Massive Open Online Courses Platform Research Articles

The more the better? How excessive content and online interaction hinder the learning effectiveness of high‐quality MOOCs

AbstractHigh dropout rates and low pass rates are prevalent problems encountered by online learning platforms, which greatly hinder the development of online education. Drawing upon the theory of attention allocation, this study aimed to investigate the factors influencing the effectiveness of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), as well as the potential moderating effects. To address the limitation of using course completion rates as an overall measurement, this study endeavours to measure MOOCs learning effectiveness by examining dropout rates and pass rates as separate outcome indicators. We use secondary data analysis to investigate our research questions. Specifically, we collect 8602 courses from a Chinese MOOC platform (Zhihuishu) using data‐crawling techniques, and employ regression analyses to examine our research hypotheses. The findings indicate that course quality, content richness and interactivity significantly influence course dropout rates and pass rates. Besides, content richness moderates the relationship between course quality and learning effectiveness. Furthermore, frequent online interaction is associated with lower pass rates in high‐quality courses, but the moderating effect of online interaction on dropout rates is insignificant. This study contributes to the extant literature by examining course‐level factors that affect learning effectiveness. It also offers new theoretical insights and provides valuable suggestions for the design of MOOCs. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Attention is a scarce resource, and the concentration level greatly influences one's academic performance. Excessive online interaction may cause distractions and hinder learning outcomes. Information overload can result in anxiety and negative emotions, thereby reducing one's willingness to continue learning. In addition, information overload may reduce perceived usefulness and negatively affect academic performance. High dropout rates and low pass rates are common problems encountered by MOOCs today, hindering the development of online education. What this paper adds This study investigates the effect of course quality, content richness and interactivity on course dropout rates and pass rates. Content richness moderates the relationship between course quality and course dropout rates / pass rates. Courses with more content have higher dropout rates and lower pass rates, particularly for high‐quality courses. Online interaction moderates the relationship between course quality and the pass rates. More frequent online interaction is associated with lower pass rates for high‐quality courses. Implications for practice and/or policy The improvement of course quality can contribute to lower dropout rates and higher pass rates, thereby fostering the healthy growth of online education. When evaluating high‐quality courses, not only the depth of course content but also the integration of resources should be considered. High‐quality online courses should carefully regulate the number of videos and manage online learning resources. In addition, it is recommended that course designers consolidate essential video resources and ensure the effective and appropriate structure of course content. High‐quality online courses should restrict the frequency of online interaction. Additionally, these courses should strategically help learners allocate their attention, with a particular emphasis on prioritizing the course video content.

Toward a comprehensive understanding of massive open online course adoption among college students

AbstractThis paper investigated the factors affecting the behavioral intention (BI) and usage behavior (UB) of 548 Chinese college students in massive open online courses (MOOCs). We extended the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model by incorporating self‐regulated learning (SRL) management, perceived pleasure (PP), and perceived cost constructs. This study also analyzed the moderating role of individual differences in gender, grade, major, and experience in MOOCs. Data were collected through both offline surveys across 10 universities and an online survey platform. Results from structural equation modeling and multi‐linear regression analyses revealed that students' BI was significantly and positively influenced by six factors: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions (FC), social influence, SRL management (SM), and PP. Furthermore, we found that UB was predicted by BI, FC, and SM. Moreover, BI played a mediating role in the relationship between the two determining variables (i.e., FC and SM) and UB. Differences in MOOC experience level had a moderation effect. The study provided implications for various stakeholders regarding designing MOOC platforms, structures, and teaching activities.

Early detection of serious but struggling learners in MOOCs using ensemble deep learning

ABSTRACT This study works on the early identification of serious but struggling students in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which facilitates a transition to a hybrid learning format. Firstly, we exclusively utilize basic behavior log features that are universally available across all MOOC platforms. Secondly, we encode each learning activity with a distinct identifier, which helps us utilize the current advances in NLP to address our problem. Thirdly, we seamlessly integrate our LSTM model with a Logistic Regression model, configured as a single dense layer with a sigmoid activation function, within the broader framework of deep learning.

