REPRESENTING CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN A MASSIVE ENVIRONMENT. AN IMPOSSIBLE MISSION?

Bridging the need for multilingualism with the need for respecting cultural diversity in a digital platform, which, by its very nature, tends towards standardisation is very challenging. The research group based at the University of Naples Federico II, which headed the project, adopted a working definition of the concept of cultural diversity in a MOOC platform as a function of language, pedagogy and content personalisation.

Language is the vehicle for the expression of personal cultural background, so native-language instruction is a sine qua non condition of providing pan-European educational content. Content needs to be delivered in a variety of European languages and diversity can only be embraced by providing translation of the learning materials into as many languages as possible to broaden access to a wider audience. Pedagogic approach can be seen as the expression of how a culture interprets the objectives of a discipline, as well as its history or philosophy, against the educational needs of its citizens. In other words, it can be interpreted as a form of ideology historically determined. MOOC platforms, therefore, need to be agile enough to accommodate such a variety of instructional design.

Finally, personal content is a specific variable of diversity. In learning, learners bring their own cultural values, knowledge and choices to the learning experience thus interacting in a complex socio-material world. With this presentation we will explore how the features and services on the EMMA MOOC platform evolved to meet and encompass such an objective.

This contribution is part of the initiatives of the European Multiple MOOC Aggregator (EMMA for Short), a European CIP Funded Project (www.europeanmoocs.eu)