Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ The Future of MOOCs Must Be Decolonized

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

This article argues that MOOCs need to be "decolonized", based on three arguments (paraphrased):

  • 'global education' is shaped mainly by a handful of universities in a few countries, and assumes these other countries have nothing to contribute.
  • by offering courses in only a limited set of languages to a global audience, MOOC providers force learners to adapt.
  • epistemic injustice - they get to define what knowledge is and the processes by which that knowledge is deemed valid.

It's well and good to complain, but how do you decolonize MOOCs? Do you close Coursera and EdX? Of course not. You add to the 41 MOOC platforms existed in 2018. But the sort of public investment needed (as opposed to relying on the private sector) is just the sort of model publications like EdSurge favour least.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 2:21 p.m.

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