MOOC Evolution and One Poetry MOOC’s Hybrid Approach - David Poplar, EDUCAUSE Review

Based on the theory of connectivism, MOOCs originally sought to leverage the Internet as a collaborative communications platform to facilitate connections among learners and dissolve traditional ideas of "knowledge giver" and "knowledge receiver." Today's MOOCs have drifted far from this vision and typically treat the communications platform as simply a new tool for delivering the same old content rather than as inseparable from pedagogy itself. The University of Pennsylvania's ModPo MOOC takes a hybrid approach, adopting contemporary MOOC structures — such as a detailed course syllabus and discussion forums — while also taking advantage of the platform's ability to create a massive global community of interacting learners and incorporating this dynamic into the pedagogical approach. http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/mooc-evolution-and-one-poetry-mooc%E2%80%99s-hybrid-approach