual objects, to archive them in ROER in data packages as learning units or to convert them into OpenCourseWare (OCW) as self-taught courses.
Resumen
Los cursos online masivos y abiertos (MOOC por Massive Online Open Courses) son la materialización de un nuevo escenario formativo en la educación superior fundamentado en la gratuidad, la masividad y la ubicuidad. En su esencia suponen una evolución del movimiento de aprendizaje abierto (Open Learning Movement), cuyos principios son la reutilización, revision, remezcla y redistribución de los recursos educativos abiertos (REA). Pero a diferencia de estos, en los MOOC los contenidos están cerrados y protegidos bajo copyright, por lo que sus materiales no pueden ser reutilizados. Criticados desde diferentes puntos de vista, desde la perspectiva de la filosofÃa REA, el principal problema que presentan es que sus recursos no sean accesibles, modificables y traducibles, lo que impide la democratización y el acceso libre del conocimiento. Por ello diferentes autores e instancias consideran necesaria la apertura de los contenidos de los MOOC y en este artÃculo se proponen tres estrategias para abrir los contenidos: depositar los materiales en repositorios de REA, archivarlos como objetos individuales en repositorios de REA como paquetes de datos y su conversión a Open Courseware, como cursos de autoaprendizaje.
References
Aguaded-Gómez, J. I. (2013). La revolución MOOCs, ¿una nueva educación desde el paradigma tecnológico? Comunicar, 41(21), 7–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.3916/C41-2013-a1
Aguaded, J. I., Vázquez-Cano, E. & Sevillano-GarcÃa, M. (2013). MOOCs, ¿turbocapitalismo de redes o altruismo educativo? Hacia un modelo más sostenible. SCOPEO INFORME No2. MOOC: Estado de la situación actual, posibilidades, retos y futuro. http://scopeo.usal.es/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/scopeoi002.pdf
Bates, A. W. & Sangrà , A. (2011). Managing Technology in Higher Education: Strategies for Transforming Teaching and Learning (1 st ed.). Wiley.
Barnes, C. (2013). MOOCs: The Challenges for Academic Librarians. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 44(3), 163–175. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00048623.2013.821048
Bell, F. (2010). Connectivism: Its place in theory-informed research and innovation in technology-enabled learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning IRROLD, 14(3), 98–118. http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/902
Butler, B., Smith, K., Crews, K. & Courtney, K. K. (2013). Copyright, Licensing, Open Access Session. In: U. of Pennsylvania (ed.), MOOCs and Libraries: Massive Opportunity or Overwhelming Challenge? Philadelphia. http://oclc.org/research/events/2013/03-18.html
Cafolla, R. (2006). Project MERLOT: Bringing Peer Review to Web-Based Educational Resources. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 14(2), 313–323. http://www.editlib.Org/p/4623
Conole, G. (2012). Fostering social inclusion through open educational resources (OER). Distance Education, 37–41. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01587919.2012.700563
Cormier, D. & Siemens, G. (2010). The Open Course: Through the Open Door: Open Courses as Research, Learning, and Engagement. Educause Review. https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM1042.pdf
Daniel, J. (2012). Making Sense of MOOCs: Musings in a Maze of Myth, Paradox and Possibility. Journal of Interactive Media in Education. http://www-jime.open.ac.uk/jime/article/viewArticle/2012-18/html
Downes, S. (2012). Connectivism and Connective Knowledge: Essays on meaning and learning networks. Stephen Downes Web. http://www.downes.ca/post/58207
Dezuanni, M. & Monroy-Hernandez, A. (2012). «Prosuming» across Cultures: Youth Creating and Discussing Digital Media across Borders. Comunicar, 19(38), 59–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.3916/C38-2012-02-06
Gea, M., Montes-Soldado, R. & Rojas, B. (2013). Cursos masivos mediante la creación de comunidades activas de aprendizaje. e-ucm.es (Sintice). http://lsi.ugr.es/rosana/investigacion/files/abiertaUGR_sintice2013.pdf
Gourley, B. & Lane, A. (2009). Re-invigorating openness at The Open University: the role of Open Educational Resources. Open Learning, 24(1), 57–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02680510802627845
Haggard, S. (2013). The Maturing of the MOOC (p. 123). https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/240193/13-1173-maturing-of-the-mooc.pdf
Hill, P. (2012, November/December). Online Educational Delivery Models: A Descriptive View. Educause Review, 85–97. https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM1263.pdf
Hill, P. (2012). Four Barriers That MOOCs Must Overcome To Build a Sustainable Model. e-Literate, What We Are Learning About Online Learning Online. http://mfeldstein.com/four-barriers-that-moocs-must-overcome-to-become-sustainable-model/
Holton, D. (2012). What’s the «problem» with MOOCs? Ed Tech Dev: developing educational technology. http://edte-chdev.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/whats-the-problem-with-moocs/
Hylén, J. (2006). Open educational resources: Opportunities and challenges. (OECD, ed.) Proceedings of Open Education. Paris: William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Page. http://www.knowledgeall.net/files/Additional_Readings-Consolidated.pdf
Inoue, Y. (2010). Cases on Online and Blended Learning Technologies in Higher Education: Concepts and Practices (1 st ed., p. 348). Guam: University of Guam.
