A landscape is a series of named locales, a set of relational places linked by paths, movements and narratives. It is a ‘natural’ topography perspectivally linked to the existential Being of the body in societal space. It is a cultural code for living, and anonymous ‘text’ to be read and interpreted, a writing pad for inscription, a scape for human praxis, a mode of dwelling and a mode of experiencing.(Tilley, p. 34 in Wittgenstein A Phenomenology of Landscape).
1 Introduction
1.1 The Landscape of Online Course Design
2 A Theoretical Perspective on MOOC Entrepreneurs
2.1 Institutional Entrepreneurship and Digitalization
2.2 Research on MOOCs and MOOC Production
3 Method
3.1 Sample Selection
Data sets | Informants | Period & duration |
---|---|---|
SAMPLE 1: Local sample
Five semi-structured interviews with MOOC producers from one large HEI creating online courses based on their academic field. | Faculties & support staff
n = 6
Female (n = 5), Male (n = 1) | Fall 2019 60–70 min |
SAMPLE 2: National sample
Eleven semi-structured interviews with MOOC entrepreneurs from ten HEIs occupied with support for online course production. | Faculties
n = 11
Female (n = 2), Male (n = 9) - | Fall 2020 60–70 min |
16 interviews at ten HEIs
| Informants N = 17 | 2019–2020 |
3.2 The Interviews
3.3 Analysis and Interpretation
3.4 A Note on Validity and Generalizations
No | Entrepreneurs’ statements in interviews | Codes | Condensed label (Category) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | …and I really wanted to test out Open EdX, because I had heard that Google was going to get involved in online teaching and that they had chosen Open-EdEx as their platform. An then I figured, “we can just as well be the first in Norway”.
Early on, we wanted to explore a new way of teaching and learning, which was called MOOCs, something different from the LMS that we were used to. We were curious about how to design such courses […] we just went for it.
| Initial interest in new technology Initial interest in digital pedagogy |
Locating the MOOC entrepreneurs in pockets of innovation
|
2 |
We contacted the support team because we were wondering first, what kind of platforms you offered support on and whether the institution had already negotiated formal agreements with these platform providers.
And then number two, did the support team have any pre-existing courses that we could use as a model to base our course on.
Then, I had an idea to make a digital course for them, so that we had a minimal standard for our tutors. That was the reason why I contacted the support team member one summer, in my summer holiday.
| Request for support on open platforms Request for model course Request for support in online course production |
Entrepreneurial agendas in evolving pockets of innovation
|
3 |
And we didn’t understand really who had the responsibility for what and why. And it was a kind of conflict between the different support groups. We were really disappointed, …
… it is the case that the professional community comes in, they want to do this and that, and then we are happy to meet them, then we are happy to line up with someone who has MOOC responsibility. Now and then, a type of IT educator as we call it and preferably someone from the production environment then, to in a way talk themselves into, what is it they want to achieve, what plans do they have and then start shaping the support.
…but we do it like… We don´t find one specific tool and say, “this is what you´re gonna use”. We try to find as many tools as possible that we can be put together in external projects, or projects from the various departments, tools that will help them solve what they are after. So, it´s like tailor made for almost every project you take on. …they obviously see the value of someone who is not necessarily only a technologist, but rather designers, course developers and who supports them in designing their courses. This is help that they have not experienced previously. And we try to bring with us important aspects of things that we have learned through the years to help them so that they don’t make the same mistakes as we have. So, we´re able to argue for this course and against that one and encourage more creative thinking. So no, the academic environments are definitively positive. | Loosely defined roles in support systems Exploring possible sources of support Ad-hoc project-based approach Positive response from faculties on support |
Scaffolding support for initial course production
|
4 |
What is specific here is the model we have created to publish. It is based on people taking a course of 50 h on how to make teaching materials (MOOCs).
