-Understanding in terms of intrinsic motivation or for fun
-General experience and mental stimulation
-A more accessible option than traditional learning
-An exploration in online education 

In Duke University’s first MOOC, 72% of students intended to get a certificate. 23% were not committed students. Overall, 67% of students earned a certificate. 


Categories of Student Motivation to Complete MOOCs

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

San Jose State University

The MOOC student experience encompasses learning, feedback, participation, attitudes, preexisting knowledge, social presence, teaching presence, and motivation.

Dimensions of the MOOC Student Experience

Belanger, Yvonne; & Thornton, Jessica (2013). Bioelectricity: A Quantitative Approach Duke University’s First MOOC. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6216.

Bioelectricity: A Quantitative Approach - Duke University’s First MOOC

- Prevalence of knowledge, but lack of defined association with the term "MOOC".

- Majority of students and staff support the creation of MOOCs.

- Student exposure to MOOCs mirrors faculty exposure to MOOCs.

Student/Faculty Prior Knowledge of MOOCs

Respondents were more likely to report positive experiences via survey or discussion. The mean rating from 1(poor) to 7 (excellent) regarding the course was 5.7 for certificate earners and 5.5 for non-certs. A majority of the students shared positive feedback about their instructor and forums as well with a mean of at least 4 for related survey questions on the same 1-5 scale seen below. Below, students were prompted to share to what extent they agree with the following statements on a scale of 1-5 (strongly disagree-strongly agree). 

Student Attitudes Post-Completion

Over 50% of the students involved in the flipped learning experiment engaged with the course videos. The most students viewed every video the second week as opposed to completion rates for other weeks. The number of students who did the online exercises declined sharply as the weeks went on. When explanations of correct answers were not provided, students had a tendency to become disengaged.

To what extent do students participate in MOOCs?

Self Efficacy (SE): Self confidence in one's ability to perform tasks that will result in a desired outcome. 
Self Regulated Learning (SRL): The physical process of taking control of one's learning outcomes.

A paired samples t-test was chosen to compare test scores prior to and after introducing a flipped learning environment. At a significance level of 0.05, there was no significant difference between the scores (t value was 0.8).

Role of MOOCs in Self Efficacy and Self Regulated Learning

Measures different types of MOOC engagement  (i.e. social learning, content interaction). 

Participation in MOOCs

MOOCs have been shown to aid in virtual learning. However, transcending surface level learning (isolated memorization) to delve into deep learning (critical analysis, relating ideas, examining logic) may require consideration of the following factors:
- Implementing peer support (discussions, forums, partnerships).
- Frequency and scale of evaluations (smaller, more frequent evaluations were preferred in this case)
- Language barriers as a positive and/or negative challenge and the impact of language proficiency on workload. 
- Importance of previous knowledge (even in courses where there is no specific pre-req)
- Balance between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation
- Required activities vs. self-guided learning


Considerations for Promoting Deep Learning via MOOCs

- The perception of social presence differs between students (regular, occasional, non-posters) for forum activity levels.
- Students who participate in forums have higher social presence scores than the group average (social presence is meaningful to those who regularly post).
- Social presence is dependent on how long the course is and forum interaction.
- The highest social presence was presented in a group with the smallest number of students.
   - This could be due to smaller courses allowing students to take in all the information on forums (not be overwhelmed) and establish a social presence. While larger courses with more active students, it will be harder for all the students to grasp all the information and establish a social presence.
- In a larger number of student groups, social presence was high for students who posted frequently and interacted on the forums more than students who did not participate.

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