Book Review: Moocs and Open Education in the Global South: Challenges, Successes and Opportunities

Abstract

Many Western educators live under the mistaken impression that Massive Open Online Courses are a waning fad that never lived up to the disruptive potential claimed by its early evangelists. However, even so-called educational experts are often unaware of the long-term impact of educational technologies after the initial glow and flush of venture capital has faded. MOOCs certainly fall into this category. Class Central reports that in 2019 some 13,500 MOOC courses were delivered to over 110,000,000 learners worldwide (an annual increase of over 18%). // The MOOCs and Open Education book promises to be an important resource for educators globally. It not only provides concrete examples of MOOC and OER use in countries throughout the Global South but also deals with instructional design, effects of government policy, adoption issues, faculty and student perceptions of value, the state of research and more. Thus, it is an important and a timely publication.