scholarly journals Why Study on a MOOC? The Motives of Students and Professionals

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Milligan ◽  
Allison Littlejohn
Keyword(s):  
Data Science ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Career Progression ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Formal Knowledge ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Future Learning

<p class="3">Massive Open Online Courses have emerged as a popular mechanism for independent learners to acquire new knowledge and skills; however, the challenge of learning online without dedicated tutor support requires learners to self-motivate. This study explores the primary motivations reported by participants in two MOOCs: <em>Fundamentals of Clinical Trials </em>and <em>Introduction to Data Science </em>(n=970). Each MOOC drew a diverse cohort of participants ranging from professionals working in the field to students preparing to enter it. Across both MOOCs, a similar profile of primary motivations emerged, with respondents identifying the potential benefits to their current role, or future career, alongside more general responses reflecting casual interest in the topic or a simple desire to learn. Professionals were primarily motivated by current needs, describing how the course could fill gaps in their formal knowledge, broaden their skillset to increase their effectiveness at work, or enable them to innovate. Professionals also saw the benefit of MOOC study in preparing them for new roles and career progression. Students, meanwhile, used MOOC study to complement their other learning. It is clear that MOOC study represents a popular mechanism for professionals to address both current and future learning needs.</p>

Clicking, but connecting? L2 learning engagement on an ab initio Irish language LMOOC

ReCALL ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-127
Author(s):  
Conchúr Mac Lochlainn ◽  
Mairéad Nic Giolla Mhichíl ◽  
Elaine Beirne
Keyword(s):  
Ab Initio ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Irish Language ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Diverse Learning ◽  
L2 Production

AbstractLanguage massive open online courses (LMOOCs) represent an exciting prospect for language teachers and instructors around the globe (Bárcena & Martín-Monje, 2014). In this paper, we report on the dynamics of participation and learner behaviour in an ab initio Irish language course. The course, Irish 101, ran during March 2019, and we used a mixed-methods approach to analyse both typical patterns of behaviour among course participants and learner reflections upon their reasons for doing so. Findings suggest that most learners use the course resources in an assessing and exploratory manner and are far less likely to produce, or to examine, second language (L2) output, either written or spoken. Learners were found to be selective and to demonstrate significant metacognitive awareness (Wenden, 1998) in their interactions and learning methods, displaying agency and exploiting affordances beyond the design of the course itself. Implications for LMOOC design, including the need to question whether courses should emphasise L2 production or resource provision, are considered, in addition to a general need for more granular, dynamic research, so as to better understand the types of learners who engage in LMOOCs and to better cater to diverse learning needs.

scholarly journals Massive open online courses on biomedical informatics

F1000Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 180
Author(s):  
Cender Udai Quispe-Juli ◽  
Victor Hugo Moquillaza-Alcántara ◽  
Katherine Arapa-Apaza
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Observational Study ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Biomedical Informatics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Common Language ◽  
Massive Open Online

This study aimed to identify the characteristics of massive open online courses (MOOCs) related to biomedical informatics offered in several plataforms. We conducted an observational study on specialized MOOCs platforms to find courses related to biomedical informatics, in 2018. Our search identified 67 MOOCs on biomedical informatics. The majority of MOOCs were offered by Coursera (71.6%, 48/67), English was the most common language (95.5%, 64/67). The United States developed the majority of courses (73.1%, 49/67), with the vast majority of MOOCs being offered by universities (94%, 63/67). The majority of MOOCs were in bioinformatics (56.7%, 38/67) and data science (47.7%, 32/67). In conclusion, the MOOCs on biomedical informatics were focused in bioinformatics and data science, and were offered in English by institutions in the developing world.

scholarly journals Changing Entrepreneurship Learning Ecosystems: Massive Open Online Courses. Opportunities and Limitations

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 473-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Żur
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
New Development ◽  
Evolution Of Technology

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have brought innovation in terms of learning modes and new challenges at all levels of education, aiming to respond to the most pressing learning needs, generated by the new development policies and the rapid evolution of technology. This wave of change is affecting also entrepreneurial education. The goal of this study is to evaluate the opportunities and limitations of massive open online courses posed to higher education institutions. The study is based on desk research and analysis of existing MOOCs dedicated to entrepreneurship. The paper starts with introductory information about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education, as well as a short description of MOOC types. Next it presents an overview of existing top ranked online courses devoted to entrepreneurship education around the world. Finally, the paper identifies both opportunities and limitations of entrepreneurship MOOCs in regard to higher education institutions programs, as well as best practices identified as a result of the study.

scholarly journals Instructional Strategies that Respond to Global Learners’ Needs in Massive Open Online Courses

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Trang Phan
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Communication Styles ◽  
Instructional Designers ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Learning Behaviors ◽  
Educational Backgrounds

