Chapter 8: Transformative online education in challenging contexts
This chapter presents a case study of a CoMOOC for teachers working in a range of challenging environments, including mass displacement. In such contexts, teachers are critical to improving the life chances of children and young people. Technology is often presented as a means to address the most pressing educational problems, but it is teachers who develop the knowledge of what works in practice. So, while technology could make a difference, it cannot do this without involving teachers in the learning design of digital education. Moreover, one of the best uses of education technology in crisis settings is to not to go directly to the children and young people, but to reach the teachers through a CoMOOC. Supporting teachers to become learning designers, and to share their learning designs with others through a CoMOOC, is vital to realise the potential of digital education in challenging contexts.
Key words
Learning design, digital education, mass displacement, crisis contexts, teachers, teacher professional development, refugees, education, emergency settings, education and technology, children, young people, vulnerable children, underprivileged children.
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