Many of the major Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platforms support learning approaches which can be roughly categorised as transmission-based and asynchronous (Morris & Lambe, 2014), with limited forms of interactive elements. Language learning is viewed within this study as an active process which includes knowledge, skills, and cultural…

One of the oft-cited advantages of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is that they provide access opportunities for learners that they might not otherwise have, for example, offering continuing professional development, complementing traditional courses of study, or opening up new areas of knowledge (Ferguson & Sharples, 2014; Hollands &…

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offer high quality, free courses to anyone with an Internet connection. However, these courses may be relatively inaccessible to the large global population of students who are English Language Learners (ELLs). Current efforts to understand student motivation in MOOCs do not take into account the specific needs…

In this paper, we propose a framework for the design of massive open online courses (MOOCs) based upon the principles of self-determination theory, which posits a relationship between intrinsic motivation and the basic psychological need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. We also report the results of design-based research that evaluates…

Spurred on by rapid advances of technology, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have proliferated over the past decade. They pride themselves on making (higher) education available to more people at reduced (or no) cost compared to traditional university schemes and on being inclusive in terms of admitting vast numbers of students from all over…

Understanding factors promoting or preventing participants' completion of a massive open online course (MOOC) is an important research topic, as attrition rates remain high for this environment. Motivation and digital skills have been identified as aspects promoting student engagement in a MOOC, and they are considered necessary for success.…

Due to the large number of students, instructors teaching high enrollment courses often rely on traditional assignments such as scantron exams and research papers. While these types of assignments are functional and satisfy a purpose, they are typically not meaningful or pleasurable for students. In an introductory information technology course,…

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are widespread and still growing due to their modernity and proliferation. However, one of the concerns of MOOCs is the high dropout rate of enrollees. Focusing on this issue, especially in Saudi Arabia where there is a lack of literature and special characteristics such as adopting single-sex education system,…

Smartphones and tablets have become essential tools in users' daily life, as they include a whole range of digital services, enlarging the connection to the virtual world. Nonetheless, the use of these tools in the educational context, known as mobile learning, is still a recent and scarcely embraced practice. A 1-day MOOC (massive open online…

A lack of student questioning and engagement is faced by many universities, where a large lecture is a common practice. Emerging technologies bring about possibilities to fill this gap. This study applied constructivist learning theories and used a digital canvas as a Digital Question Board (DQB) for students to freely pose questions and respond…

One of the characteristics of massive open online courses (MOOCs) is that the overall number of social interactions tend to be higher than in traditional courses, hindering the analysis of social learning. Learners typically ask or answer questions using the forum. This makes messages a rich source of information, which can be used to infer…

With the popularization of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in the e-learning landscape, more and more older adults are participating in MOOC learning activities. Understanding older adults' learning motivations in MOOCs will help MOOC developers design suitable learning systems and appropriate course content for older learners. Using a content…

Among public school teachers, parents, and all adults alike, at least eight in 10 recognize that students vary in how they learn, say schools should address learner variability, and favor tailored instruction--an approach designed to address learner variability--over conventional whole group instruction. Yet nine in 10 teachers, about eight in 10…

The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Consortium for Online Humanities Instruction was launched in 2014 with a series of specific questions about the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of online teaching and learning. As this report documents, many but not all of the questions were answered during the course of the project. Students and…

This paper reports on the evidence learning found from a flipped, blended, ubiquitous learning Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) course teaching global leadership skills using a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to Japanese undergraduates through English. The purposes of the current study are to see if (1) there was any evidence of…