beyond the force: place and space in composition moocs

Jason Tham • Jack Hennes

St. Cloud State University, MN

MOOCs are a force in higher education.

Both threatening and inspiring, this force promises to dissolve (rethink) traditional model of teaching and invites new way for the ways networks build, maintain, and shape learning communities.

While the experimental nature of MOOCs has some of us questioning their long-term impact on composition instruction, there’s much we can learn from the nature of connections that students build in these environments.

Namely, the role of place and identity in shaping social interaction on MOOCs, especially during peer evaluation and feedback processes.

We’ll provide some first-hand observations on the nature of connections students build in composition MOOCs.

We would like to gather feedback from participants regarding their views on students’ responsibility on MOOCs and their contribution to the larger, collective “force” on MOOCs.

We argue that we are quick to attack MOOCs as a thing that is separate from the humanistic elements of MOOC pedagogy.

TILL THEN,

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU.