Open AccessTeaching children’s literature online: Co-constructing stories in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
Author(s) -
Nicola Daly,
Dianne Forbes
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of literary education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2659-3149
DOI - 10.7203/jle.4.21020
Subject(s) - massive open online course , storytelling , clarity , online course , general partnership , online teaching , scholarship , online learning , narrative , mathematics education , pedagogy , multimedia , psychology , computer science , art , literature , political science , biochemistry , chemistry , law
Most of the scholarship on teaching children’s literature has focused on teaching fiction in university literature courses (Bedford & Albright, 2011; Butler, 2006). While there is a vast literature associated with online teaching dating back more than 20 years (e.g., Palloff & Pratt, 2005), and there is increasing use of online teaching in university contexts (Rapanta et al., 2020), there are very few published descriptions or analyses of the online teaching of children’s literature. In this article we document and discuss the development of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to be delivered in mid-2021 focusing on picturebooks developed at a university, in partnership with a popular MOOC provider. The development of the MOOC is analysed with respect to supporting the presence of the educators, creating clarity in the delivery of the content, providing spaces for reflection and interaction, and generating human connections in an online environment. These features are linked to the notion of storytelling (Bietti, Tilston & Bangerter, 2019). The contribution of picturebooks to supporting these aspects of effective online teaching is also discussed.