Transcultural aspects in online and massive open online courses: A multiple-case study

The main aim of this study is to determine the indicators of transculture in open and massive open online courses by exploring cultural aspects. To this end, the study was conducted within the frame of transculture in terms of course design and structure, learner characteristics and experiences, and lastly, instructor characteristics and experiences. The sample of the study, in which holistic multiple case study design is applied, consists of a formal graduate level online course and an xMOOC. Structured and semi-structured interview, observation and document analysis techniques were employed as well as systematic literature review in search for answers to research questions within the framework of the theoretical and conceptual background. Other data sources of the research are discussion forum posts, LMS messages, e-mails, social media posts, feedback samples, interactivity reports and participant views obtained from external sources. The findings indicate that the elements that support the formation of transculture for both cases are shaped around two main themes; community and structure. Accordingly, a total of seven categories and seven sub-categories related to these themes were determined. Research results reveal that formation of transculture was at higher level in Case 1. The reasons for this can be listed as follows: Too many but clear rules, despite the course being higly structured; the integration of design elements that provide students flexibility to contruct their learning/meaning with other learners, close monitoring of all kinds of course-related processes, the use of tasks that require collaborative and cooperative work, having shared interests/goals, and as a result, a sense of community, a shared learning culture and identity were mutually created. Keywords: Transculture, MOOCs, Shared culture, Online course, Community, Structure