ABSTRACT
From their outset, MOOCs have been envisioned as engines of change. Whereas early conceptions of MOOCs centered around providing universal access to high-quality education, our goal is for MOOCs to be key actors or springboards in spurring local sustainability practices. MOOC participants and chapter co-authors from seven countries describe how their various MOOC experiences helped them to build nonprofit organizational capacity, innovate in their community engagement and environmental education practices, and launch lasting online and face-to-face networks. Design factors enabling MOOCs to contribute such public goods include facilitating and supporting online social networks and local groups as well as final projects where MOOC participants apply what they have learned to a local sustainability practice or action. It also includes recognizing participants’ local practices such as through inviting them to co-author journal articles and eBooks and facilitating ongoing social media after the course ends. In terms of social change and impact, this ambitious team has designed one of the most exciting initiatives in the history of MOOCs. Through their assorted efforts, what has been learned via the MOOC can quickly impact local practices and actions.
