Theresa (Terri) Senft

The journalistic hype and institutional exuberance embracing the sudden emergence of Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) could easily have led to the mistaken conclusion that online learning in higher education emerged, fully formed, in 2012 (Kent & Leaver, 2014; Leaver & Kent, 2014). However, there is a long history of different forms of distance education, and more recently online education, which proceeded the MOOC era. Moreover, while not necessarily using the name, yet informed by the many initial failings of MOOCs comparative to the hype (Pretz, 2014; Strauss, 2013; Yang, 2013)  there are also a substantial range of different online offerings which fulfil the ostensible characteristics of MOOCs without explicitly framing themselves within that rhetoric. One such alternative is the Selfie Course, a collaboratively authored online course which, in the first instance, was crafted by twelve online educators from seven different countries producing an initial six-week course, that was then refined and expanded into a full twelve-week course during a dedicated workshop at the 2014 Association of Internet Researchers’ (AoIR) annual conference.
While not explicitly badged as an institutional MOOC, The Selfie Course nevertheless has all the characteristics of a MOOC in that it is easily (and massively) scalable, fully available online (http://www.selfieresearchers.com/the-selfie-course/), available in an open format for free, and is crafted by educators with a clear and accessible course structure. This chapter is co-authored by a number of initial writers of the six-week course, as well as one author who contributed during the AoIR workshop.
The Selfie course emerged from the Selfies Research Network, a Facebook-based discussion and research group established by Theresa Senft in early 2014, which has 2000 active members. Twelve members of this group collaborated to write a course about selfies which they could teach in various capacities in their local institutions, whilst making the content fully available online. The initial content was focused on identity; celebrity and branding; digital surveillance and biometrics; gender and sexuality; subalternity and otherness; and space, place and location specificities. The course was refined using social media and online collaborative authoring tools, and released publicly via a bespoke website. Importantly, the content was released under a Creative Commons license, explicitly encouraging reuse (far more open than many commercially-backed MOOCs).
This chapter will outline this production process in detail, as well as the differing ways the initial course played out in local contexts for the authors, as well as more broadly online. Importantly, the chapter will also outline the second phase which produced a further six weeks of the course via a workshop run at the AoIR conference, where the course was discussed, analysed, tested, critiqued, and ultimately extended. This chapter will also address the highly effective nature of this form of collaborative course writing, introducing the new content areas explored at the workshop. Moreover, after situating these processes, the chapter will conclude by demonstrating in detail how this approach to pedagogical construction, the distributed nature of responsibility and ownership (without fidelity to any one institution), and the commitment to open access and open redistribution, actually fulfils the ideals of MOOCs far more effectively than most offerings by the corporate start-up style offerings most widely discussed in the press and most loudly promoted by institutions. Finally, the chapter will conclude arguing that the Selfie Course offers a model for meaningful MOOC development which emphasises the direct sharing of cutting edge pedagogy and broader learning opportunities all developed via participatory design.
References
Kent, M., & Leaver, T. (2014). The Revolution That’s Already Happening. In M. Kent & T. Leaver (Eds.), An Education in Facebook? Higher Education and the World’s Largest Social Network (pp. 1–10). London & New York: Routledge.
Leaver, T., & Kent, M. (2014). Facebook in Education: Lessons Learnt. Digital Culture & Education, 6(1), 60–65.
Pretz, K. (2014, February 3). Low Completion Rates for MOOCs. The Institute. Retrieved from http://theinstitute.ieee.org/ieee-roundup/opinions/ieee-roundup/low-completion-rates-for-moocs
Strauss, V. (2013, December 12). Are MOOCs already over? Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/12/are-moocs-already-over/
Yang, D. (2013, March 14). Are We MOOC’d Out? Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-yang/post_4496_b_2877799.html

To scholars of race and gender, the most popular videos coming out of the meme, "Sh*t Girls Say," seemed predictable enough, until African American comedian Franchesca Ramsey’s, “Sh*t White Girls Say to Black Girls.” Posted on January 4, 2012, this video featured Ramsey in an ill-fitting blonde wig, using the vocal tone of a White California “Valley Girl,” addressing what we presume is her offscreen Black friend. In addition to repeatedly trying to touch her friend’s hair, her monologue is peppered with racist phrases (“Not to sound racist, but . . . ”), questions (“Is blackface still, like, a thing?”), and pronouncements (“Jews were slaves too, and you don’t hear us complaining about it all the time.”). Ramsey’s video received 1.5 million hits in the days after its release, boosting her comedy career and spawning a follow-up video. As might be expected, the video’s success paved the way for similar projects focused on things White girls say to Brown/Desi/Indian Girls, Latinas, Arab Girls, and others.