Enter the Anti-MOOCs: The Reinvention of Online Learning as a Form of Social Commentary

The term “massive open online course,” (MOOC) although coined in 2008 by Stephen Downes and George Siemens, really came into broad use in 2012. Since then, MOOCs have gained public awareness with a ferocity not seen in some time. World-renowned universities, including MIT and Harvard University (edX) and Stanford University (Coursera), as well as innovative start-ups such as Udacity, jumped into the marketplace with huge splashes, and have garnered a tremendous amount of attention — and imitation. Designed to provide high quality, online learning at scale to people regardless of their location or educational background, MOOCs have been met with enthusiasm because of their potential to reach a previously unimaginable number of learners. The notion of thousands and even tens of thousands of students participating in a single course — working at their own pace, relying on their own style of learning, and assessing each other’s progress — has changed the landscape of online learning. A number of respected thought leaders, however, believe that the current manifestation of MOOCs has significantly deviated from the initial premise outlined by George Siemens and Stephen Downes when they pioneered the first courses in Canada. They envisioned MOOCs as ecosystems of connectivism — a pedagogy in which knowledge is not a destination but an ongoing activity, fueled by the relationships people build and the deep discussions catalyzed within the MOOC. That model emphasizes knowledge production over consumption, and new knowledge that emerges from the process helps to sustain and evolve the MOOC environment. Despite their philosophical distinctions, one aspect that both early and contemporary MOOCs have in common is that there is little common ground in any of this landscape. Each MOOC example puts forth its own model of how online learning should work at scale. Some MOOCs leverage a multitude of emerging pedagogies and tools, including blended learning, open educational resources, and crowdsourced interaction; others follow a fairly traditional lecture-based model, using studio-produced videos. The technologies that enable the workflow of MOOCs vary in different models, but in its early conceptions, the bias was toward tools that were readily available and easy to use. Early MOOCs drew upon cloudbased services such as Wikispaces, YouTube, and Google Hangouts, among many others, to foster discussions, create and share videos, and engage in all the other activities that have become essential to teaching and learning in a modern online learning environment. While extremely promising, the more current MOOC models differ from those connectivist models, and largely mirror traditional lecture formats. Coursera, for example, is centered around video lectures led by renowned educators from prestigious universities in popular areas such as microeconomics and artificial intelligence. StuEnter the Anti-MOOCs: The Reinvention of Online Learning as a Form of Social Commentary Larry Johnson & Samantha Adams BeckerA