Hold the Front Page: The Story of MOOCs in the Irish Media
1. Mark Brown,
Eamon Costello, Enda Donlon
Mairead Nic Giollamhichil & Colette Kirwan
Hold the Front Page:
The Story of MOOCs in the Irish Media
Rome, Italy
30th November 2015
2. Outline…
1. Current research
2. Country specific research
3. The ‘real’ story behind the story
Hold the Front Page:
The Story of MOOCs in the Irish Media
9. • Paucity of country specific information
• Need to understand MOOC discourses
at local level
• How have MOOCs been portrayed in
the traditional newspaper media in
Ireland?
Gap in the literature…
2. Country specific research
10. • Who is telling the MOOC story and why?
• How are they telling the MOOC story?
• What are we being told about MOOCs?
• What is missing from the MOOC story?
• Whose voice is not being heard?
2. Country specific research
Deeper questions…
11. Total of 74 publications – by 1st July 2015
2. Country specific research
Discourse
Analysis
20. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Fear of Missing Out
Institutional Branding
Increase Student Recruitment
Extend Access
Reduce Costs
Generate Revenue
Unbundling of Services
Innovation
Curriculum Renewal
Industry Training
Supporting Student Readiness
Promote Research
Not Stated
Major Drivers
2. Country specific research
25. “As Chandra told the heads of the Universities and IOTs
in Dublin this week, we are talking about building an
entire economy based on Irish education. These are
wise words from a man whose company's exports are
worth more to the Indian economy than their total oil
imports.”
3. What is the story behind the story?
26. “The subject of this meeting is
studying at university through
online learning, including massive
open online courses, MOOCs”
3. The ‘real’ story behind the story
28. “Ireland ranks lower than the
OECD average on the international
benchmark of flexible provision”
3. The ‘real’ story behind the story
(National Forum for the Enhancment of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2015, p.16)
31. 3. The ‘real’ story behind the story
Who Should Pay
For Higher Education?
32. 3. The ‘real’ story behind the story
http://www.nmc.org/
Funding to Support
Flexible Learners
33. “There is also almost no understanding of
the private and social benefits of distance
and online education in comparison with
those of face-to-face education” (Rumble, 2014,
p.208).
3. The ‘real’ story behind the story
Interesting
Paradox!
36. Conclusion
“MOOCs
should be in
the service of
big ideas,
not as a big
idea in itself”(Brown & Costello, 2015;
adapted from Barnett, 2011).
One final point…