Massive Open Online Courses (Mooc) to improve Teachers’ Professional Development

Resumo

Although the integration of ICT in education is currently on the agenda of educational institutions, it may be difficult to understand the technological progress and the networked society uniquely based on existing learning theories. As a kind of answer to this need, the notion of connectivism has emerged. Connectivism deals with knowledge as something distributed in a network of connections. Considering Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) as an expression of connectivism, this research attempts to study MOOC as a way to understand the process of professional development of teachers in a connectivist environment. This research adopted Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) as a theoretical referential to examine in detail, the process of professional development of teachers in the MOOC context. Through an in-depth study of this process, it was intended to identify the innovations to be introduced into the operation of MOOC in view of improving the professional development of teachers. The results of this research reveal that the process involved in the professional development of teachers in MOOC is quite complex and therefore, determined by a variety of identified dimensions.