Migrating Vs. Decentralizing MOOC-based e-content to Teaching MA Language and Communication Students

Abstract

Never before has education been more tech-oriented, cloud-based, and online-driven, especially with this new pandemic-altered educational environment. However, new regulations worldwide limit physical interaction inside the bounds of educational institutions, which pushed Algerian university teachers to operate mainly online under unsuitable conditions. Therefore, our prime objective is to devise a MOOC-based teaching modal that primarily palliates the current dire problems regarding students’ equity. One of the solutions proposed in this paper is two equitable, to some extent, tech-enabled modalities of instruction that leverage the available first-rate Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) e-content to teach Master of Arts (MA) students: language and communication students of English department at Mostaganem University in Algeria. There were two online groups, the first one regards migrating to the MOOC itself and letting students operate on the MOOC provider. The second e-group decentralizes the e-content to a closed Facebook group where students can access the e-pedagogical materials directly from the social-media-mediated landscape. To this end, a pedagogical action research based on the comparative approach is used to undertake this study that comprehended 44 students to compare the two e-groups through different working situations. Findings revealed the difference between the two e-modes of teaching. They presented a framework enabling instructors to choose which one to leverage according to students’ digital skills and access to internet bandwidth, thus serving as a guideline for any instructor wishing to participate in such an educational endeavor. Finally, implications of these two technologized modes of instruction on the teaching profession overall are set forth.