The Ambivalence of Openness: MOOCs and the Critical Practice of Online Education

Abstract

The paradigm of openness that emerged in online education at the turn of the millennium was articulated in line with academic culture while also incorporating technical innovations to enable change in teaching and learning. This indicates, echoing a claim made in chapter 4, that technology need not represent a total transformation of traditional universities. Indeed, it may be the case that the university’s longevity can be explained by the adaptability of its traditions to new media environments in those cases where a paradigm of openness is predominant as both a development principle and a design principle for learning systems.¹ In the case of online education, the university’s traditions of critical analysis not only framed a response to a particular reform program but also expressed concerns that—in some cases explicitly, in others unintentionally—were internalized as aspects of a technical code through policy mechanisms, blended learning, and open source (OS) and open access (OA) initiatives. This suggests that critiques of online education, even where they present vociferous opposition to technology, can be seen as pointing toward excluded values whose inclusion in development horizons can help resolve tensions in debates over university reform and lead to alternative paths of innovation.