Designing a community of inquiry (COI) in online and blended courses is the topic of a new massive open online course (MOOC) to be offered by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) in collaboration with Athabasca University (AU), Canada.

This comprehensive five-week MOOC commences 12 March 2023.

Educational transactions in a digital environment requires the design and delivery of a thoughtful interplay between the instructor, student interactions, and course resources. The Designing for Communities of Inquiry in Online Courses (DCOI) MOOC will explore the how’s and why’s of using the COI as the basis for developing and teaching high-quality online and blended courses. This course highlights practical ways of helping students learn through active participation and shared sense-making.

This introductory course is open to anyone, anywhere and is mobile-friendly. DCOI has been designed to assist professors, teachers, instructional designers, education developers and educational technology specialists to rethink pedagogical processes and develop appropriate action plans for implementation within their own context.

The DCOI MOOC, “provides two important things for educators moving online. First, it provides an overview of community-based, learning-focused approaches to the design, delivery, and assessment of online learning. Second, it offers an example of how this kind of design can be created, even in large enrolment courses. One  will experience a learner-centred environment, offering dedicated support to those wishing to learn, and motivating those feeling less willing and/or less able to learn”, commented Professor Martha Cleveland-Innes of AU, one of the course instructors.

Dr Sanjaya Mishra, COL’s Director: Education, said, “The new course is yet another example of COL’s collaboration with AU to strengthen the capacities of stakeholders around the Commonwealth for improving the quality of technology-enabled learning.”

For more information about the course and registration details, please visit: https://www.dcoimooc.org/