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Abstract. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are part of the lifelong learning experience of people worldwide. Many of these learners participate fully. However, the high levels of dropout on most of these courses are a cause for concern. Previous studies have suggested that there are patterns of engagement within MOOCs that vary according to the pedagogy employed. The current paper builds on this work and examines MOOCs from different providers that have been offered on the FutureLearn platform. A cluster analysis of these MOOCs shows that engagement patterns are related to pedagogy and course duration. Learners did not work through a three-week MOOC in the same ways that learners work through the first three weeks of an eight-week MOOC.

Information was gathered about learners who were studying on repeat offerings in 2013-14 of six University of Edinburgh MOOCs on the Coursera platform. Two sources of information were used in this study: learner-contributed information about themselves and their study intentions collected in voluntary surveys, and data about learner behaviours, including performance on the courses, collected from the platform software during the MOOC deliveries. Three aspects of learner attributes and behaviours were analysed to investigate: whether learners who took the same MOOC twice performed better the second time; whether learners managed to achieve the goals that they said they had before the course began, in particular, achievement of a Statement of Accomplishment (SoA), and whether learners who did persist in the MOOCs and gained SoAs exhibited different behaviours with respect to their use of the online features of the MOOC platform.Of the small number of MOOC repeating learners, most were drawn from those who had been active in their first round of study, and of those who were not active in their first round, they mainly failed to be active in their second, suggesting structural reasons for their lack of activity. A small number of MOOC repeat learners gained a second SoA. There was a very strong age-dependency in the likelihood of gaining an SoA, and younger learners were much less successful at turning intention to gain an SoA into that outcome. DIFFERENCES IN ONLINE STUDY BEHAVIOUR BETWEEN SUB-POPULATIONS OF MOOC LEARNERS [DIFERENCIAS DE COMPORTAMIENTO ENTRE GRUPOS DE ESTUDIANTES DE CURSOS EN LÍNEA ABIERTOS Y MASIVOS (MOOC)] AmyIn terms of use of online tools, apart from watching videos, in which learners who did not achieve an SoA were similar to those who did, SoA-learners used the online tools more frequently, in an particular reading and posting to the online forums.The implications for course design and support are discussed. KEY WORDSOnline courses; MOOC; student behaviour; online learners; Coursera; Statement of Accomplishment. RESUMENSe ha recogido información de los alumnos que han seguido 6 cursos MOOC, ofertados por segunda vez en 2013-14, en la plataforma Coursera de la Universidad de Edimburgo. Se manejaron dos fuentes de información para este estudio: encuestas voluntarias que respondieron los estudiantes con información sobre sí mismos y sus intenciones de estudio, y datos sobre los comportamientos del alumno, incluyendo el rendimiento en los cursos, recogidos en el software de la plataforma durante las entregas de tareas en el mismo MOOC. Se analizaron tres aspectos sobre las características y el comportamientos del alumno: si los estudiantes que realizaron el mismo MOOC dos veces, la segunda vez lo cursa mejor; si los estudiantes logran alcanzar las metas que indicaron que tenían antes de que comenzara el curso, en particular, la consecución de una Declaración de Logro (SoA), y si los alumnos que permanecieron en los MOOCs y ganaron SOAS manifiestan diferentes comportamientos con respecto a...

University teachers are faced with a problem of 'knowing' their learners when teaching on a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). This paper explores and analyses what the University of Edinburgh has come to know about its recent MOOC participants, highlighting one particular course. We draw attention to barriers and enablers from coexistent understandings and expectations of course design, and from an abundance of highly-qualified participants. We compare characteristics of participants who report a positive experience with those who do not. Mixed messages about teacher presence may have implications that go beyond MOOCs. We contemplate whether the participant group should be seen as a single massive multivocal entity. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential opportunity for MOOCs to challenge standardization, homogenization and commodification of education. Shifting attention from the achievements of an individual to what can be done with a multitude, MOOCs may open up new educational arenas.

Massive Open Online Courses represent a fertile ground for examining student behavior. However, due to their openness MOOC attract a diverse body of students, for the most part, unknown to the course instructors. However, a certain number of students enroll in the same course multiple times, and there are records of their previous learning activities which might provide some useful information to course organizers before the start of the course. In this study, we examined how student behavior changes between subsequent course offerings. We identified profiles of returning students and also interesting changes in their behavior between two enrollments to the same course. Results and their implications are further discussed.