Hybrids, MOOCs & Mobiles: Innovations, Change & Impact

Gupta et. al. (2017) document the strong increase in publications related to mobile learning from 2007-2016. Indeed, since the advent of MOOCs in 2008 and their growing family from cMOOCs to SPOCs, on-line learning and virtual classrooms are central topics to higher education leaders globally and locally. Numerous external factors including the production of new and converging technologies, the costs of building and maintaining brick and mortar higher education classrooms, and even student demand have led administrators to consider on-line and blended learning options for their previously traditional albeit diverse campuses. At the same time, we have witnessed an increased focus on assessment and student learning outcomes in traditional as well as less traditional classrooms. The field of political science education is no different. The Journal of Political Science Education provides an excellent example of the growth of interest in teaching and learning in our field as does the 2015 publication of the Handbook of Teaching and Learning in Political Science and International Relations, edited by Ishiyama, Miller, and Simon. Today there are myriad studies of on-line learning within and across borders. This paper reports on a cross-national study of internet-facilitated innovations and uses a diffusion of innovation framework. It also provides a comprehensive review of on-line related innovations in political science both at undergraduate and graduate levels. Particular attention is paid to the new roles of the private sector as partner in certain of the on-line innovations. Examples of partners (both public and private) include 2U, EdX, and Coursera. There is a need to examine innovations in which these organizations partner with higher education institutions and to determine their preliminary impacts. Additionally, this paper will examine their specific impacts upon the field of international relations and upon the international relations/political science classroom. Little research examines innovations in terms of these significant partnerships. There is also scant research that examines the cultural and cross-cultural aspects of these innovations or the role of international organizations in the dissemination of these learning innovations. Finally, the paper provides an evidence-based and future-oriented view of potential long-term impacts on the field of international relations/political science as well as the education of the next generation of international relations/political science professors.