Moroccan Teachers of English Acceptance and Readiness to Use MOOCs for Continuing Professional Development

Abstract

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have become a modern concept in education and new meaningful learning environment for technology-enhanced learning, where huge numbers of users worldwide access free, online-based, open content generated by world-renowned institutions. To provide successful MOOC environments requires recognizing the learners' motivations to utilize MOOCs programs. Because of the scarcity of research on MOOCs' use for teacher's professional development, it makes use of information technologies to enhance the learning experience for teachers and students. The present study seeks to investigate acceptance and readiness towards MOOCs' use for continuing professional development besides the degree to which teachers benefit from MOOCs. A survey questionnaire based on TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) [8] is employed as a data collection instrument regarding Usefulness(U), Perceived Ease of Use (PEU), User Satisfaction and Attribute of Usability (USAU) of MOOCs in professional development. The population is senior high secondary school teachers of English from different regions of Morocco. The analysis of the results obtained from various statistical tests revealed that teachers accepted MOOCs programs for continuing professional development with an objective of developing, acquiring and consolidating the necessary insight, skills and competencies required in modern teaching for 21-century education. Most teachers attending MOOCs' programs for continuing professional development were satisfied with the results they obtained from their participation. They also reported that MOOCs programs had an unequivocal and effective impact on their professional and career development.