# Post-Digital Learning for Rural Development: A Case Study of _Open Biotec_ MOOCs in Colombia
## 1 Introduction
Today, information and communication technologies (ICT) are present in all areas, allowing more and more people to interact effectively and efficiently with the surrounding environment [9; 29]. According to this, it is possible to build virtual communities with an adequate appropriation of ICT to develop new training strategies. Various tools that can be used to support collaborative learning in MOOCs, based on the connectivity learning theory. These tools include social media platforms, wikis, discussion forums, and peer review tools. By facilitating interaction and collaboration among learners, these tools promote a sense of community and promote knowledge construction, critical thinking, and problem-solving [30; 31]. Overall, the use of these tools in MOOCs can enhance the learning experience and help learners to retain knowledge gained from the course [7; 32; 33; 34]. A virtual community can be considered as a set of spontaneously constituted groups that emerge in virtuality when different people interact in time with a common cause, through which they form links in cyberspace [35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42; 43]. In the rural sector, this interaction with other sectors of society transmits media training that reduces the gap in habits, ideas, and values, among others [9]. The rapprochement of the communities through virtual training solves economic and geographical limitations and does not interfere with the time that the population dedicates to their productive work. In addition, developing learning in virtual communities involves considerably lower distribution costs than those associated with classroom facilities, instructor time, participant travel, and work time spent attending classroom sessions [44]. At the same time, it increases the coverage margin of education in the region, allows access at any time and place to people whose economic activities prevent them from being present, and facilitates access to current technology, providing tools to connect with the world. Precisely, one way to strengthen cultural identity and simultaneously generate the rapprochement of rural communities through ICT tools is by using virtual training in biotechnology, a cross-disciplinary area of knowledge based on the potential of biological systems to create new products [45]. The employment of biotechnological tools can create novel business models by applying digital technologies and generating different entrepreneur alternatives to improve people's lives globally [27; 46]. Colombia is the second most megadiverse country worldwide, hosting around 10% of the fauna and flora. Since 2009, the Ministry of the Environment has developed a national biodiversity policy that guides long-term national strategies for the conservation and responsible use of natural resources. This policy contemplates that the success of the country's sustainable development strategy will require a focus on education, promoting training, educational resources, and training programs on topics such as biotechnology and the bioconomy [47]. Developing countries face significant barriers to accessing biotechnologies and biotechnology-derived products as they frequently need more institutional capacities and professional competence in exercising regulatory oversight [48]. Since the end of the 20 th century, UNESCO has promoted biotechnology learning as a new topic in natural sciences, from primary education to high school [49]. Consequently, many countries like Colombia have incorporated biotechnology learning as a long-term strategy to solve economic, environmental, and social problems [50]. However, although many teachers are aware of the benefits of biotechnology and are interested in including it in their education systems, only some have the training or experience to incorporate it into their curricula, especially in rural areas [49].