Massive open online courses as phenomenon of digital social transformation of the educational environment

Introduction . Modern studies of the digital transformation of education demonstrate polarity of assessments: some authors emphasize the risks of dehumanization and increasing inequality, while others – the potential for democratization and innovation. For an objective analysis of the role of massive open online courses, it is necessary to consider them as a socio-cultural phenomenon in the context of a systemic restructuring of the educational environment. Purpose setting . The task is to conceptualize massive open online courses as a factor in socio-digital transformation, identify their system-forming functions and the dialectic of progressive / destructive effects in the context of redefining educational paradigms. Methodology and methods of the study . The study is based on the synthesis of the sociotechnical approach, network analysis and critical theory of digital education. The methods of content analysis and conceptual modeling were used. Results. It was found that massive open online courses reconfigure the ontology of the educational space through asynchronous temporality and delocalization, replacing institutional hierarchies with network collaborations and the transition to algorithmic legitimation of knowledge. An antinomy between the declared democratization and the reproduction of digital inequality has been revealed. Conclusion . Massive open online courses are not a technological tool, but an evolutionary stage in the development of education, where technological capabilities, anthropological shifts, and socio-cultural transformations converge. The digital transformation of the educational environment is acquiring qualitatively new properties – from hybrid ecosystems to alternative accreditation systems, determining the vectors of development of the culture of knowledge in the 21st century.