Creative Learning and MOOCs : Harnessing the Technology for a 21st Century Education

This volume brings together a collection of selected (and revised) articles that were presented at the 11th Learning and Technology Conference held by Effat University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in February 2014. The conference is an annual event that explores the latest research and practice in innovative technologies and their impact on education. The contributions to this volume are all authored by practicing academics and research students, with the central theme the realisation that learning and teaching are strongly influenced by technology and innovation. Schools, colleges and academic institutes took the lead in harnessing this technology and created innovative opportunities for learning that did not exist before, one of which being the field of e-Learning. One of the latest innovations in education is the introduction of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which represents an interesting development in the use of technology and innovation by providing opportunities for learning to massive numbers of students (regardless of their location) at almost no cost. This phenomenon is subject to a great deal of analysis in this book, and will provide an interesting read for students, teachers, decision makers and ordinary people. A particular strength of this book is that the contributors are drawn from, and represent, a number of cultural backgrounds, which provides a range of insights that is often missing from other publications on such important subjects.