MOOCs as part of the university curriculum: A case study

Abstract

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been widely part of the educational landscape since 2012. Over the last decade, they have seen, on the one hand, a massive development associated with the emergence of platforms such as Coursera, edX, Udemy or FutureLearn. Still, at the same time, it has become clear that they cannot be considered as a substitute for traditional formal university education. At the Department of Information Studies and Library Science at Masaryk University, MOOCs are offered to students as part of a particular course in which they receive support and feedback. The learning is also linked to credits, which increases students' motivation to complete the course. The research will work with data from questionnaires in the first week and at the end of the course (n=18). The research will offer insights for running other similar courses based on the data. University support in terms of motivation and a sense of security is crucial. Students show high completion rates if they study the course as part of their curriculum. On the other hand, they name their inability to work well with time and organise their tasks as a significant barrier.