A Study of Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds(SWAYAM)-A MOOC Platform of India

With the rapid development of network technology, it is inevitable that educational resources will be online and open. Since the first year of the 2012 US massive open online courses (MOOC), many countries have been committed to quality MOOC courses. As one of the three major university MOOC platforms, the Chinese university MOOC platform has been attracting the excellent courses of famous universities in mainland China and Taiwan after four years of development since its opening in 2014. This paper uses the literature method, data statistics method, content analysis method and other research methods to analyze the colleges and universities, course types, courses and contents, teaching methods, number of students selected, etc. of the Chinese university MOOC platform, and summarizes the characteristics of free resource sharing, micro-course design, learning behavior control, and interaction. It points out that there are fewer special courses in the famous schools, the repetition of courses, the lack of practical courses, the fragmentation of knowledge points, the single form of micro-courses, and the lack of depth and breadth of discussion. The article puts forward some suggestions for the school of MOOC curriculum development, the teachers who started the course, and the MOOC platform of the Chinese university. Suggestions for schools are: optimizing MOOC courses, improving course quality, strengthening practical curriculum development, multi-school collaboration and other proposals; the recommendations for MOOC course teachers are: reorganizing knowledge systems, strengthening practical applications, and improving picture quality big data analysis of students' learning behaviors and other suggestions; suggestions for Chinese university MOOC platform are: expanding platform functions, coordinating curriculum construction, big data sharing, etc. Article is intended to cause schools, teachers, and the importance of MOOC platform management curriculum development, improve the quality of MOOC courses to stimulate learner motivation through MOOC course of study, enhance the comprehensive literacy learners, play high-quality MOOC courses promote fairness in education.

The accurate exploration of the sentiment information in comments for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) courses plays an important role in improving its curricular quality and promoting MOOC platform’s sustainable development. At present, most of the sentiment analyses of comments for MOOC courses are actually studies in the extensive sense, while relatively less attention is paid to such intensive issues as the polysemous word and the familiar word with an upgraded significance, which results in a low accuracy rate of the sentiment analysis model that is used to identify the genuine sentiment tendency of course comments. For this reason, this paper proposed an ALBERT-BiLSTM model for sentiment analysis of comments for MOOC courses. Firstly, ALBERT was used to dynamically generate word vectors. Secondly, the contextual feature vectors were obtained through BiLSTM pre-sequence and post-sequence, and the attention mechanism that could calculate the weight of different words in a sentence was applied together. Finally, the BiLSTM output vectors were input into Softmax for the classification of sentiments and prediction of the sentimental tendency. The experiment was performed based on the genuine data set of comments for MOOC courses. It was proved in the result that the proposed model was higher in accuracy rate than the already existing models.

Sustainable energy is one of the biggest global challenges today. This paper discusses how we can promote adolescents’ learning of sustainable energy with the help of an international massive open online course (MOOC). The aim of this case study is to understand: (i) What do the adolescents find relevant in the MOOC course about sustainable energy? and (ii) What are the opportunities and challenges of the MOOC for the adolescents to learn sustainable energy? In our study, 80 voluntary adolescents around the world, who were at least 15 year old, took part in two surveys. The themes of our MOOC course were, e.g., sustainable growth, solar power, wind power, biofuel production and smart power generation. This 38 work-hour, free of charge, online course includes an introduction video, interviews of specialists, lecture videos, reading materials of the newest research and multiple choice questions on the topics. Research data was classified by using content analysis. The study indicates that adolescents feel that both the MOOC course and sustainable energy as a subject are relevant to them. Their decision to take part in an online course was mostly influenced by individual relevance and partly influenced by both societal and vocational relevance, according to the relevancy theory used. The MOOC was experienced to be relevant for the three following reasons: (i) good content (e.g., energy production) and implementation of the course; (ii) the course makes it possible to study in a new way; and (iii) the course is personally useful. The characteristics of the MOOC, such as being available anywhere and anytime, free access, and online learning, bringing out a flexible, new way of learning and thus promoting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the context of sustainable energy at school level around the world. This MOOC provided the school students with choice-based learning and expanded their learning opportunities in understanding sustainable energy. In the designing of MOOCs for studying sustainable energy, it is important to take the following things into consideration: (i) the balance between theory and practical examples; (ii) the support for interaction; and (iii) other support (e.g., technical and learning strategies) for students. Communication with other learners and getting feedback from teachers and tutors remain the vital challenges for the developers of MOOCs in the future.

