MOOCs for Flexible and Lifelong Learning in Higher Education
- In this paper, we take a closer look at the development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) in Norway. We want to contribute to nuancing the image of a sound and sustainable policy for flexible and lifelong learning at national and institutional levels and point to some critical areas of improvement in higher education institutions (HEI). 10 semistructured qualitative interviews were carried out in the autumn 2020 at ten different HE institutions across Norway. The informants were strategically selected among employees involved in MOOC-technology, MOOCproduction and MOOC-support over a period of time stretching from 2010–2020. A main finding is that academics engaged in MOOCs find that their entrepreneurial ideas and results, to a large extent, are overlooked at higher institutional levels, and that progress is frustratingly slow. So far, there seems to be little common understanding of the MOOC-concept and the disruptive and transformative effect that MOOC-technology may have at HEIs. At national levels, digital strategies, fundingIn this paper, we take a closer look at the development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) in Norway. We want to contribute to nuancing the image of a sound and sustainable policy for flexible and lifelong learning at national and institutional levels and point to some critical areas of improvement in higher education institutions (HEI). 10 semistructured qualitative interviews were carried out in the autumn 2020 at ten different HE institutions across Norway. The informants were strategically selected among employees involved in MOOC-technology, MOOCproduction and MOOC-support over a period of time stretching from 2010–2020. A main finding is that academics engaged in MOOCs find that their entrepreneurial ideas and results, to a large extent, are overlooked at higher institutional levels, and that progress is frustratingly slow. So far, there seems to be little common understanding of the MOOC-concept and the disruptive and transformative effect that MOOC-technology may have at HEIs. At national levels, digital strategies, funding and digital infrastructure are mainly provided in governmental silos. We suggest that governmental bodies and institutional stake holders pay more attention to entrepreneurial MOOC-initiatives to develop sustainability in flexible and lifelong learning in HEIs. This involves connecting the generous funding of digital projects to the provision of a national portal and platform for Open Access to education. To facilitate sustainable lifelong learning in and across HEIs, more quality control to enhance the legitimacy of MOOC certificates and micro-credentials is also a necessary measure.…
Author details: | Inger Langseth, Dan Yngve Jacobsen, Halvdan Haugsbakken |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-516930 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-51693 |
ISBN: | 978-3-86956-512-5 |
Title of parent work (English): | EMOOCs 2021 |
Subtitle (English): | The Struggle from within Loosely Coupled Organizations? |
Publisher: | Universitätsverlag Potsdam |
Place of publishing: | Potsdam |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2021/06/30 |
Publication year: | 2021 |
Publishing institution: | Universität Potsdam |
Publishing institution: | Universitätsverlag Potsdam |
Release date: | 2021/09/20 |
Volume: | 2021 |
Number of pages: | 16 |
First page: | 63 |
Last Page: | 78 |
RVK - Regensburg classification: | ST 670 |
Organizational units: | Digital Engineering Fakultät / Hasso-Plattner-Institut für Digital Engineering GmbH |
DDC classification: | 0 Informatik, Informationswissenschaft, allgemeine Werke / 00 Informatik, Wissen, Systeme / 004 Datenverarbeitung; Informatik |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Universitätsverlag Potsdam |
Open Access / Gold Open-Access | |
Collection(s): | Universität Potsdam / Sammelwerke (nicht fortlaufend) / EMOOCs 2021 / Beiträge |
License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |