Community in the Open: Supports, Challenges, and Impacts of Local Learning Communities of K-12 Adolescent MOOC Learners from Nepal

Abstract

This exploratory qualitative study investigates the obstacles, local support, and learning outcomes for adolescent learners in Nepal taking massive open online courses (MOOCs). This study found that the major difficulties these learners faced were a lack of scaffolding, language barriers, limited technology and internet access, and unmatched learning capacity and MOOC learning objectives that were designed for adults originally. To address these challenges, a local community of teachers, peers, schools, and families played a significant role in inspiring learning, providing scaffolding and guidance, fostering a collective and open local learning environment, instilling motivation, and offering both emotional and technical support. MOOC learning increases the independence of these adolescent learners, supplementing school learning, supporting their career paths, providing practical skills beyond theories, and achieving mental well-being.