“Finding the Balance”: Motivating Factors Behind Arts Faculty’s Choices Regarding Massive Open Online Courses

"If we were to believe all the rhetoric around massive open online courses (MOOCs) just a few years ago, we were witnessing the revolution in higher education. David Brooks of the New York Times described the arrival of MOOCs as a “tsunami” (2012). Though much of the excitement has died down, the number of MOOCs continues to grow, as does the debate about their purpose and their effect. Notably absent from this discussion is the voice of the arts in the academy. This dissertation explores the decisions of fine arts faculty as to whether or not to engage with massive open online courses (MOOCs). It examines the personal, pedagogical and political factors that influence their thinking about MOOCs. These include faculty opinions on technology in American culture, higher education, and in their own lives; the issue of time in their lives for this new work; their conceptions of arts learning and of MOOCs; and the institutional motivations that affect their choices."