Revolutionizing higher education: an analysis of massive open online courses in popular media

Author

Laura Exline

Graduation Date

2013

Document Type

Project

Program

Other

Program

Project (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, English: Teaching of Writing, 2013

Committee Chair Name

Nikola Hobbel

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

e-learning, Democratic education, Massive open online course, Centrifugal, xMOOC, Dialogic, Educational technology, Connectivism, Centripetal, cMOOC, Humboldt State University -- Projects -- English, MOOC, Dominate narratives, Bakhtin

Abstract

Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, have recently been suggested as a way to radically transform higher education. This revolutionary rhetoric speaks to many democratic educators' goals, but its use warrants closer inquiry. This project first defines MOOCs, looking at the uses and possible limitations of their current technology, their pedagogical background, and their characteristics. Then, using the Bakhtinian concept of centripetal and centrifugal forces, it examines thematic narratives present in popular discourse about MOOCs that reflect these forces. To do so, it analyzes a range of popular media articles, primarily sources with wide distribution to general audiences, like the New York Times, that made up the early media flurry surrounding MOOCs. While MOOCs offer real benefits for some students, MOOCs are largely presented as a tool for those outside the US or as a supplementary resource for university graduates with little consideration of what this means for educationally underprivileged within the US. Hidden behind a rhetoric of radical change, these articles take an economic approach to an educational issues. This focus constructs a view of universities as economic institutions and students as passive consumers of an educational product and so overlooks pedagogical considerations. As such, this discourse is placed in a capitalistic context that displaces the meanings used by educators.

https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/h128nh076

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