Topic Mining and Sentiment Analysis based on the Online Review from MOOC Platform’s Logistics Course

In the context of ongoing curriculum teaching reform accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluating online logistics courses from the learners’ perspectives and identifying strategies for improvement have become critical areas of inquiry. Despite the growing body of literature on online education, existing studies often overlook the specific topics of interest and emotional tendencies of online logistics course learners. This study addresses this gap by utilizing the push-pull-mooring (PPM) theory, originally developed for human migration studies, to elucidate the transition of learners from offline to online environments, while exploring the formation process and significance of online logistics course instruction. We employ the ROST Content Mining System (ROST CM) software to conduct word frequency analysis, semantic network analysis, and sentiment analysis on review text data from two logistics courses offered on the China University massive open online courses (MOOC) platform. Our findings indicate that online learners prioritize three key aspects: “teacher,”“course,” and “learning content,” with high-frequency words revealing a hierarchical structure of “topic → transition → emotion.” While most learners expressed positive and satisfactory sentiments, a minority conveyed neutral or negative emotions. Based on these insights, this paper proposes targeted recommendations focusing on instructor guidance, enhancing online interaction, and fostering reflective teaching practices.

Research on the Design of Performance Evaluation System for Physical Education Major Based on Multimedia Information Processing Technology

The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform, despite its reach and potential, faces significant challenges related to learner diversity, including variations in student backgrounds, work experiences, and learning environments. By integrating the principles of ant colony clustering algorithms with MOOC platform dynamics, our study devises a strategy for grouping students based on shared characteristics, thereby fostering a tailored learning environment. A streamlined MOOC platform design framework is outlined, accompanied by a detailed blueprint for a peer-evaluation information system, aimed at accurately gauging students' academic progress within their disciplines. This platform enables students to effortlessly access and engage with courses aligned with their interests, while the reciprocal assessment mechanism heightens understanding of course materials and alleviates pressure on educators. Our research contributes a pragmatic solution to the challenge of student assignment clustering within MOOCs, enhancing both individual learning outcomes and the broader instructional quality.

Enhancing learner affective engagement: The impact of instructor emotional expressions and vocal charisma in asynchronous video-based online learning

AbstractIn the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education and adult learning, asynchronous video-based online learning has not only become the new norm but has also emerged as the cornerstone of instructional delivery for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Despite its widespread adoption, this learning mode confronts a critical challenge: the inherent lack of social presence, posing a significant risk of diminishing learner affective engagement and, consequently, jeopardizing the efficacy of learning outcomes. Addressing this pressing issue, our study conducted a comprehensive analysis of 240 instructional videos from 240 distinct instructors on a MOOC platform, supplemented by 845 post-course learner feedback surveys from a diverse cohort of college students and adult learners. Using deep learning and statistical analysis, the research revealed that the on-screen presence of instructors does not inherently affect students’ affective engagement. The study revealed that learners’ affective engagement is affected by distinct combinations of the instructor’s facial and paraverbal expressions, including happiness, surprise, and anger, which vary depending on whether the instructor is visible. The discovery that vocal attractiveness is a pivotal element in enhancing learners’ affective engagement with instructional videos marks a paradigm shift in our understanding of digital andragogy and heutagogy. This study propels academic discourse by illuminating the critical role of instructor non-verbal cues in establishing social presence and facilitating emotional contagion within asynchronous video-based online learning but also provides educators and content creators with empirically-backed techniques to revolutionize video instruction and amplify affective engagement.

