Learning about Islam and Muslims online: Reflections on the design and delivery of a massive open online course (MOOC) 2014–2019

Abstract

This article evaluates the design, delivery, and main outcomes of Cardiff University's first “Massive Open Online Course” (MOOC) entitled “Muslims in Britain: Changes and Challenges,” delivered to over 20,899 international learners between 2014 and 2019. I explore the design principles underpinning the course and offer a detailed quantitative overview of our learner‐base. The paper examines the experience of course delivery, as well as providing an evaluation of the outcomes arising from the course in the short, medium and long‐term. It also explores some of the distinctive aspects of learning about religion (and Islam, in particular) online as a result of our course, thereby contributing to discussion about the pedagogy of Religious Studies in the digital environment.

A systematic literature review of micro-credentials in higher education: a non-zero-sum game

“…Results of this review revealed that micro-credentials provided students with a wide range of benefits associated with study and career progression that align with the Tomlinson (2017)'s model regarding the development of different forms of employability capitals. These were evidence within the literature relative to human (Alt, 2021;Newby & Cheng, 2020), social (Anderson et al, 2020;Gilliat-Ray, 2020), cultural (Dayton et al, 2018;Laverie et al, 2020), identity (Cowley et al, 2021;Humphrey Jr et al, 2021), and psychological capital (Boo & Kim, 2020;Laverie et al, 2020).…”

“…This review also identified that low quality course design, content, and instructions were the most frequently reported challenge facing students when studying micro-credentials (e.g., Cowley et al, 2021;Gilliat-Ray, 2020). This finding mirrored the difficulties that higher education providers encountered when developing and implementing microcredentials.…”

“…The most common reported job-related benefits of micro-credentials (see Appendix 7) included: (i) developing professional competencies (e.g., Anderson et al, 2020;Cowley et al, 2021), (ii) preparing for job search and career exploration (e.g., Boo & Kim, 2020;Dayton et al, 2018), (iii) building a professional network (Deale & Schoffstall, 2015;Gilliat-Ray, 2020), and (iv) understanding industry practices (e.g., Dayton et al, 2018;Humphrey Jr et al, 2021). Key values of micro-credentials for student learning experiences (see Appendix 7 and 9) were: (i) constructive learning environments with more formative feedback (e.g., Laverie et al, 2020;Newby & Cheng, 2020), (ii) scaffolds to enhance knowledge and skills (e.g., Alt, 2021;Newby & Cheng, 2020), (iii) high level of peer support (e.g., Anderson et al, 2020;Gilliat-Ray, 2020), and (iv) useful, narrowly-focused assessment tools (Alt, 2021;Humphrey Jr et al, 2021). Despite their short duration, micro-credentials were generally assessed as valuable to deep learners who pursued mastery learning goals (Alt, 2021;Laverie et al, 2020).…”