A massive open online course (MOOC) is a model for delivering learning content online to any person who wants to take a course, with no conditions on attendance. Unlike traditional courses, MOOCs require additional skills, provided by videographers, instructional designers, IT specialists and platform specialists. Over the past few years several Universities facilitated partnership with MOOCs providers and are building MOOC courses, to serve as e-learning versions of their courses. Despite all the advantages offered by the MOOC courses, the current statistics show that only a very limited number of registered learners are completing the course. And the vast majority are stopping learning at an early stage. The main reason can be found in the lack of motivation of the students to pass the exams to become a certificate, because universities do not accept the certificates for credits. The aim of this paper is to study the readiness of students to take MOOC courses on one hand and the acceptance of MOOC courses in Universities. A study is conducted on two Universities, Hasselt University, Belgium and Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Jordan. The results of the study are promising, as they suggest that such virtual study programs are accepted in both Universities. However, professors in both Universities elucidate concerns on accepting the equivalence of the MOOC courses to their own courses.

A significant problem in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is the high rate of student dropout in these courses. An effective student dropout prediction model of MOOC courses can identify the factors responsible and provide insight on how to initiate interventions to increase student success in a MOOC. Different features and various approaches are available for the prediction of student dropout in MOOC courses. In this paper, the data derived from a self-paced math course, College Algebra and Problem Solving, offered on the MOOC platform Open edX partnering with Arizona State University (ASU) from 2016 to 2020 is considered. This paper presents a model to predict the dropout of students from a MOOC course given a set of features engineered from student daily learning progress. The Random Forest Model technique in Machine Learning (ML) is used in the prediction and is evaluated using validation metrics including accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, Area Under the Curve (AUC), and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. The model developed can predict the dropout or continuation of students on any given day in the MOOC course with an accuracy of 87.5%, AUC of 94.5%, precision of 88%, recall of 87.5%, and F1-score of 87.5%, respectively. The contributing features and interactions were explained using Shapely values for the prediction of the model.

The COVID Pandemic was a big hit not only for the education sector but also finance sector, industrial sector etc. Due to this adverse situation the physical classes were abruptly stopped and there was a chaos. During this arduous situation universities switched to E-learning. Students started taking MOOC courses. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are online courses offered by diverse educators with the goal of enabling everyone to access content at reasonable prices from any location. This paper presents how Universities can influence students to enroll in courses. For this study purpose students at a University in Pune provided the data in the form of Feedback and Suggestions. Students can enroll in a Course for one of two reasons: to learn new things and develop their abilities, or to gain University Credits. The results showed that many students were completing MOOC courses for credit than for personal growth, a strong correlation between enrolling in a MOOC course for university credit and successful completion is observed. A strong need for University teachers to offer their expertise on these platforms to ensure global knowledge sharing was also observed. Keywords— MOOC; Self Learning; MOOC Platforms; Performance.

Industrial Revolution 4.0 is blurring the boundaries between human intellect and technology. It is characterized by technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain Technology, Robotics, Internet of Things among others. The much-celebrated Industrial Revolution 4.0 will create massive job losses in developing countries including India due to the automation of jobs and processes. Thus, there is a dire need to reskill a vast majority of the workforce for the Industrial Revolution 4.0 which has already begun to be implemented due to its optimization and efficiency in resource usage. According to an estimate by OECD, the nature of 1/3rd of the jobs will transform due to technological interventions. Whereas World Economic Forum has set an ambitious target of reskilling at least 1 billion people by 2030. It believes that the world is undergoing a reskilling emergency. On the other hand, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) were conceived as an online version of distance learning and are increasingly being seen as a medium for filling the skills gap. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are relying on the MOOCs courses along with utilizing the tools of Web 2.0 to cater to the demands of quality, affordable and accessible education to all. MOOCs also caters as a platform for the promotion of lifelong learning. COVID 19 has provided a spurt to the acceptability of MOOCs courses with most Edu Tech start-ups and MOOCs websites registering double-digit growth in the recent past. Coursera's 2020 impact report showcases that India has become the second-largest market for MOOCs with 9.84 million learners after the USA which has 14 million learners. The paper investigates the viability of the MOOCs courses in filling the skill gap as well as the reskilling of the Indian Workforce. It will also delve into whether the MOOCs courses can bridge the digital divide with the country having the world's largest unconnected population. It will critically engage with the question of whether Industrial Revolution 4.0 requires only highly specialized technology-based skills or soft skills or a combination of both for future jobs.
 Keywords: Industrial Revolution 4.0, Reskill, Indian Workforce, MOOCs, Youth

