Digging deeper into learners' experiences in MOOCs: Participation in social networks outside of MOOCs, notetaking and contexts surrounding content consumption
Veletsianos, George · Collier, Amy · Schneider, Emily

PublishedMay 2015
Type of workSpecial Issue: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): ‘disrupting’ teaching and learning practices in higher education
JournalBritish Journal of Educational Technology
Volume 46, Issue 3, Pages 570–587
PublisherWiley-Blackwell

ABSTRACT
Researchers describe with increasing confidence what they observe participants doing in massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, our understanding of learner activities in open courses is limited by researchers' extensive dependence on log file analyses and clickstream data to make inferences about learner behaviors. Further, the field lacks an empirical understanding of how people experience MOOCs and why they engage in particular activities in the ways that they do. In this paper, we report three findings derived by interviewing 13 individuals about their experiences in MOOCs. We report on learner interactions in social networks outside of MOOC platforms, notetaking, and the contexts that surround content consumption. The examination and analysis of these practices contribute to a greater understanding of the MOOC phenomenon and to the limitations of clickstream-based research methods. Based on these findings, we conclude by making pragmatic suggestions for pedagogical and technological refinements to enhance open teaching and learning.

Keywords MOOC pedagogy · MOOC research · qualitative research

ISSN1467-8535
Other number3
RefereedYes
Rights© British Educational Research Association
DOI10.1111/bjet.12297
Export optionsBibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar


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