Bilingual digital learning in teacher education: Bridge or barrier in the enhancement of shared society?

Abstract

What is the right way to design interethnic educational encounters to promote a shared society in Israel? The challenge of bridging groups who speak different languages is magnified in the Israeli case because of the national conflict and linguistic asymmetry. This article examines a possible solution, a partly bilingual massive open online course (MOOC), developed by the authors and designed to maintain a balanced emphasis on students’ ethnic group identities, along with openness towards the Other. In this qualitative research, we explored the participants’ experiences of the MOOC and whether it promoted cross-cultural understanding.