This research project analyzes the motivation and learning perceived by the participants in four Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that use innovative education strategies in order to train the community in Education for Sustainability. These MOOCs were delivered during 2017 and the study forms part of the subproject “Open, Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Innovation to Train in Energy Sustainability through MOOCs”, which was offered in the portal of the Binational Laboratory for Intelligent Energy Sustainability Management and Technology Training. The method utilized was mixed, with a triangulation design approach according to the convergence model. This method consisted of two phases: the first being quantitative, with an online survey designed by experts in a Likert type scale, and the second being qualitative, in which valuations of the users were collected through diverse instruments such as focus groups and observations. The results obtained demonstrate the advantages of designing MOOCs that make use of innovative tools, in order to engage the students as much as possible, and the collateral impact on the development of digital abilities and skills in addition to the learning acquired with respect to sustainability.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) concentrate an important number of students and are set up as an alternative for acquiring knowledge and continuing education. The objective of this article is to analyze how the quality and effectiveness of the MOOCs were measured in empirical studies between 2012 and 2017. For which a systematic mapping study of articles was performed by using databases of Scopus and Web of Science. These articles were analyzed according to the: (1) context of the publication, (2) type of developing institutions and distribution platforms of the MOOC, and (3) characteristics of the empirical studies. It was identified that 54% of the developing institutions were universities and that 31% of the platforms that distributed the MOOC are of Coursera. These articles were also analyzed by type of study, the more frequently used indicators to measure the effectiveness, and the more frequently used focus points (approaches) to measure quality. The results of this study are useful because it allows having a general view of the most frequently utilized methodologies to measure quality and effectiveness in MOOCs.

This research on open, interdisciplinary and collaborative innovations called, "MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses)," analyzes the responses of 2799 participants about their perceptions of achieving their professional development goals and the competencies they sought to have acquired by the end of the course compared to their expectations at the time of course registration. The first four MOOCs analyzed covered topics in Energy Sustainability and were offered in 2017-2018 with a total of 17,210 participants. This research used a mixed methodology to analyze the responses of the participants of these online courses on energy sustainability (offered by the Binational Energy Laboratory Project: https ://energ ialab .tec.mx/). The results show that the participants of the MOOC do perceive that they have developed professionally in training on energy issues and that they now have open to them new business opportunities and new professional relationships. In addition, through successful completion of the MOOC, they have strengthened their perseverance and self-study skills as well as the use of information and communication technologies. The students' time management is perceived as one of the principle challenges in the learning processes of MOOCs.

Smartphone usage by students has increased rapidly over the last number of years, and it is expected that the utilisation of mobile applications in educational environments will continue to increase. This chapter focuses on a bespoke mobile application which aims to facilitate the transition of Foundation students to Higher Education in an Irish setting. Foundation students comprise of Access and International Students participating on pre-degree foundation courses. These students experience a major life change in making this transition and it is important that efforts are made to ensure a successful adjustment experience. Research suggests that mobile technologies can play a central role in this endeavour by offering support and access to particular information needs. This chapter will detail the design and development of a bespoke mobile application with such a purpose in mind and will also describe how the app was field tested with a cohort of incoming Foundation students in an Irish third level institute.