MOOCs in Africa - A MOOC approach for training researchers in developing countries
Channel: e/merge Africa
Date: 22/08/2017

This webinar formed a part of our MOOCs in Africa seminar series.

Presenters: Andy Nobes & Ravi Murugesan, INASP (AuthorAid), UK

We report on the development and outcomes of an online course in research writing offered in a massive open online course (MOOC) format for developing country researchers. The course was designed on Moodle with a low-bandwidth and low-cost philosophy in mind, using a pedagogy based on Garrison’s Community of Inquiry model (maximising ‘cognitive presence’,’teacher presence’, and ‘social presence’), with the facilitation supported by a team of ‘guest facilitators’. It was offered twice as a MOOC and 2830 learners from more than 90 countries, mainly in the developing world, took part. The average completion rate was 53%. Female learners and learners who were active in the forums were more likely to complete the course. Our MOOC approach may be a useful model for continuing professional development training in the developing world. In this webinar we report on the findings of our paper, explain some of the wider contexts, and provide more recent updates on further follow-up studies with participants.