Dive Brief:
- Based on interviews with 13 massive open online course participants, a paper in the British Journal of Educational Technology offers insight into the importance of student-to-student connections, the value of note-taking, and the role of course design.
- According to eCampus News, the research shows that students find connections with their peers to be positive, whether the connection is digital or face-to-face, indicating that MOOC platforms should do more to encourage such interaction.
- The paper also suggested integrating note-taking functions into the MOOC platform, as nearly all students reported taking notes during lectures — though they varied based on personal preference when it came to typing or writing out notes.
Dive Insight:
Researchers found a variety of personal and environmental factors that affected student consumption of MOOC content. These factors were identified by students as making a big difference, indicating course design may play a smaller role than traditionally expected.
Study authors argue that their research fills the blanks in “clickstream-based research” conducted about MOOCs that relies on analyzing student behavior within the MOOC platforms. The idea that environmental factors have a major impact on student content consumption in MOOCs could never be discovered outside of interviews. While 13 interview subjects is limited, it’s certainly a start.