<p>This study aims at investigating the perceptions of the faculty members of the University of Jordan towards the use of The Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in the educational process and their suggestions to improve them, the study followed the descriptive / analytical approach. The sample consisted of (115) teachers from the faculty members of the University of Jordan, who were chosen intentionally during the second semester 2018/2017. A key tool was developed that was validated and consisted of (70 items). The results showed that the use of MOOCs courses was moderate and positively affect the support of the educational process. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences attributed to the teaching experience, gender and academic rank variables. While the results showed that there are statistically significant differences to the degree of the use of the faculty members of the University of Jordan MOOCs courses in the educational process according to the collage variable. Results related to the second area of proposals for improving the use of MOOCs courses were also high. In the light of the results of the study, the researcher recommended, based on the answers of faculty members, the need to reconsider the importance of using electronic MOOCs courses in the educational process, And spreading a culture of awareness of the importance of using electronic environments in the educational process, to provide tangible financial and technical support for the production and design of MOOCs courses in cooperation with faculty members and the use of experts.</p>

MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)即“大规模在线开放课程”，采用在线的方式来实现基于互联网的课程学习、互动、共享和测试，它被认为是对传统高等教育模式和产业的颠覆性创新，近年来受到了教育界的高度关注。深入分析和研究MOOC模式对高等教育带来的影响，既有利于高等教育的健康全面发展，也是MOOC本身可持续发展的需求。对MOOC课程对高等教育带来的改变、高等教育者应采取的态度和应对措施进行了分析，总结了在辅导学生选修MOOC课程和建设MOOC课程实践过程的一些体会，并对未来MOOC的发展进行了展望，旨在推动大规模在线开放课程实践的建设及运用。MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) realizes studying, interacting and sharing the courses all free based on the internet. It is considered as the subversive innovation to traditional higher education and industry, and therefore it has attracted more and more attention recently. Deep analysis of the impact of MOOC on traditional higher education is essential to both the healthy development of higher education and the sustainable development of MOOC itself. This research firstly analyzes the changes in higher education brought by MOOC, and subsequently gives suggestion on the proper response to these changes. It then concludes our practice in both tutoring some MOOC courses from Coursera and constructing ourselves’ MOOC course. Trends in future development of MOOC are discussed, in order to promote the construction and utilization of this new education mode.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become hugely popular recently. MOOCs can offer high-quality education for anyone interested and equalize the whole education field. Still, there are different methodologies for running MOOCs. Coming up with the most suitable methodology benefits both students and teachers. In this study, we have limited the methodological focus to observing scheduled and unscheduled instances of similar MOOC courses. While unscheduled MOOC courses can provide flexibility, they also require self-regulated learning strategies for students to succeed. To observe this, we compare the effectiveness of scheduled and unscheduled programming MOOC courses to find the most effective methodology. For this, we compare the pass rates and grade averages of five instances (two unscheduled and three scheduled) of Python and Java programming MOOCs. The results show that while the attendance numbers are higher in the unscheduled versions, in the scheduled instances the pass rate is significantly better, and students’ progression is much swifter. It also seems that the higher proportion of university students enrolled in a MOOC course positively affects the retention rate. Moreover, the students in the recent unscheduled Python version seem to score significantly higher grades than in its scheduled counterpart. Based on our experiments, the scheduled and unscheduled versions complement each other. Hence, we suggest that, whenever feasible, the maximal benefits would be gained if both types of MOOCs are run simultaneously.

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) users continue to rise in number globally, and accordingly, the electronic word of mouth (eWOM) for MOOCs is an important source of information for MOOCs learners, but research on the effects of MOOCs eWOM is still lacking. Therefore, from the perspective of group size and group recognition in the MOOCs online review forum and the internal relationships in the MOOCs course learning forum, this paper studies the influence mechanism of MOOCs eWOM on the number of registrations and completions. First, according to the literature review, based on the number of online reviews, the online rating valence and eWOM publishers in the MOOCs online review forum, as well as the number of posts and the number of teaching assistants in the MOOCs course learning forum, research hypotheses are proposed in this study to construct a conceptual model. Second, Coursera is the typical MOOCs platform that is selected as the research object to obtain data from November 2018 to August 2019. Third, after preprocessing the data, on the basis of the Hausman test, the corresponding fixed effect of an econometric model is established, and Stata is used to process the data to verify the research hypotheses. Finally, according to the research conclusions related to eWOM, to improve the number of registrations and completions of MOOCs, development suggestions are proposed for MOOCs platform providers and MOOCs course providers, as well.

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is an online education system that has gained increasing popularity in higher education in recent years. Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) has implemented MOOC as part of its teaching and learning modalities, in line with the launch of the Vice Chancellor’s special project, MOOC 450 in 2017. In the Faculty of Pharmacy, UiTM, a total of seven MOOC courses are being offered to the students. However, the enrolment rate of MOOC courses is quite low. Therefore, this research is conducted to gain insihts on the preferences of our students in using MOOC as part of their learning process in UiTM. A total of 133 students of Bachelor of Pharmacy in UiTM Puncak Alam, Selangor were involved in this reasearch. Respondents were given a set of self-administered questionnaire comprising of three parts: (i) general usage of MOOC; (ii) factors that influence students’ preference in using MOOC; (iii) problems that hinder students from using MOOC. Our results showed that various teaching materials, flexible accessibility and the capacity to learn at one’s own pace are the top three variables that affect the students’ preferences in using MOOC. Meanwhile, the top three problems which prevent students from using MOOC are a poor internet connection, lack of physical interactions between students and tutors and lack of interaction between students.

