Drivers and barriers to MOOC adoption: perspectives from adopters and non-adopters

Abstract

PurposeDespite the advantages of MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses), the adoption rate is still low, especially in less developed countries. The present study aims to investigate the drivers and barriers faced by adopters and non-adopters of MOOCs, and examine how these factors influence the intention of MOOC adoption.Design/methodology/approachA survey questionnaire was developed to measure how the identified factors may impact adopters and non-adopters' intention of using MOOCs. Through both offline and online channels, 1018 valid questionnaires were collected in China. Multiple regression analysis was applied to test the influential factors for adopters and non-adopters of MOOCs.FindingsThis study found that the drivers (i.e. perceived usefulness, performance-to-cost value, and self-regulation) have similar effects on both adopters and non-adopters on intention to adopt MOOCs. What differs between the two groups are the barriers to MOOC adoption. While adopters considered educational tradition and peers' impact as major barriers, non-adopters regarded lack of publicity and relevant information to be an obstacle. In addition, both adopters and non-adopters were hindered by the lack of accessibility and instructions.Research limitations/implicationsAs all the participants of this study were from one country in Asia, the findings may not be applicable to explain the situation of MOOC adoption in other countries with different social and cultural context.Originality/valueIn addition to the perceptions of adopters, this study also reveals the perceptions of non-adopters of MOOCs, which has seldom been investigated. In addition, this study focuses on the context of economically disadvantaged regions which have been neglected in previous studies of MOOC adoption.

Evaluating the effectiveness of blended learning using the ARCS model

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“…At the individual level, negative consequences include unsatisfactory learning outcome due to the lack of social interaction and self‐regulation (Koutropoulos et al, 2012). At a broader level, social issues such as the widening of the digital divide may surface as economically disadvantaged students may not have access to the technology or technological infrastructure to access the online resources (Ma & Lee, 2020). Thus, the educational transformation driven by the pandemic underscores that workable approaches to teaching and learning are needed in the new normal after the pandemic (Govindarajan & Srivastava, 2020).…”

Massive open online course adoption amongst newly graduated health care providers

“…This paradigm has caused an influx of research on MOOCs, with over two thirds of this evidence base dedicated to understanding learner behaviour and MOOC adoption (Meet & Kala, 2021 ). Successful MOOC adoption has been linked to leaners’ perceived usefulness and performance-to-cost value, while barriers have been identified as insufficient time, poor instruction, difficulty with subject matter, lack of internet accessibility and under challenging assignments (Gütl et al, 2014 ; Ma & Lee, 2019 , 2020 ). Learner self-regulation has been identified as both an enabler and barrier to MOOC adoption, depending on the learner (Ma & Lee, 2019 ).…”

Push-Pull-Mooring Analysis of Massive Open Online Courses and College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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