A Pedagogy of Abundance or a Pedagogy to Support Human Beings? Participant Support on Massive Open Online Courses Abstract 7KLV SDSHU H[DPLQHV KRZ HPHUJHQW WHFKQRORJLHV FRXOG LQ��XHQFH WKH GHVLJQ RI OHDUQLQJ HQ-�� vironments. It will pay particular attention to the roles of educators and learners in creating networked learning experiences on massive open online courses (MOOCs). The research shows that it is possible to move from a pedagogy of abundance to a pedagogy that sup-�� ports human beings in their learning through the active creation of resources and learning places by both learners and course facilitators. This pedagogy is based on the building of connections, collaborations, and the exchange of resources between people, the building of D FRPPXQLW\ RI OHDUQHUV DQG WKH KDUQHVVLQJ RI LQIRUPDWLRQ ��RZV RQ QHWZRUNV 7KLV UHVR-�� nates with the notion of emergent learning as learning in which actors and system co-��evolve within a MOOC DQG ZKHUH WKH OHYHO RI SUHVHQFH RI DFWRUV RQ WKH 022& LQ��XHQFHV OHDUQLQJ outcomes. Keywords: Connectivism;�� networked learning;�� media affordances;�� learner autonomy;�� presence;�� roles;�� educator Introduction The emergence of new technologies and their effect on the volume and nature of informa-�� WLRQ RQ WKH :HE DUH LQ��XHQFLQJ WKH FRQWH[W RI HGXFDWLRQ DQG OHDUQLQJ %RXFKDUG The structure of the learning environment, the place and presence of learners and educa-�� tors within institutional boundaries, and the nature of knowing and learning are all chal-�� OHQJHG E\ WKH IDVW SDFH RI WHFKQRORJLFDO FKDQJH :HOOHU KLJKOLJKWV WKH FKDQJHV LQ-�� volved in moving from a learning environment of scarcity, based around the lecture model and books, to a web-��based environment of abundance and examines different models of SHGDJRJ\ WR GHDO ZLWK WKHVH FKDQJHV 1RW VR ORQJ DJR HGXFDWRUV ZRXOG ��QG UHVRXUFHV DQG information and would distribute these to learners in their care, perhaps by displaying them Rita Kop and H��l��ne Fournier National Research Council of Canada John Sui Fai Mak Australia

A Pedagogy of Abundance or a Pedagogy to Support Human Beings: Participant Support on Massive Open Online Courses Kop, Fournier, and Mak Vol 12 | No 7 Research Articles November 2011 75 in a learning management system (LMS). They would try to help learners in the develop-�� ment of conceptual frameworks by direct communication and social interaction within a classroom community, be it virtual or face-��to-��face. Emergent technologies provide different models and structures to support learning. They disrupt the notion that learning should be controlled by educators and educational institutions as information and ���knowledgeable others��� are readily available on online networks through the press of a button for anyone interested in expanding his or her horizon. Of course this puts the responsibility for information gathering, the validation of resources, and the learning process in the hands of learners themselves, and one should question if all adult learners are capable of taking on this responsibility. The Web no longer consists solely of hyperlinked text pages, but has evolved into a complicated mesh of interlinked sites, consisting of human communication, writing, and digital artifacts. To manage this vast net-�� work of resources effectively requires learners to be autonomous in their learning and to have advanced analytic and synthesis skills to distill relevant information from the ���noisy��� network. Moreover, a high level of competency and interest in using a vast array of tools is required to do so effectively. Being able to distinguish the wheat from the chaff of infor-�� mation clearly becomes important as educators might no longer be available. Some argue that people���s information behaviour should change from receiving information from a few ���super nodes��� on networks to moving into the information stream themselves and pulling just-��in-��time information off the networks, perhaps by receiving validation from other users %R\G 7KH FKDOOHQJH LQFOXGHV QRW RQO\ WKH YDOLGDWLRQ RI WKH LQIRUPDWLRQ EXW DOVR WKH generation of ideas and thoughts that the organized institutional social setting of the past might readily provide, and which is much harder to achieve on a network with much weaker ties. We would argue that one of the major challenges is to create a pedagogy that supports human beings in their learning where the social connections people make on the network provide their learning support. 