We modeled our support on the information we got, and we tried to adapt our support to the local context. Leaning on our own expertise in pedagogy, assessment, coaching and teaching, we decided to learn from producing our own micro-credentials and MOOCs, before we systematized the support in a MOOC on MOOCs.
| Offering campus courses for MOOC producers Offering online and blended courses for MOOC producers |
Towards systematic support
|
5 |
But it is more about time, resources and means to do it. I think that a stopper may be that a faculty will get no reward to do it (a MOOC). This way, it indirectly stops from above. However, I don’t experience any resistance, but it is like…. maybe more like what can I get for it? Why should we do it. Eventually it is about prioritizing. There is something that is not working well yet, and that is a responsibility throughout the whole line of management.
| Lack of support from leadership |
Expanding beyond pockets of innovation?
|
4 Findings
4.1 Locating the MOOC Entrepreneurs in Pockets of Innovation
4.1.1 The Four Subject Positions and Their Organizational Context
We have no funding from the university to do this, we have no allocated time to do these things, it must be done in addition to everything else. So, it is successful in the way that we can use open platform technology and are able to set aside some time with acceptance from our immediate leader to do these things, to develop and to play our way to learning things.
The local and self-organized course production process provided us with the necessary confidence, knowledge and skills to opt for the global market, and FutureLearn. Since the start, we have produced and run many online courses ourselves, mainly targeting digital competence development in higher education. […] It has not been easy to reach an audience outside the project and the people who have made use of our support. […] Reflecting on our experiences through refereed articles has also deepened our understanding of the importance of leadership involvement and the broader implications of online education in transforming education at universities. We have not succeeded outside our project, I am afraid.[…] one applies for funds for the development of operations (online courses), and when the money disappears, the offers disappear.
It probably started in 2013, I think. […] We also researched it (MOOCs), it was a way to start the anchoring work, to get people on the team, a bit like how we proceed with it. On the one hand, it is about getting teachers interested, you go out in the organization and then find if you have someone, […] you start a dialogue there. The other direction, here you must also go a bit in the direction of management, in the formal organization and the ones who can make decisions on it (MOOC). So, in 2013-14, I participated in that process, briefly explained, in the end, it (MOOC) ended up in the academic line then.
After we moved into [mentions location], we have become more closely connected to the pedagogical environment, the learning support environments and the further education environment. […]. The working community has been something that has been baked together on the way then. […].
And we have never had that problem (vaporizing project results), because it has been anchored in the line. Everything that is developed lies in the strategy, it is budgeted with operation for a long time, and it is in a way what is lucky for us then, that we are experienced in the (online course) field. And it remains a high priority in all strategies. And there is also an ambition that it (online courses) will be taken further in all subjects. So, it is very much rooted in our strategies.
4.2 Entrepreneurial Agendas in Developing Pockets of Innovation
4.2.1 Mutual Dependency Among MOOC Entrepreneurs
When we first contacted the support team, we had just received funding for our project, 2,2 million EURO. And our idea was that we wanted to build a professional development course for our teacher educators, because we see that they need to develop professional digital competence. We were looking for technical solutions available.
We contacted the support team because we were wondering first, what kind of platforms the support team offered support on and whether the institution had already negotiated formal agreements with these platform providers.
And then, did the support team have any pre-existing courses that we could use as a model to base our course on?And we thought, this is quite like… designed very elegantly, …it seemed like it was very intuitive to use. And visually, it was pleasant for the end users. So, we decided that we wanted to go with that one, even though none of us had any experience with this particular platform.
We try to visit them once during the three years they are students with us but, there is great variation in their knowledge about tutoring. […] Then, I had an idea to make a digital course for them, so that we had a minimal standard for our tutors. That was the reason why I contacted the support team […].
I thought that we must do something. But, we have a problem getting them [the mentors] to come to campus. We have pre-service practice in schools from, I think it’s 500 km north and 300 km south (of the university). And they can’t come to campus because it’s too far and expensive to go by plane for the schools furthest away, also, it is expensive having other teachers taking their place (classes) when they are away.
We wanted animations or something [in the course]. And so, we had that as a request for visuals. And then we talked with... [mentions name] and he worked with … [mentions name] and they made the films and the symbol, the figures and the animations that we are using.
It came as a little shock that we were the ones who were going to do the job on the course, so you really hoped that it was just the kind of magic, like somebody could just feed in [the content] and look at the facts or put some kind of cool IT-guy with the pants far down to work, somebody should help us with all that then.