Variation of HE academics’ experiences of designing MOOCs

There has been abundant research studying academics’ conceptions of and approaches to teaching, learning and other academic related activities in higher education (HE). However, most of the research in this area is in the traditional classroom HE context and there is very limited research in online teaching and learning contexts. Furthermore, research tends to mainly focus on academics’ experiences in teaching and learning in general, and there is very little research studying academics’ course designs, in particular. MOOCs (massive open online courses) originally emerged as a new online teaching form linked to connectivism and large networks of learners, which attracted a lot of interest from HE providers and researchers. Although there is plenty of research literature studying learners’ MOOC experiences, there is a lack of research on academics’ experiences of MOOCs. With more and more HE institutions partnering with MOOC platforms, HE academics involved in designing MOOCs are asked to follow certain procedures and prescribed formats in the designing process. There is hardly any published research on academics’ experience of designing MOOCs to understand the possible variations in their understanding of and approaches to designing MOOCs and the possible links between their perceptions and networked learning theory. This research aims to fill this research gap through a phenomenographic study of the UK HE academics’ experience of designing MOOCs to gain understanding of the possible variation in their perceptions and discusses links with different dimensions of networked learning. The research results could inform course designers and MOOC development stakeholders as well as provide insights to researchers in this area. I (first author) interviewed 22 academics from different UK HE institutions who have experience of designing MOOCs. The initial data analysis based on 14 transcripts revealed 5 categories of HE academics’ perceptions of designing MOOCs. This short paper presents the preliminary analysis of the first stage and discusses the results through the lens of networked learning. The next step is to continue data analysis through consulting the remaining transcripts to refine and modify the emerged categories and constitute the structural relationship between the categories to form the final outcome space.

Exploring the Influencing Factors of Chinese EFL Learners' Online Interactive Learning

Objective: This study aimed to explore the factors influencing Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ interactive learning in an online learning context. The objectives were to identify these factors, understand their mechanisms, and develop a theoretical model that encompasses these elements. Methods: The research employed a grounded theory approach to analyze interactive data from the discussion forums of the Course of College English on China university Massive Open Online Courses platform. Data were collected from 3,279 learners during the Fall 2023 semester. The analysis proceeded through open coding, axial coding and selective coding to identify and categorize the influencing factors. Results: The study identified six main categories: learner characteristics, curriculum structure, teaching competence, expected outcomes, interactive behaviors, and online learning context. These categories were found to be dynamically interconnected, collectively shaping learners’ interactive behaviors and overall learning experiences. The core category, “EFL online interactive learning”, unified all these elements, highlighting the multifaceted nature of effective EFL online education. Conclusion: The findings underscore the importance of understanding the interplay between various factors in the EFL online learning environment. The developed theoretical model provides a comprehensive framework for enhancing EFL online education by addressing learner needs, improving curriculum design, and ensuring robust teaching and technological support. These insights offer valuable implications for educators and policymakers aiming to improve online EFL learning outcomes.

Impact of media antecedents on persistence and learning outcomes of MOOC learners

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to propose a research model based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model to explore whether social media affordances and media richness as environmental stimuli to learners’ involvement elicited by massive open online courses (MOOCs) can affect their learning persistence in MOOCs and, in turn, their learning outcomes in MOOCs. This study further examines whether demographic variables can moderate the relationship between learners’ learning persistence in MOOCs and their learning outcomes.Design/methodology/approachSample data for this study were collected from learners who had experience in taking MOOCs provided by the MOOCs platform launched by a well-known university in Taiwan, and 396 usable questionnaires were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThis study proved that learners’ perceived social media affordances and media richness in MOOCs positively influenced their cognitive involvement and affective involvement elicited by MOOCs, which concurrently expounded their learning persistence in MOOCs and, in turn, uplifted their learning outcomes in MOOCs. The results support all proposed hypotheses and the research model, respectively, explains 70.5% and 61.8% of the variance in learners’ learning persistence in MOOCs and learning outcomes. Besides, this study showed that learners’ usage experience moderated the relationship between learners’ learning persistence in MOOCs and their learning outcomes.Originality/valueThis study uses the S-O-R model as a theoretical groundwork to construct learners’ learning outcomes in MOOCs as a series of the psychological process, which is affected by social media affordances and media richness. Noteworthily, while the S-O-R model has been extensively used in previous literature, little research uses the S-O-R model to explain the media antecedents of learners’ learning persistence and learning outcomes in MOOCs. Hence, this study enriches the research for understanding how learners value their learning gains via using media features to support them in MOOCs.

