The Value of Engineering MOOCs from a Learner’s Perspective (original) (raw)

Towards MOOCs and Their Role in Engineering Education

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are the latest installment in the field of distance education. This paper discusses the pros and cons of MOOCs in the educational systems with a special emphasis on the engineering education. Since 2012, more and more universities have been joining MOOC revolution and the number of online courses has considerably increased over time. Engineering MOOCs are also increasing. Due to their access to large audience, massive online courses have been expanding their horizon of admission to engineering education at all levels and improving the in-campus learning.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): A Perspective from the Engineering Education

Journal of Engineering Education Transformations

The COVID Pandemic was a big hit not only for the education sector but also finance sector, industrial sector etc. Due to this adverse situation the physical classes were abruptly stopped and there was a chaos. During this arduous situation universities switched to E-learning. Students started taking MOOC courses. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are online courses offered by diverse educators with the goal of enabling everyone to access content at reasonable prices from any location. This paper presents how Universities can influence students to enroll in courses. For this study purpose students at a University in Pune provided the data in the form of Feedback and Suggestions. Students can enroll in a Course for one of two reasons: to learn new things and develop their abilities, or to gain University Credits. The results showed that many students were completing MOOC courses for credit than for personal growth, a strong correlation between enrolling in a MOOC course for universi...

Who is the Learner in the DelftX Engineering MOOCs?

The Delft University of Technology (TUD) deployed her first generation of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in 2013-2014 delivered through the edX platform. These DelftX MOOCs were engineering courses designed at the level equivalent to that of a bachelor-program entry level. Almost 140 thousand students registered, around 3,7% received certificates of completion, and the rest participated to a degree reflective of their needs. To better understand and ultimately enhance the MOOCs, TUD conducted the collection and analysis of data about learners and their contexts. This exploratory paper focuses on the specific analyses pertinent to describing the demographics of an Engineering MOOC participant, as observed in the first generation of TUD MOOCs. The implications of the observed participant demographics are analysed and discussed.

On the Impact of MOOCs on Engineering Education

2014

From the early 90s, online education has been continually reshaping the notion of open learning. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have generated a paradigm shift in online education by presenting free high-quality education to anyone, anywhere with Internet access. Since 2012, MOOCs got attention of the universities, media and entrepreneurs. These online courses may change the world by 2022. This paper discusses major elements of MOOCs that can influence teaching and learning in engineering. It also explores the promise of online education in improving standard in-class engineering education.

MOOCs in Engineering Education – First practical experiences from two MOOCs

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a phenomenon of these days. Therefore it seems just a consequent step to carry out research studies how MOOCs can be integrated best in our daily life. This work aims to describe first experiences from the implementation of two MOOCs on a new developed platform. Both courses are related to engineering education: one to physics and one to mechanics. First the concept as well as the development and then also the evaluation is pointed out. It can be concluded that there is potential for educational institutions, but also barriers which must be taken into account.

Online Learning and Higher Engineering Education: the MOOC Phenomenon

2013

The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) and other trends towards greater openness like Open Educational Course ware and Resources, and to think about the implications for Higher Engineering Education (HEE). A MOOC is an online course aimed to provide free access to university level education for as many students as possible. MOOCs differ from traditional university online courses in two ways [1] Open access, anyone can participate in an online course for free, and Scalability, courses are designed to support an indefinite number of participants.

Through engineers' eyes: A MOOC experiment

2016

CONTEXT Like the dog that caught a bus, when we caught a MOOC we wondered what to do with it. We decided to invite people to develop 'Engineers' Eyes' through learning basic engineering mechanics. MOOC participants come from a love of a topic or interest in it, but they have other competing interests. They sign on at the click of a mouse, and can just as easily bail out. We had to make our offering interesting. We aimed for friendly, authoritative and fun.

MOOCs in Engineering Education – A Literature Review

MOOCs are the love 'em/hate 'em turbulence of higher education. This recent and disruptive innovation, an evolutionary cousin of distance learning and open educational resources, promises to stir up some dust and ruffle some feathers in the arena of higher education, engineering education in particular. The evolution of MOOCs continues with its transition from cMOOCs to xMOOCs, sMOOCs, mMOOCs and even SPOCs. The intent of this literature survey is to snapshoot the state of the knowledge, the global trends and opinions of the stakeholders in MOOCs vis-à-vis engineering education. This survey covers multiple facets starting from how the future of engineering education and ABET outcomes can benefit from the new fad with MOOCs as well as some of the educational theories behind this innovation. It scans the challenges in producing and converting engineering courses (especially upper level engineering courses) to MOOCs. Various proposed models for incorporating MOOCs in engineering higher engineering institutions worldwide are discussed. Finally, the reported student satisfaction with MOOCs shows the efficacy of this innovation.

MOOCs for Enhancing Engineering Education

Handbook of Research on Applied E-Learning in Engineering and Architecture Education

All over the world, thousands of engineering institutions offer conventional engineering education. However, the quality of education, is a matter of concern. MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) permit learners to access and benefit from the teaching by renowned professors. MOOCs offer an unprecedented opportunity to revitalize education. These cause complete dis-intermediation of the university system, making them very affordable; however, they have several shortcomings in their present form. Students enrolling for a MOOC still have to conventionally study the subject for their degree. Complete absence of physical group activities in a class room under a teacher's mentoring, is another serious issue. Conduct of practical sessions in laboratories is an important aspect of engineering education, for which MOOCs offer no alternative. This chapter reviews the state-of-the-art of MOOCs in engineering education and provides suggestions as to how MOOCs can be effectively utilized for ...

A Value Model for MOOCs

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2016

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are changing the educational field, challenging traditional institutional strategies and recognition schemes and opening up new opportunities for learners and educators both from within and outside formal education. However, while the potential benefits and risks of the MOOCs have been discussed by scientists and policy makers, the corresponding empirical data is scarce. What's more, the evidence that is available is usually restricted to a single course or single provider. MOOCKnowledge (http://moocknowledge.eu/), funded by the European Commission's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), aims to facilitate a shared understanding of the value and efficacy of MOOCs by developing a set of analysis tools and applying them to a wide range of MOOCs. The most powerful outcome of the project would be the possibility to correlate different dimensions of MOOC production, execution, and learners experience. For example, identifying links between financial investment, learning design, and learner outcomes. To do this, we must first develop a conceptual model of the factors which determine or contribute to the value of a MOOC.