The Promise of MOOCs: Communities of Practice and Affinity Spaces to Support Life-long Learning for Teacher-Librarians

Abstract

This research paper presents the findings from a final survey of those who registered in The Hyperlinked Library MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) offered by the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University in the fall of 2013. The survey questions analyzed deal specifically with the development of a sense of community within the MOOC. Key findings include: purpose (shared interests and shared experience), people (connecting with others – participants and instructors and those outside the MOOC), participation (reading, writing, sharing, joining, responding, etc.), pedagogy (decisions about teaching and learning in the MOOC are so critical) and platforms (spaces for collaborative learning inside (BuddyPress) and outside (social media). School library organizations should look to the power of MOOCs to connect teacher-librarians with each other and provide professional development.