4.2.2 Limited Feedback from Other Faculties and Stakeholders
Yeah, it’s interesting because we tried to pilot the course the first time. We selected some of our experienced external tutors to give us feedback. That was the most interesting, because they didn’t find time to do it. […] Again, I had no feedback from them. […] Then, we asked some of our internal teachers to take the course and give us some feedback. Then, we actually got some feedback and made some changes in the course.
So far, it’s been me, this is my baby. And then my colleagues, they haven’t read through the manuscript I have sent out, can you give me some feedback? Is this OK? Should I add some more? But I don’t think they even read it because they don’t have time. I needed this feedback, because it is important that it is something …. I’ve invited them in meetings, but also sent them documents, but I haven’t got any response. So, surprisingly alone because they all said yes, do this and it’s important and we really need this.
4.3 Scaffolding Support for Online Course Production
4.3.1 Teamwork Across Institutional Arrangements
We requested a meeting with the different support units at the university. I think this first meeting, we met a lot of people. It was good because there were so many who were interested in what we’re doing and very positive and very interested in helping us. And we didn’t understand really who had the responsibility for what and why. And it was a kind of conflict between the different support groups. We were really disappointed, because we had sent an application and also a short version of it to everyone or to the organizers of the meeting. So, we expect that people were prepared. (…) I expect that if I have sent some documents, I expect people in the meeting to have looked at it.
4.3.2 The Different Roles in the Production Process
The dream was to make the content available in a more interactive way. We did not understand how different a MOOC is. I think we had no idea about the process and how different the whole learning design is from just reading a book. So, it has been such a hard experience in many areas, not only the production of a course but what an online course is and how it can be used, the whole pedagogy. The fact that it can exist independently online has been a steep learning curve in all areas for us.
One thing is the technological innovation, you get to work with a new technology that creates certain possibilities, but the pedagogical innovation, that is what often becomes rather complicated here.
We have produced online courses for HEI employees as a target group, and I would say that we have been successful. Both because we have eventually reached a relatively high number of courses, and […] we have also found a structure that I think works.
One needs an instructional design where you have a specter of content, where information is in the form of text and video and where you also integrate social learning activities as a part of the construct.
We use a lot of videos to create variation (in the courses). It (online course) easily gets very heavy text wise, …And I understand very well the change for many faculties when they have to stand in front of the camera and they have to say things briefly, to break things down and ...
… for a faculty who has a field that is interesting and would like to have it disseminated, I like to think that one quickly thinks that through the MOOC, the content will be simplified and too tabloidized in a way. That you must get into a different way of thinking and communicating that content. It is a job that is not finished. But you have to do it again and again.
In the first projects we were clear about taking the project lead responsibility, the administration. Since there are faculties in our support team, we have pedagogical and subject support. At the same time, we are clear about the need for a dedicated expert faculty to collaborate with us on equal terms. We are working across administrative and faculty lines, and it has generally worked well.
Knowing that if we encounter any problems, somebody would be there at the other end, picking up the phone and saying, hey, this is what you need to do, or I’ll follow up on this immediately.
4.4 Towards a Systematic Approach to Support
We have built a small network of sorts with a support function, so that each subject area has a person who can help them, but who is not formally employed to do this work. In the administrative staff, we have people who know a little and who contribute. We have also made use of student assistants to help us with the practical sides. We have video production equipment and staff, who have been filming on location.
It is more like a course plan, where you have a course. What we have found is that we have some principles that we have developed based on experiences and evaluations over the years, which is about how to set up courses so that they (students) can get the most out of it (the courses.
4.4.1 Developing Models for Scalable and Systematic Support
During these years we have had 200 people through these courses, we also have approx. 30 titles out now, and we have 27,000 registered users on the open platform, and 20 of them come from health sciences. The resources that have gone into this module are a combination of allocated time and the flexible opportunity that leaders close to the faculties, i.e., the head of studies and department levels, have managed to allocate. There are always resources in the system if you want, but in a way, you must have a small highway, you also must have many side roads. The evaluation […] says that both the ... model and the ... course are good.
