As research on Massive Open Online Courses begins to mature, evidence suggests MOOCs are deepening rather than widening access to education. Despite a reduction in media coverage in the West, MOOCs are still being positioned as disruptors to struggling higher education systems in the Global South, and there are a number of initiatives and efforts to incorporate MOOCs within the formal structures of higher education. Indian learners are one of the largest subpopulations of learners in Western MOOC platforms, and the Indian Government is taking steps towards formalising MOOCs, allowing institutions to offer learners 20% of their credit-based courses through the SWAYAM platform (University Grants Commission, 2016). Despite a large amount of research emerging on MOOCs, more than 90% of all empirical MOOC research originates in the West (Veletsianos & Shepherdson, 2016) – suggesting a distinct lack of voice of the Global South.
This presentation will discuss the findings from a comparative study of Indian learners in MOOCs, and identify the demographics, motivations, learning experiences and challenges faced by learners on these courses. These factors will be compared among Indian learners on a Western platform (FutureLearn) with Indian learners on an Indian platform (NPTEL – National Programme for Technology Enhanced Learning). Results of a survey of over 2500 Indian MOOC learners will be shared, along with themes emerging from follow-up interviews with selected learners. This study sheds light on the varied learner groups that take MOOCs in India, and also suggests a nuanced role that MOOCs could play in the Global South.
References
University Grants Commission. Credit Framework for Online Learning Courses through SWAYAM Regulation (2016). Retrieved from http://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/0272836_moocs.pdf
Veletsianos, G., & Shepherdson, P. (2016). A Systematic Analysis And Synthesis of the Empirical MOOC Literature Published in 2013-2015. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 17(2). http://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v17i2.2448
