The MOOCs phenomenon was essential as it allowed people to collaborate with others from other cultures and countries on similar topics. As MOOCs evolved, they created a space for cultural sensitivity within the technology field. Understanding that just providing people with technology is not effective learning. The implication is that we must look for new ways to support the resourcefulness of students from their contexts, not just provide our resources (Sharples, 2019).

           As MOOCs became more in demand, people started to create more inquiry for learning. This could have made an impact if the inquiries came from experts within the field. Instead, “citizen inquiry” was created that allowed people to create inquiries with other groups. Instead of a scientist designing an investigation to which members of the public contribute, in citizen inquiry any person or group can design an inquiry and then recruit other people, including scientists, to help with carrying out ( Sharples, 2019).

           As online learning continues to evolve and virtual/augmented reality creates a lasting effect on education, how will MOOCs continue to close the gap with novice technology users? Will there be sessions on the benefits of virtual/augmented reality to have more user buy-in?

Reference:
Sharples, M. 2019. Visions for the Future of Educational Technology. In: Ferguson, R., Jones, A. and Scanlon, E. (eds). Educational Visions: Lessons from 40 years of inno-vation. Pp. 151–166. London: Ubiquity Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bcg.j. License: CC-BY 4.0