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are one of the most innovative forms of online instruction delivered to learners of different language, cultural and educational backgrounds around the world. These multicultural learners have diverse communication styles, learning behaviors and needs that are manifested and demonstrated differently in such a large scale online learning environment as MOOCs. There is little research on how aspects of MOOC learners’ diverse cultural backgrounds and learning behaviors are perceived, how these learners are characterized in terms of their learning needs, and how the MOOC instructors and instructional designers respond to these needs in the course design process. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe how MOOC learners’ diverse learning needs, stemming from their different language, cultural and educational backgrounds, were perceived and responded to during the course design and delivery. Participants were fifteen instructors and instructional designers in American higher educational institutions who were involved in designing and delivering a wide variety of MOOC subjects on the Coursera hosting platform. The insights of participants into specific instructional strategies that were designed especially for MOOC multicultural learners’ needs were categorized into three themes: language, content and engagement. These strategies aimed to provide support and engage learners with English language barriers, or those who did not have the necessary subject background to keep up with the course, or those who were not familiar with the American education culture. The study also investigated the pedagogical challenges and concerns that the participants faced during and after the delivery of the MOOCs. Typical challenges included confusions caused during the discussion triggered by the subject, the participants’ struggle with the efficiency of peer assessment, and the applicability of the content materials for the global audience.

Learning Theories Supporting Massive Open Online Courses

2015 ◽  
pp. 125-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis A. Coelho
Keyword(s):  
Learning Theory ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
The Core ◽  
Critical Literacies ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Educational Paradigm

Learning theories lay at the core of every educational paradigm; especially applicable to MOOCs are the ones that originate in constructivism. Connectivism is a de facto learning theory that is framing the growing enthusiasm surrounding the design and the worldwide dissemination of MOOCs. This chapter shows how connectivism has become the digital age's natural successor to the stream of learning theories that preceded it, despite its questionable ability to fulfill the totality of pre-digital requirements drafted for learning theories. As a disruptive phenomenon, several obstacles to materializing the promise of inclusiveness and equality in access to learning that is signified by MOOCs remain, including learner autonomy, presence (cognitive, social and teacher's) and critical literacies, as well as recognition, validation and accreditation. Finally, fostering the widespread development of the set of educators' skills essential to fully implement connectivism is needed in order to fully reap the potential benefits of MOOCs.

scholarly journals Personalized Online Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Benmedakhene Nadira ◽  
Derdour Makhlouf ◽  
Mohamed Amroune
Keyword(s):  
Online Courses ◽  
Dropout Rate ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Learning Path ◽  
Common Problems ◽  
Term Data

The success of MOOC (massive open online courses) is rapidly increasing. Most educational institutions are highly interested in these online platforms, which embrace intellectual and educational objectives and provide various opportunities for lifelong learning. However, many limitations, such as learners' diversity, lack of motivation, affected learners' outcomes, which unfortunately raised the dropout rate. Thus, multiple solutions were afforded on MOOC platforms to tackle these common problems. This paper suggests a model outline of a customizable system Context-Driven Massive Open Online Courses that could be implemented in any learning environment, and that goes hand in hand with learners' context to boost their motivation towards learning, and to help identify their learning needs. The paper introduces CD-MOOC following a learner-based approach by employing two types of users' data; long-term and short-term data assembled form learners' online traces when interacting on the platform. The data help users design their own learning path based on their context and preferences.

Education and the Relation to the Outside: A Little Real Reality

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Savat ◽  
Greg Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Transformative Teaching ◽  
Control Society ◽  
Brave New World ◽  
Radical Transformation

One of the more dominant themes around the use of Deleuze and Guattari's work, including in this special issue, is a focus on the radical transformation that educational institutions are undergoing, and which applies to administrator, student and educator alike. This is a transformation that finds its expression through teaching analytics, transformative teaching, massive open online courses (MOOCs) and updateable performance metrics alike. These techniques and practices, as an expression of control society, constitute the new sorts of machines that frame and inhabit our educational institutions. As Deleuze and Guattari's work posits, on some level these are precisely the machines that many people in their day-to-day work as educators, students and administrators assemble and maintain, that is, desire. The meta-model of schizoanalysis is ideally placed to analyse this profound shift that is occurring in society, felt closely in the so-called knowledge sector where a brave new world of continuous education and motivation is instituting itself.

cMOOCs and Global Learning: An Authentic Alternative

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Yeager ◽  
Betty Hurley-Dasgupta ◽  
Catherine A. Bliss
Keyword(s):  
Online Courses ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Research Review ◽  
Press Coverage ◽  
Open Educational Resource ◽  
Educational Resource ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Definition Of

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) continue to attract press coverage as they change almost daily in their format, number of registrations and potential for credentialing. An enticing aspect of the MOOC is its global reach. In this paper, we will focus on a type of MOOC called a cMOOC, because it is based on the theory of connectivism and fits the definition of an Open Educational Resource (OER) identified for this special edition of JALN. We begin with a definition of the cMOOC and a discussion of the connectivism on which it is based. Definitions and a research review are followed with a description of two MOOCs offered by two of the authors. Research on one of these MOOCs completed by a third author is presented as well. Student comments that demonstrate the intercultural connections are shared. We end with reflections, lessons learned and recommendations.

Massive Open Online Courses: Potential Implications for Advancing the Field of Family Science

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Doneker ◽  
Bethany Willis Hepp ◽  
Debra Berke ◽  
Barbara Settles
Keyword(s):  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Family Science
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