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Part IV. Storytelling and Learning in the 21" Century | 153 CHAPTER 7. MOOCS AND STORYTELLING Storytelling can take place not only in an integrated learning environment, but also in an independent open educational course. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a special form of distance learning in which a course organized by a reputable institution becomes available to the masses via the Internet. The aim of the initiative is to make knowledge accessible to the widest possible public audience, with Internet access being the only condition necessary for joining such courses. Applying for these courses is possible from other cities and countries, and the curriculum is published on a weekly basis and accessible from home while sitting in front of a computer. Such courses present a great opportunity for those with reduced mobility who, due to their location, are unable to attend traditional, offline courses. The democratic nature of MOOCs is further exemplified by the fact that anyone interested can enroll for free, regardless of their qualifications or financial situation. The number of participants is also not limited, so there may be thousands applying for a particular MOOC. Siemens (2012) distinguishes between two types of MOOCs: xMOOCs (eXtended MOOCs) and cMOOCs (community / connectivist MOOCs). Reflecting a more traditional, methodologically conservative approach, xMOOCs are online, asynchronous implementations of existing university courses. The content shared with participants at regular intervals is mainly lectures and video tutorials, and examination is carried out through online tests. Although participants of xMOOCs form a vast collective virtual learning community, fellow students are not really able to interact with each other while taking a course. The emphasis is placed on managing individual progress and content acquisition rather than engaging in a cooperative form of learning. Participants do not come into direct contact with either their instructor or their peers during the process. Coursera regularly offers a DST xMOOC led by two professors at the University of Houston: Bernard R. Robin and Sara G. McNeil.* The language of the five-week course is English, and attending the course requires 3-4 hours a week. The primary target groups for Robin and McNeil’s course are educators. In the course, participants receive links to explanatory video tutorials, relevant digital stories, and explanatory texts and are able to create their own digital stories by the end of the course. The steps involved in the learning process are strictly based on StoryCenter’s model. In the first week of the course, students gain a general understanding of DST methodology and define the purpose and topic of their story. In the videos from the second week, participants can learn about the rules of text writing, selecting and creating images and infographics, as well as storyboard %4 https://www.coursera.org/course/digitalstorytelling
