In this inquiry work an early realization is the importance I need to give to differentiating between cMOOCs and xMOOCs. Tony Bates gives I believe a good job of describing these two categories with cMOOCs being the first version of MOOCs which rely on connectivism, where typically a content expert facilitates a community of practice that is more student driven. xMOOCs are characterized as an autonomous student experience with the subject matter expert teaching through video lecture potentially with other student support materials with a certification option available to students (Bates,T.,  October 23,2014).

The differences in these versions of MOOCs have provoked questions for me around which container of MOOC can be a fit for different subject matter. For example, I am learning to code using SWIFT right now through an xMOOC and it feels like a fit. There are no reasons I need to as a beginner coder to discuss my work with others, in fact I would prefer not to. The course is meeting my needs as I walk through the coding activities duplicating the instructor lecture and practice tutorials. By the time I am ready to share my work with others or learn in a community I am going to be done with the MOOC container and I will be looking towards technologies that support inquiry in this subject likely through github or discord which support communities of subjet matter focus. I am not seeking community through this MOOC, I want this course to help me gain entry into other communities by teaching me the language of those communities. This in my experience is an xMOOC matching discipline to the educational technology container.

On the other hand, in the course my group experienced together, the Science of Well Being the xMOOC approach felt like a mismatch with content. Students flocked to this course during the covid-19 pandemic where we know people were feeling isolated, struggling to adapt to change and were likely there to seek relief from isolation with community. The course activities are concerned with psychological assessments and while Dr. Santos mentions the idea of community as one of the ways that well-being is scientifically proven to be improved it is not readily available through the MOOC design.  The container of the xMOOC in this case is not the right design for people to go beyond superficially know more about well-being to establishing a practice of well-being together. When Dr. Santos says the community being together is part of how you create conditions for improved well-being but the design of the experience lacks this element for me it’s a mismatch of MOOC type to subject matter.

 

Bates, T. (October 23, 2014). Comparing xMOOCs and cMOOCs: philosophy and practice. Online Learning and Distance Education Resources. Moderated by Tony Bates, Research Associate, Contact North|Contact Nord. https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/10/13/comparing-xmoocs-and-cmoocs-philosophy-and-practice/