Premium
Learning about Islam and Muslims online: Reflections on the design and delivery of a massive open online course (MOOC) 2014–2019
Author(s) -
GilliatRay Sophie
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
teaching theology and religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.165
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1467-9647
pISSN - 1368-4868
DOI - 10.1111/teth.12568
Subject(s) - islam , underpinning , massive open online course , course (navigation) , online course , instructional design , online learning , sociology , pedagogy , engineering , psychology , mathematics education , multimedia , computer science , history , archaeology , civil engineering , aerospace engineering
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.