Clicking with Confidence: Influence of a Student Co-Designed MOOC on Students' Emotions and Online Learning Self-Efficacy

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that being able to learn online is now a crucial life skill and cannot be left to chance. Pedagogical interventions are critical to support students in building their digital skills and confidence, given identified links between online learning readiness and academic success. Based on this premise, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of an online learning preparatory MOOC on students’ emotions and levels of online learning self-efficacy (OLSE). The paper begins by illustrating how the design and delivery of the MOOC had the potential to provide participants with the necessary mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and affective regulation opportunities to evaluate and develop their online learning self-efficacy beliefs. Students starting or continuing their higher education online because of COVID-19 were encouraged to take the MOOC as part of their development. Students’ self-reports of their emotion and OLSE were compared pre- and post-MOOC. Paired sample t-tests found significant differences in all four dimensions of OLSE following participation in the MOOC. Participants reported higher levels of Self-Efficacy Navigating Technology, Self-Efficacy Managing Time, Self-Efficacy Learning at a Distance, and Self-Efficacy Communicating Online. Additionally, changes in learners’ emotions were observed post-MOOC. Most participants reported feeling anxious about online learning before the MOOC. This changed, however, post-MOOC, with the majority feeling positive and hopeful about online learning following the two-week course. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for practice.