Kanwar, A., & Uvalic-Trumbic, S. (2011). A basic guide to open educational resources (OER). (N. Butcher, ed.) Unesco (p. 133). Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning & UNESCO. http://www.col.org/PublicationDocuments/Basic-Guide-To-OER.pdf
Kim, J. (2012). Playing the Role of MOOC Skeptic: 7 Concerns. Inside Higher Ed. http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/playing-role-mooc-skeptic-7-concerns
Mcgreal, R., Kinuthia, W. & Marshall, S. (2013). Open Educational Resources: Innovation, Research and Practice. (Rory McGreal, Ed.) (1st ed., p. 268). Athabasca: Commonwealth of Learning and Athabasca University — UNESCO. http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=446
Kop, R. (2011). The challenges to connectivist learning on open online networks: Learning experiences during a massive open online course. The International Review Of Research In Open And Distance Learning, 12(3), 19–38. http://www.irrodl.Org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/882/1823
Laurillard, D. (2007). Pedagogical forms for mobile learning: Framing research questions. En: N. Pachler (ed.), Mobile learning: Towards a research agenda (pp. 153–175). Londres: WLE Centre for Excellence, Institute of Education.
Liyanagunawardena, T., Adams, A. A. & Williams, S. A. (2013). MOOCs: A systematic study of the published literature 2008–2012. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 14(3), 202–227. http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1455
Marshall, S. J. (2013). Evaluating the Strategic and Leadership Challenges of MOOCs. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 9(2). http://jolt.merlot.org/vol9no2/marshall_0613.htm
McAndrew, P., Farrow, R. & Law, P. (2012). Learning the Lessons of Openness. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 1–13. http://jime.open.ac.uk/jime/article/view/2012-10
McAuley, A., Stewart, B., Siemens, G. & Cormier, D. (2010). The MOOC model for digital practice. https://oerknowledge-cloud.org/content/mooc-model-digital-practice-0
Milligan, C., Littlejohn, A. & Margaryan, A. (2013). Patterns of engagement in connectivist MOOCs. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 9(2), 149–159. http://jolt.merlot.org/vol9no2/milligan_0613.pdf
Ravenscroft, A. (2011). Dialogue and connectivism: A new approach to understanding and promoting dialogue-rich networked learning. The International Review Of Research In Open And Distance Learning, 12(3), 139–160. http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/934
Rodriguez, O. (2012). MOOCs and the Al-Stanford like Courses: Two Successful and Distinct Course Formats for Massive Open Online Courses. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning — EURODL. http://www.eurodl.org/materials/contrib/2012/Rodriguez.htm
Sangrà , A. & Wheeler, S. (2013). New Informal Ways of Learning: Or Are We Formalising the Informal? RUSC. Revistade Universidad y Sociedad del Conocimiento, 10(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.7238/rusc.v10il.1689
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 1(2). http://www.ingedewaard.net/papers/connectivism/2005_siemens_ALearningTheoryFor-TheDigitalAge.pdf
Siemens, G. (2013). Massive Open Online Courses: Innovation in Education? (McGreal, R., Kinuthia, W. & Marshall, S., eds.) En: Open Educational Resources: Innovation, Research and Practice. (RoryMcGreal, Ed.) (1st ed., p. 268). Athabasca: UNESCO. http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=446
Traxler, J. (2009). The evolution of mobile learning. En: R. Guy (ed.), The evolution of mobile teaching and learning (pp. 1–14). Santa Rosa, CA: Informing Science Press.
UNESCO. (2012, junio). 2012 Paris OER Declaration. World OER Congress, ParÃs. http://www.unesco.org/new/filead-min/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/Events/English_Paris_OER_Declaration.pdf
Vázquez-Cano, E. (2013). El videoartÃculo: nuevo formato de divulgación en revistas cientÃficas y su integración en MOOCs. Comunicar, 1–9. http://www.revistacomunicar.com/indice/articulo.php?numero=41-2013-08
Waard, I. de, Abajian, S., Gallagher, M., Hogue, R., Keskin, N., Koutropoulos, A. & Rodriguez, O. (2011). Using mLearning and MOOCs to understand chaos, emergence, and complexity in education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning IRROLD, 12(7), 94–1 15. http://www.irrodl.Org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1046
Weller, M. (2007). Virtual Learning Environments: Using, Choosing and Developing your VLE. Oxford: Routledge.
Wiley, D. (2007). On the Sustainability of Open Educational ResourceInitiatives in Higher Education. OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) (p. 21). OECD Publishing. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/33/9/38645447.pdf
Zapata-Ros, M. (2013). MOOCs, una visión crÃtica y una alternativa complementaria: La individualización del aprendizaje y de la ayuda pedagógica. http://eprints.rclis.org/18658/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
About this article
Cite this article
Atenas, J. Model for democratisation of the contents hosted in MOOCs. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 12, 3–14 (2015). https://doi.org/10.7238/rusc.v12i1.2031
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7238/rusc.v12i1.2031