Abstract
In this study, we develop methods for computationally measuring the degree to which students engage in MOOC forums with other students holding different political beliefs. We examine a case study of a single MOOC about education policy, Saving Schools, where we obtain measures of student education policy preferences that correlate with political ideology. Contrary to assertions that online spaces often become echo chambers or ideological silos, we find that students in this case hold diverse political beliefs, participate equitably in forum discussions, directly engage (through replies and upvotes) with students holding opposing beliefs, and converge on a shared language rather than talking past one another. Research that focuses on the civic mission of MOOCs helps ensure that open online learning engages the same breadth of purposes that higher education aspires to serve.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | L@S 2016 - Proceedings of the 3rd 2016 ACM Conference on Learning at Scale |
Publisher | Association for Computing Machinery, Inc |
Pages | 1-10 |
Number of pages | 10 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781450337267 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 25 2016 |
Event | 3rd Annual ACM Conference on Learning at Scale, L@S 2016 - Edinburgh, United Kingdom Duration: Apr 25 2016 → Apr 26 2016 |
Other
Other | 3rd Annual ACM Conference on Learning at Scale, L@S 2016 |
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Country | United Kingdom |
City | Edinburgh |
Period | 4/25/16 → 4/26/16 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Education
- Software
- Computer Science Applications
- Computer Networks and Communications