7KLV SDSHU ZLOO H[DPLQH KRZ HPHUJHQW WHFKQRORJLHV PLJKW LQ��XHQFH WKH GHVLJQ RI WKH OHDUQ-�� ing environment and in particular the roles of educators and learners in creating learning experiences on online networked learning environments. It will do this through the lens of a case study of massive open online courses. Complexity, Resilience, and the Need for Agility in Learning %DUQHWW KLJKOLJKWHG WKDW ZH QRZ OLYH LQ D ZRUOG FKDUDFWHUL]HG E\ ��VXSHUFRPSOH[-�� ity,��� uncertainty, and change: ���Work, communication, identity, self, knowing, and even life: the meaning of fundamental concepts are no longer clear in a world of change��� (p. 9). %DUQHWW KDG KLV RZQ LQWHUSUHWDWLRQV RI NQRZOHGJH LQ UHODWLRQ WR XQFHUWDLQW\ DQG change. He would like to see curricula and pedagogy move away from knowledge and skills to be a ���pedagogy for human beings.��� He discussed a form of knowledge that would involve learners thinking about and confronting themselves with the uncertainties and dilemmas in their own lives. Learning is at the heart of personal change and transformation, and the learner needs to take risks and deal with changing situations in his or her environment.

A Pedagogy of Abundance or a Pedagogy to Support Human Beings: Participant Support on Massive Open Online Courses Kop, Fournier, and Mak Vol 12 | No 7 Research Articles November 2011 76 )RONH HPSKDVL]HG WKH QHHG IRU UHVLOLHQFH VR SHRSOH ZLOO DQWLFLSDWH FKDQJH WKHQ LQ-�� ��XHQFH GHYHORSPHQWV WR DFKLHYH VRFLHWDO DQG SHUVRQDO JRDOV $W WKH KHDUW RI VXVWDLQDEOH change is developing and helping people to build up an ���inner resilience��� that guards them from experiencing every change that comes their way as disruptive. Instead, this resilience ensures that they learn to cope with these changes more as part of their continuous ���ag-�� LOH�� GHYHORSPHQW DQG OHDUQLQJ UHFRJQL]LQJ SDWWHUQV LQ RQH VLWXDWLRQ DQG making sense of them and applying them in another. However, this is easier said than done, and some questions spring to mind when relating resilience and change to emergent technology where the use of new technologies and the application of the information they produce is part of the continuous process of lifelong and lifewide learning. For instance, how to help and support fellow learners in dealing with the new realities of an abundance of information? How to make the most effective use of the tools? How best to position oneself in the continuous stream of information and com-�� munication and learn from others? What would motivate people to regulate their learning? In short, what would be the important factors in the design of a learning environment to support learner self-��direction on online networks, and what should be the place and role of the educator? Presence and the Role of the Educator in Open Networked Learning Environments 6KHGURII DUJXHG WKDW LQ FXUUHQW GHVLJQ SUDFWLFH WKH PDLQ IRFXV VKRXOG EH RQ FUHDW-�� ing environments that encourage relationships with individuals, experiences that connect on an emotional and value level. It is not enough to introduce some tools to create an effec-�� tive working environment;�� one should also design for the building of connections, collabo-�� rations between resources and people. In a learning environment characterized by change, the tools and applications it recommends to learners and the connections it facilitates to other learners and knowledgeable others are vitally important to create learning experi-�� HQFHV 7KH OHDUQLQJ ��RZ PLJKW EH YLVXDOL]HG DV GRQH E\ .RS LQ UHODWLRQ WR D SHUVRQDO OHDUQLQJ HQYLURQPHQW 3/( DQG VKRZQ LQ )LJXUH