Comparative Study on Barriers of Supply Chain Management MOOCs in China: Online Review Analysis with a Novel TOPSIS-CoCoSo Approach

To enhance the effectiveness of supply chain talent education, higher education institutions and other organisations have started to develop and use Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in their training programs. However, the problem is that the design and delivery of supply chain management MOOCs can be inappropriately presented and, thus, ineffective, especially for educational teams with fewer teaching experiences of MOOCs. This eventually makes it hard for the students’ learning outcomes to meet the industrial requirements of supply chain experts. Motivated by such a problem, this paper aims to improve the design and delivery of supply chain management MOOCs to enhance student learning outcomes. To achieve this goal, the research method adopted in this paper is to analyse online reviews in a widely-used Chinese MOOC platform with a novel TOPSIS-CoCoSo approach, aiming to identify the barriers to supply chain management MOOCs and their potential solutions. The results of this study show that 16 barriers to MOOCs are identified from the online reviews and then ranked based on their severity of reducing learning outcomes. The perceptions of the severity of the barriers to students and lecturers are compared, and the solutions to the barriers are then discussed. In addition, our comparison indicates that although students and lecturers have similar perceptions of severity for the majority of the barriers, they have significant disagreements on certain barriers. The significance of this study is that it can inform lecturers in supply chain management or relevant disciplines to better design and deliver their MOOC content, as well as contribute to the existing literature by providing new methodological tools for educational analysis. Also, this study highlights the necessity of comparative study in the MOOC online review analysis.

Empowering Hearing-Impaired Learners for Digital Citizenship: A Thai MOOC-Based Design Thinking Approach

In today's technology-driven world, digital citizenship is vital in fostering responsible technology use and essential skills for learning, problem-solving, and community participation. However, a significant focus emerges within digital citizenship—empowering individuals with disabilities. This research addresses this crucial area by spearheading the creation of a specialized Thai Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) meticulously designed for hearing-impaired learners. The core objective is to equip these individuals with indispensable digital citizenship skills for seamless integration and active engagement in digital environments. The study progresses through three key phases. Phase 1 involves crafting the MOOC course to meet the needs of hearing-impaired individuals. Phase 2 develops a course on the Thai MOOC platform, using the MOOC-based Design Thinking Model and universal design learning principles. Phase 3 assesses 20 hearing-impaired learners in the "Utilizing Online Media as Digital Citizenship Course." The research reveals two significant outcomes, highlighting the course's impact. First, an evaluation of digital media quality and learning activities was conducted by five experts with 15 to 30 years of experience in the field, the result was an impressive performance rating of 4.56 on a 5-point Likert scale, indicating the course's high suitability for hearing-impaired learners. Such findings validate the precise alignment of the course with its intended objectives. Second, the outcomes of learning achievement tests on the Thai MOOC platform involving 20 high school hearing-impaired learners revealed that 15 learners scored above 70 (passing), representing 75%. The average post-test score was higher than the pre-test, with an average score of 72.05 points. These results demonstrate the course's effectiveness in improving learning outcomes and meeting predetermined criteria, while also indicating that adopting the MOOC-based Design Thinking model has led to the creation of high-quality media that delivers tangible results for hearing-impaired individuals. This research contributes to the eLearning field by addressing the specific needs of hearing-impaired individuals in digital citizenship education through tailored online learning courses designed to bridge existing gaps.

