Negotiating World Englishes in a Writing-Based MOOC

This article recounts the experiences of a team of faculty, graduate students, and instructional technologists facilitating Rhetorical Composing, a writing-focused Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). When first offering the MOOC, we recognized quickly that we needed to emphasize the global makeup of our learning cohort to foster a stronger sense of community, diminish concerns about peer review, and inform participants about various ways that people all over the world learn English. In response, we developed a curricular unit focusing on “World Englishes” that included video lectures, guest speakers, discussion forums, and an invitation for individuals to submit their own learning experiences. We also designed an in-house peer-review software platform, which provided focused training for all participants, regardless of language background. Here, we analyze demographic data for the course, participant writing, and other content generated within the MOOC.