During the last decades, our society is witnessing an authentic revolution that, in a dizzying manner has deeply influenced, modified, and transformed the way of life of human beings. This constant and unstoppable revolution is transmuting all areas of our life: social, cultural, personal, labor, economic, training, etc. This new society is characterized by a high generation of knowledge and the constant and fluid processing of information. In this macro-context, the MOOC phenomenon emerged. MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) courses are based on the principles of massive, free access to all materials and resources offered online. This new didactic path can be constituted in an innovative techno-social tendency, especially oriented in the panorama of Higher Education to stimulate university improvement, open opportunities at the same time for education and training or, simply, derive towards a new business model for the universities. In addition to being an entry point for the popularization of science and knowledge, the future possibilities are enormous and are being studied in all their various dimensions. Many initiatives as a result have been developed to implement this new form of education. MOOC Courses and the Future of Higher Education presents the latest research theories and current examples of MOOC courses practices in Higher Education. The chapters represent an extensive assortment of interpretations and practices examples of MOOC courses, across areas as varied as teaching methodologies, instructional innovations, educational technology, etc. This work is structured in three sections, the first one covers the university institution in the knowledge society, the second analyzes the MOOC training proposals, and the third discusses the future role of MOOCs. Technical topics discussed in the book include: • The Virtualization of Teaching in Higher Education • Training and Professional Development at the e-University • Taxonomy of MOOCs • MOOC: Strengths and Weaknesses • MOOCs and the Scientific Community: Challenges and Innovation • MOOC Platforms • Directory of MOOC Resources • MOOC: Reflections of the Future

The arrival of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) was hailed by many learners around the globe. More universities are willing to offer their top notch professor’s courses as MOOC. However, when utilizing the knowledge from MOOCs, learners need to go through a number of hurdles—getting course completion certification (MS Global Learning Consortum: An example of LIP accessibility information, IMS Global Learning Consortium Inc., 2001, [10]) from various providers, get recognition of the knowledge level of a MOOC in the related domain, and make it searchable for various purposes. In this paper, we propose a MOOC course certifying agency framework, which merges learners’ profiles from various MOOC providers so consolidated profiles are available in one place. Standards such as IMS LIP and Dublin Core (Feigenbaum and Prud’Hommeaux in SPARQL by example: a tutorial, Cambridge Semantics, 2011, [5]) are adopted and expanded to describe relate MOOC course profiles, learner profiles, learning goals, and related skill sets. It enables matching of qualified learner profiles for a job position and/or to identify a set of related MOOC course profiles for some learning goal. The potential employers look for a matching skill set from converged learner profiles through the agency. Each skill for the position goes through a mapping procedure with a corresponding MOOC course profile. After mapping skills to corresponding MOOCs, the framework searches for the converged profiles. The result is the list of learners who match or almost match a given job description.

During the last decades, our society is witnessing an authentic revolution that, in a dizzying manner has deeply influenced, modified, and transformed the way of life of human beings. This constant and unstoppable revolution is transmuting all areas of our life: social, cultural, personal, labor, economic, training, etc. This new society is characterized by a high generation of knowledge and the constant and fluid processing of information. In this macro-context, the MOOC phenomenon emerged. MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) courses are based on the principles of massive, free access to all materials and resources offered online. This new didactic path can be constituted in an innovative techno-social tendency, especially oriented in the panorama of Higher Education to stimulate university improvement, open opportunities at the same time for education and training or, simply, derive towards a new business model for the universities. In addition to being an entry point for the popularization of science and knowledge, the future possibilities are enormous and are being studied in all their various dimensions. Many initiatives as a result have been developed to implement this new form of education. MOOC Courses and the Future of Higher Education presents the latest research theories and current examples of MOOC courses practices in Higher Education. The chapters represent an extensive assortment of interpretations and practices examples of MOOC courses, across areas as varied as teaching methodologies, instructional innovations, educational technology, etc. This work is structured in three sections, the first one covers the university institution in the knowledge society, the second analyzes the MOOC training proposals, and the third discusses the future role of MOOCs. Technical topics discussed in the book include: • The Virtualization of Teaching in Higher Education • Training and Professional Development at the e-University • Taxonomy of MOOCs • MOOC: Strengths and Weaknesses • MOOCs and the Scientific Community: Challenges and Innovation • MOOC Platforms • Directory of MOOC Resources • MOOC: Reflections of the Future