We initially travelled internationally to understand how the MOOC production process worked at other HEIs. We also collaborated with national parties interested in MOOCs. We modeled our support on the information we got, and we tried to adapt our support to the local context. Leaning on our own expertise in pedagogy, assessment, coaching and teaching, we decided to learn from producing our own micro-credentials and MOOCs, before we systematized the support in a MOOC on MOOCs. We are quite pleased with the result. Many academics have produced courses with support from us. On the open platforms, we have more than 50 courses and some 65 000 participants.
4.5 Expanding Beyond Pockets of Innovation?
It [MOOC production] has probably more to do with time, resources and means to do so. I think a stopper might be that a teacher will not get any special credit for doing so either. And in that sense, it stops indirectly from the immediate level then.
[…] the little work you do here, it challenges in a way the whole model that is safe and nice for the institutions.
Then there has been an Achilles’ heel. (…). So, we have had meetings with social studies and with management and everything like that, and there we have had a sub-project (mentions study program), but it was not so much, because there was relatively much opposition to digitization there.
Now we are in good conversations with (mentions study program), and they have an urgent need for continuing and further education, and that platform and way of working suits them well. We have a head of department in teacher education sitting in the (support) group, but there has been a strong internal e-learning environment with own funding from the ministry for many years. So, they kind of run their race. You know how it is in academia. So formally they are involved, but in reality, we do not have much to do with each other. (…). So it’s not just initiative from above and below, but also across.
5 Discussion
5.1 The Role of MOOC Entrepreneurs in a Loosely Coupled System
5.2 The Role of MOOC Entrepreneurs in Support Units
Mobilization of resources among MOOC-entrepreneurs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level of digitalization
|
Themes
|
Entrepreneurial practices
|
Quotes (N = 17)
from informants
|
Material resources
|
Digital competence
|
Self-initiated digital engagement
Entrepreneurs maneuver within established technological infrastructures - Entrepreneurs use elements of MOOC design in their courses | SPOCs Fully Online Courses for registered students |
The official platform is Canvas, and it cannot be used with course participants, because it is only used for registered students, who opt for ECTS and an exam.
We are not in a position to offer open courses.
| Learning management system (LMS). |
Digital agency
Digital transformative agency
|
Self-organized networked entrepreneurship across institutional silos with ad hoc funding
Entrepreneurs maneuver outside established technologies and institutional logics - Hands-on experience - Some moral support from leadership at lower levels - Limited time/resources - Variable access to necessary competences - Instructional design work - Technological support - Project management support - Quality enhancement support - Piloting, end-user involvement - Marketing support - Project-based - single-loop entrepreneurship - No or few strategic decisions at leadership and management levels | MOOCs Micro-credentials for lifelong learners |
I thought that we must do something.
It has not been easy to reach an audience outside the project and the people who have made use of our support.
When we first contacted you (the support team), we had just received funding for our project, 2,2 million EURO.
We did not understand how different a MOOC is. I think we had no idea about the process and how different the whole learning design is.
We (entrepreneurs) got some part funding, but not much.
Getting things formalized is very complicated
| Open platform technology (MOOC platforms). Model courses online. Hands-on courses on campus. Guidebooks. Websites. Animation/ video/ gaphics production technology. Refereed publications. |
Digital transformation
|
Leadership engagement for institutional strategy development across institutional arrangements.
Management engagement for digital policy development at institutional and national levels.
Entrepreneurs maneuver between established and emerging technological infrastructures - Institutions establish new technological infrastructure - Double-loop entrepreneurship - Some strategic decisions at management levels - Reorganization of support units involving faculties and staff. | Large critical mass of users on open platforms. Many open and closed courses. Single-standing and stackable courses (study programs) |
We have tried, in the reorganization process, to become a center for online learning, but we have not met much understanding for this idea internally.
The initiative has now, later been reorganized into a center for learning and education.
We have tried to connect the forces that work with teaching and learning, both administratively and pedagogically into something new. And it’s probably not finished, I think.
| Open Access to education. LMS and open platforms as established practice in the organization. |
5.3 A Typology of Key Concepts in Digitalization
[…] captures (student) teachers’ competence in taking initiatives and transforming their practices by selecting and using relevant digital tools. It arises as a necessity when (student) teachers are placed in demanding situations involving challenges or a conflict of motives, thus creating a wish or need to break out of the current situation (Passey et al., 2018 :427).