Understanding openness through (in)visible platform boundaries: a topological study on MOOCs as multiplexes of spaces and times

Among new technologies in education, the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is one of the phenomena that received much attention. However, controversy developed around the meaning of the word ‘open’ as integrated in the acronym. Despite the disagreements, studies on MOOCs generally do not formulate clear conceptual or operational descriptions of what openness implies for their research. Without explicating these descriptions, it becomes...