The figure of the facilitators in massive and open online courses (COMA/MOOC): a new professional role for open educational environments

• Main Author: Pedro María Marauri Martínez de Rituerto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Asociación Iberoamericana de Educación Superior y a Distancia (AIESAD) 2014-01-01
• Series: RIED: Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia
• Subjects: facilitadores, funciones, COMA, MOOCs, herramientas de trabajo, perfil.
• Online Access: http://revistas.uned.es/index.php/ried/article/view/11573

We are witnessing the emergence of new professional roles in the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), that attempt to mitigate, in some way, the absence of existing custom tutorial assistance in traditional online courses. Throughout this article, we will review the role of facilitators. This is one of the most visible figures in MOOCs since students recognize the figure as representing the institution within the courses. We shall approach their study by considering the functions to be undertaken on a course of this nature, the technological tools they can use and the profile needed to perform this kind of activity.