Abstract
There has been widespread criticism about the rates of participation of students enrolled on MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), more importantly, the percentage of students who actively consume course materials from beginning to the end. The current study sought to investigate this trend by examining the factors that influence MOOC adoption and use by students in selected Ghanaian universities. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was extended to develop a research model. A survey was conducted with 270 questionnaires administered to students who had been assigned MOOCs; 204 questionnaires were retrieved for analysis. Findings of the study show that MOOC usage intention is influenced by computer self-efficacy, performance expectancy, and system quality. Results also showed that MOOC usage is influenced by facilitating conditions, instructional quality, and MOOC usage intention. Social influence and effort expectancy were found not to have a significant influence on MOOC usage intention. The authors conclude that universities must have structures and resources in place to promote the use of MOOCs by students. Computer skills training should also be part of the educational curriculum at all levels. MOOC designers must ensure that the MOOCs have good instructional quality by using the right pedagogical approaches and also ensure that the sites and learning materials are of good quality.
Highlights
A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is usually a free course that is open to anyone who wishes to enroll, has video and text-based instructional content that can be downloaded, quizzes, assignments, and forums made available through an online platform
We approached the study from a technology adoption perspective; the findings of our study show that MOOC usage intention is influenced by computer self-efficacy, performance expectancy, and system quality
We propose that lecturers in the universities should encourage students to use MOOCs and assure them of their willingness to help, and check on their progress
Summary
A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is usually a free course that is open (globally) to anyone who wishes to enroll, has video and text-based instructional content that can be downloaded, quizzes, assignments, and forums made available through an online platform. MOOCs are accessible to people who plan to take a course or to be schooled in a particular subject area [1]. Two pioneers of online learning in Canada, George Siemens and Stephen Downes created and taught the first course that could be classified as a MOOC [1]. In 2008, Siemens and Downes taught the course “Connectivism and Connected Knowledge (CCK08)” to 25 students at the University of Manitoba. ‘Connectivism’ is an educational theory proposed by George Siemens that highlights the importance of connections between people and knowledge [2]. CCK08 was a traditional fee-paying course, but Siemens and Downes made a decision to open up access to the course to anyone who desired to join it online [2].
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