Design principles for MOOC platforms: a public sector perspective

Purpose One impediment of e-government implementation is the lack of e-(government) competences among public officials, especially because foundational education programs fail to teach them. Therefore, this study suggests massive open online course (MOOC)-based continuous education. This study aims to design and evaluate a MOOC and MOOC platform for acquiring e-competence in the public sector and principles for such platforms to capture their inherent design knowledge. Design/methodology/approach This study uses design science research incorporating qualitative and quantitative methods and draws on established patterns of formulating design principles (DPs). Findings The core results are a physically instantiated MOOC platform and six DPs: DP of 1) easy access and easy use, 2) professional exchange, 3) protected space, 4) domain focus, 5) cooperation with higher education institutions and 6) promotion from higher government level. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to e-government research by extending the design knowledge for the construction of domain-specific MOOC platforms. Moreover, the study contributes to platform economics by discussing existing theses and outlining new opportunities. The research also entails limitations, as the authors have solely considered MOOCs and neglected complimentary offers to sustain learning success. Practical implications This study provides practitioners with design principles they can use in their efforts to construct education platforms for the public sector. Moreover, the study presents a working MOOC platform instantiating these DPs, and thus provides an exemplary reference. Social implications Not fulfilling expectations regarding digital public services comes with a risk of decreasing trust in public organizations and the overall government. The results of this study contribute to enabling public officials fulfilling stakeholders’ expectations and generating public value. Originality/value By linking e-government competence education with MOOC platform design, this research approximates an important research gap. Scholars previously investigated e-competences and focused on alone-standing MOOCs to convey those. The results of this study offer the potential to construct platforms to centralize such fragmented solutions, maximizing their impact among public officials.

The community of inquiry as a tool for measuring student engagement in blended massive open online courses (MOOCs): a case study of university students in a developing country

While massive open online courses (MOOCs) promise to democratise access to education, the literature reveals a nuanced understanding of engagement in these settings, especially in resource-constrained environments. Blended MOOCs combine MOOCs and physical classroom settings of contents and instructions. This study extends this discourse by focusing on blended MOOCs, which remain under-explored in the context of developing countries. The blended MOOC at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana, deals with third-party MOOCs as open educational resources (OERs) integrated with campus-based courses. UCC students have been using such blended MOOCs since 2016, when all level 100 students were mandated to enrol in a course entitled Information Technology Skills (ITS101). ITS101 is aligned to courses in a MOOC platform called Alison as an OER. Students' engagement is key to their continued use and satisfaction with online learning, such as MOOCs. However, among all the e-learning modes, students' engagement is the lowest in MOOCs, leading to high dropout rates. Blended MOOCs are one of the techniques recommended to reverse the undesirability of MOOCs, including engagement. However, few studies have been conducted on students' engagement in blended MOOCs, especially among university students in sub-Saharan Africa using MOOCs as OERs. Thus, this paper aims to measure student engagement in blended MOOCs using the revised Community of Inquiry for university students in a developing country. The rationale is to determine whether factors affect engagement positively or negatively. A two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to determine the participants for this study. A list of blended MOOC classes offered at UCC was obtained from the staff's mailing list. In the first stage, academic levels (100, 200, 300 and 800) were randomly selected from the strata using a lottery sampling technique. In the second stage, another simple random selection of blended MOOC courses or classes was used within each selected academic level. All students in the selected classes were then included in the study. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling was used to validate the model on the predictive relationships existing among the four presences (cognitive, learning, social and teaching) and engagement. Results from the structural model analysis proved a statistically significant predictive relationship among the constructs within the model. Learning presence had the most significant effect on student engagement. Thus, it should be included as one of the presences in the community of inquiry.

How to animate learners to persist in learning massive open online courses? An application of the stimulus-organism-response paradigm

Purpose The purpose of this study is to propose a research model based on the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) model to examine whether network externality, personalization and sociability as environmental feature antecedents to learners’ learning engagement (LE) can influence their learning persistence (LP) in massive open online courses (MOOCs). Design/methodology/approach Sample data for this study were collected from learners who had experience in taking MOOCs provided by the MOOC platform launched by a well-known university in Taiwan, and 371 usable questionnaires were analyzed using structural equation modeling in this study. Findings This study proved that learners’ perceived network externality, personalization and sociability in MOOCs positively affected their cognitive LE, psychological LE and social LE elicited by MOOCs, which jointly led to their LP in MOOCs. The results support all proposed hypotheses, and the research model accounts for 76.2% of the variance in learners’ LP in MOOCs. Originality/value This study uses the S–O–R model as a theoretical base to construct learners’ LP in MOOCs as a series of the inner process, which is affected by network externality, personalization and sociability. It is worth noting that three psychological constructs including cognitive LE, psychological LE and social LE are used to represent learners’ organismic states of MOOCs usage. To date, hedonic/utilitarian concepts are more often adopted as organisms in previous studies using the S–O–R model, and psychological constructs have received lesser attention. Hence, this study’ contribution on the application of capturing psychological constructs for completely expounding three types of environmental features as antecedents to learners’ LP in MOOCs is well documented.

