Occupy MOOCs: Understanding Users' Motivations, Perceptions and Activity Trajectories

Open Access
- Author:
- Zheng, Saijing
- Graduate Program:
- Information Sciences and Technology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 17, 2016
- Committee Members:
- John Millar Carroll, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
John Millar Carroll, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Mary Beth Rosson, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Kyle Leonard Peck, Committee Member
Zhenhui Li, Committee Member
Mary Beth Rosson, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- MOOCs
Massive Open Online Courses
Motivation
Perceptions
mix-method - Abstract:
- Compared with traditional online courses, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are larger in scale, distributed worldwide, clear of financial barriers, and without geographic constraints. MOOCs provide an opportunity to teach interesting or critical content to new groups of learners who may not otherwise have the chance to receive high-quality education. As such, MOOCs have inspired rethinking and innovation in university education. Tens of thousands of enrolled students create a disruptive scale factor that raises both new possibilities and challenges, while inviting new visions and agendas. Although MOOCs have been broadly recognized and are considered to be an innovation in online education, researchers and practitioners have little understanding of (1) what the best practices are for students, instructors, or even MOOC carriers because of the newness of the MOOC paradigm, (2) how to improve student retention given the high dropout rate and (3) how to better support MOOC instructors to help them produce more attractive MOOCs. To better understand and address these issues, I apply mixed methods – interviews and various sorts of log data analysis – to characterize distinctive students’ and instructors’ motivations, perceptions, challenges and activity patterns during learning/teaching in MOOCs. Based on this richer understanding, I use scenario based design method to identify and present instructional and platform design implications for the next generation of MOOCs.