Reflexões para a introdução da Colaboração e Gamificação no MOOC

Abstract

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have significantly disrupted Higher Education. Usually, these online courses offer universal access to learning, generating new challenges regarding the form they are taught and the pedagogical approaches used. In fact, despite the benefits of MOOCs in Higher Education (e.g. ubiquitous and free access to learning), these courses are frequently critized due to their content-based teaching models. Therefore, the application of strategies promoting active learning is presented as a potential technique to change these models and to improve the student participation and dropout rates. This paper reflects on the potential benefits of gamification and collaboration to enhance and motivate student involvement in MOOCs. To this end, a Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology has been applied aiming to show evidence of these pedagogical innovations in three MOOCs carried out by the University of Valladolid (Spain). The outcomes of this process show the potential benefits of gamification and collaboration in MOOCs when taking into account some concrete aspects during the design and/or co-design of the courses.