Facilitating social learning through learning design

In the field of technology-enhanced learning design, the rise of Web 2.0 has been the filip needed to accelerate the emergence of socially-connected global learners. These highly social learners now use the web to engage with knowledge and skill development and as such, online education has moved irrevocably beyond simply the finding and sharing of information among learners. The higher education sector is responding to this learning landscape. This is particularly relevant to the massive open online courses (MOOCs) environment where there is the potential for thousands of participants to learn through multiple open source tools with minimum intervention from educators. This social learning perspective can present a challenge for some educators. In this paper we present a work-in-progress collaborative project designed to respond to the professional development of teaching academics newly engaged in designing and teaching from a social learning perspective. We, in a central learning and teaching unit, designed and developed a professional development (PD) course that sought to build the capacity of academics going through this change: they were about to teach on a MOOC platform. Our purpose was to model the social learning framework as a method of capacity-building, but we also aimed to distil authentic social learning for the academics themselves. This resulted in creating a community of practice among educators. Further research is required to measure the impact of this capacity-building course in order to further enhance the learning experiences of academics preparing to teach on a MOOC platform.

MOOC for Pagelaran Pottery Village: Boosting Income through Design Educational Tourism

The implementation of this activity aims to design and build educative tourism infrastructure using the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) as a means to increase the income potential of Pagelaran Village. Pagelaran Village is famous for its pottery crafts, which are rich in cultural values. However, the potential for tourism and related revenues has yet to be fully realized. Therefore, employing MOOC as a tool to provide an online learning experience for a package of pottery production training activities is expected to attract tourists and boost the income of the local community. The methods used in this implementation include field surveys, literature studies, and analysis of tourist needs and preferences. The approach adopted is the asset-based community development (ABCD) approach, which consists of five stages of activity including: 1) Discovery, 2) Dream, 3) Design, 4) Define, and 5) Destiny. The infrastructure built includes the development of the MOOC platform, offering learning materials related to history, manufacturing techniques, and the art of pottery. Additionally, practical learning facilities are also provided for tourists desiring to undertake direct courses without constraints by space and time. During initial testing, this MOOC garnered favorable responses from travelers who participated the course. The results of the implementation of this activity indicate that the use of MOOC as an educative tourism infrastructure can increase potential income in Pagelaran Village. Keywords: MOOC, income, pagelaran pottery, educational, infrastructure

Massive Open Online Courses in Social Sciences and Their Implementation at Universities in Delhi

Universities around the world have successfully incorporated Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) intotheir curricula and have facilitated credit transfers. The present study examines the integration of MOOCs inseven Indian universities. Moreover, the study focuses on the level of amalgamation of MOOCs, perceptions ofinstitutions regarding the provision of online courses, and transition of MOOCs from informal to formal education. Furthermore, the study investigates the hindrances faced by higher educational institutions in providing services to MOOC learners. Purposive sampling technique was employed to facilitate selection of institutions. The responses were collected using a structured questionnaire. The study found moderate level, low level and very low-level integration of MOOCs in all seven universities. Six out of seven institutions namely, JNU, JMI, DU, GGSIPU, DBRAUD and NLU, adopted “Explain the perceived usefulness” as a strategy to influence the affordability uptake of MOOCs. Five out of seven institutions educate users about different MOOC platforms in the information literacy events. Surprisingly, two institution libraries out of seven revealed that their library services align with MOOCs. Surprisingly, majority of libraries of the seven institutions have not formulated any noteworthy strategy to foster the uptake of MOOCs among the academic community. Therefore, LIS professionals ought to grasp the nuances of various MOOC platforms. Also, library strategies should include MOOCs so that users can benefit.

