MOOC – supporting continued vocational training
Drake, Merja; Rajaorko, Päivi (2017)
The European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU)
2017
CC-BY
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2018110616723
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2018110616723
Tiivistelmä
Researchers have been interested in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) from different viewpoints - the
engagement and motivations of students, course completion and retention rates as well as course designs.
MOOCs attract a wide range of people from different backgrounds, all of whom have different aims. The main
focus of the majority of research on MOOCs has concerned university or further education courses. However,
researcher interest in the utilisation of MOOCs for continued vocational training has been low.
The aim of this paper is to discuss how MOOC learning can support the learning of working life skills and
knowledge by a workforce. This research focuses on two MOOCs called “Nearly zero-energy buildings” and
“Sustainable energy solutions,” which are new EU level topics in the energy and building sector but not yet
widely established as courses in education institutions. We are especially interested in students who are
employed full-time or part-time and what motivates them, which learning methods, materials and
assignments appeal to and benefit them the most. In addition, our aim is to find out what kind of continued
vocational training method MOOC is. The data consist of Moodle analytics, student feedback, questionnaire
data and interviews with both students and employers. Self-determination theory (SDT) is used as the theory
for the study and identifies three innate human needs – competence, relatedness, autonomy – that have to
be nurtured from within a learning environment in order to ensure the optimal functioning and growth of
students.
engagement and motivations of students, course completion and retention rates as well as course designs.
MOOCs attract a wide range of people from different backgrounds, all of whom have different aims. The main
focus of the majority of research on MOOCs has concerned university or further education courses. However,
researcher interest in the utilisation of MOOCs for continued vocational training has been low.
The aim of this paper is to discuss how MOOC learning can support the learning of working life skills and
knowledge by a workforce. This research focuses on two MOOCs called “Nearly zero-energy buildings” and
“Sustainable energy solutions,” which are new EU level topics in the energy and building sector but not yet
widely established as courses in education institutions. We are especially interested in students who are
employed full-time or part-time and what motivates them, which learning methods, materials and
assignments appeal to and benefit them the most. In addition, our aim is to find out what kind of continued
vocational training method MOOC is. The data consist of Moodle analytics, student feedback, questionnaire
data and interviews with both students and employers. Self-determination theory (SDT) is used as the theory
for the study and identifies three innate human needs – competence, relatedness, autonomy – that have to
be nurtured from within a learning environment in order to ensure the optimal functioning and growth of
students.