MOOC Mirage: Disrupting Illusions of the ‘Golden Age’ of Online Learning

The introduction serves as a critical foray into the disruptive phenomenon of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which emerged as an innovative educational model in 2012. It challenges the notion of such innovation, popularised by esteemed institutions like Stanford and Harvard, are the panacea for the myriad challenges plaguing global education. Grounded in the intellectual traditions of Paulo Freire, Antonio Gramsci, and Sonya Foss, this monograph sets out to interrogate the ideologies that undergird these digital platforms. The primary ethical impetus of the work lies in scrutinising the concept of “good“ education as a public good that liberates and enlightens rather than merely serves as a commodity for personal gain. The book adopts the methodology of ideological criticism, dissecting the content and assumptions propagated by major MOOC providers like Coursera, Udacity, Udemy, and edX. In doing so, it aims to reveal not just the explicit messages but also the underlying ideologies that serve specific social or commercial interests. This volume thus invites readers to engage deeply with the questions surrounding the role of MOOCs in shaping the ideals of education and social values in the digital age in what accessible and inclusive education looks like. It also provides a methodological framework for social researchers interested in critiquing ideological constructs within their own artefacts.