Research on Joint Recommendation Algorithm for Knowledge Concepts and Learning Partners Based on Improved Multi-Gate Mixture-of-Experts

The rise of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has increased the large audience for higher education. Different learners face different learning difficulties in the process of online learning. In order to ensure the quality of teaching, online learning resource recommendation services should be more personalised and have more choices. In this paper, we propose a joint recommendation algorithm for knowledge concepts and learning partners based on improved MMoE (Multi-gate Mixture-of-Experts). Firstly, the heterogeneous information network (HIN) is constructed based on the MOOC platform and appropriate meta-paths are selected in order to extract the human–computer interaction information and student–student interaction information generated during the learners’ online learning processes more completely. Secondly, the temporal behavioural characteristics of students are obtained based on their learning paths as well as their knowledge of conceptual characteristics, and LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) is used to mine students’ current learning interests. Finally, the gating network in MMoE is changed into an attention mechanism network, and for different tasks, multiple attention mechanism networks are used to fuse the learner’s human–computer interaction information, student–student interaction information, and interest characteristics to generate learner representations that are more in line with the respective task and to complete the tasks of knowledge conception and learning partner recommendation. Experiments on publicly available MOOC datasets show that the method proposed in this paper provides more accurate and varied personalization services to online learners compared to the latest proposed methods.

MOOCs: Determinants of Enrolment and Completion Rate among Learners of Higher Education Institutions in India

Aims: The advancement and integration of technology in education made a dramatic change in the landscape of the teaching-learning process. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as one of the emerging trends in education removed the barriers of time, space, and pace throughout the world. Diverse lifelong learners irrespective of social, cultural, economic, age and gender identity are participating in the melting pot of MOOC. This study aimed to explore the present landscape of the participation and completion rate in MOOCs by learners from formal educational institutions in the eastern part of India specifically in West Bengal. The research also aimed to identify the underlying causes of the present landscape.
 Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted among the learners who enrolled in different programs in different Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) during the end of 2023.
 Methodology: A self-administered questionnaire in Google Forms was used to collect data from the learners. A total 298 samples have been collected. Collected data have been analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent samples ‘t’ test, ANOVA using SPSS and MS Excel.
 Results: The study depicted poor enrolment as well as completion rates in MOOCs among the learners. Lack of awareness and huge pressure on the present curriculum were the main factors behind non-enrolment. SWAYAM was the most popular MOOC platform among the students of West Bengal. Attaining knowledge, enhancing skills, and earning certificates were the main intentions of the students who enrolled in MOOCs. Lack of time, affordability, in-person proctored examination, non-cooperation of facilitators, length of courses, and uninteresting discussion forum were the major constraints to completing the MOOCs for the enrolled learners.
 Conclusion: Organizing awareness-building programs, institutional policy framing, and incorporating a credit transfer system into enrolled courses may be emphasized as immediate initiatives for re-thinking the present opportunities and challenges in higher education.

Improving undergraduate education of occupational health and occupational medicine appling massive open online courses & problem-based learning

BackgroundThe learning of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine in undergraduate college students in China has been hindered by various factors. This study aimed to explore the effects of the application of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) & Problem-based learning (PBL) in the learning of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine in undergraduate college students in China.MethodsStudents enrolled in 2017 and 2018 were categorized in the control group and study group, and received PBL learning and MOOC + PBL learning, respectively. The effects of learning were assessed by scores of final exam, satisfaction degree of students, and feedbacks.ResultsThe mean score of the final exam was not significantly different between the two groups. However, the further comparison by levels of scores showed that the percentages of good and excellent were both significantly higher in the study group than control group. The overall satisfaction degree was significantly higher in the study group than control group. In addition, the scores of the 3 dimensions of satisfaction degree, i.e. learning preparation, learning process, and learning effect, were all significantly higher in the study group than control group. The feedbacks of the students showed that they thought MOOC + PBL learning could better improve the learning efficacy, despite a substantial proportion of students reported that MOOC + PBL learning more time-consuming.ConclusionsThe findings showed that the combination of MOOC and PBL in the learning of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine is an effective method capable of improving the learning efficacy in college students of Prophylactic Medicine. Further efforts are needed to optimize the MOOC platform to provide a friendlier interface.