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Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are created with a broad audience and learning purpose in mind, and informal feedback has shown that they have been used by people making transitions. From the twelve MOOCs we created, we have seen cases of how participants valued the learning that is very different to a traditional formal education trajectory. Understanding and supporting transition pathways - in and out of learning and work - is increasingly important for universities aiming to, for example support working adults in ongoing professional development. Our research explores experiences of participants from African countries taking MOOCs offered by the University of Cape Town (UCT). In 2017, a pilot survey and interviews were conducted of people taking three UCT MOOCs. The interviews were conducted with a sample of learners living in Africa. We categorised the kinds of value participants report from taking open online courses, and consider how our categorisation relates to how transitions are often framed. Current framings of transitions in the research literature has emphasised school leaving youth entering higher education, while our interest is probing the needs of adults looking for flexible online learning opportunities. From the pilot interviews, we see innovative uses of open online courses for making life changes - such as preparing for postgraduate study, changing field within the workplace and discipline crossing to studying in new fields. Framing of transitions helps illuminate how these participants value open online courses for their own personal and professional development, to acquire skills and knowledge and to support their pathways in and out of learning and work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have created opportunities for other educators to reuse them in their own courses. In this study we investigate various forms in which the 'Becoming a changemaker: Introduction to Social Innovation' MOOC has come to be reused in other courses. This MOOC is based on an existing Masters course and intended to develop ways of thinking about the complexities of social change beyond the university. The academic department uses the MOOC materials to support its own teaching. Educators might ask their on-campus students to participate partially or fully in a MOOC and supplement this online learning experience with classroom activities. Outside the university other educators may support an in-person facilitated MOOC encounter to ameliorate connectivity and bandwidth constraints. These approaches are often referred to as "wrapping a MOOC". In this study we interviewed five educators who have been wrapping this UCT MOOC, both within and outside the university. From the literature and analysis of the interview data we develop a characterisation of the different forms of wrapping and their intended purposes. The clear differences between wrapping inside and outside the university context reflected how the MOOC curriculum design was interpreted, with a wider interpretation and a localisation of the curriculum outside the university. Wrapping also offers insights to how MOOC initiatives are being recognised and valued by others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]