Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia.
Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia.
Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2022 Nov;67:104092. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2022.104092. Epub 2022 Aug 6.
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have grown rapidly in popularity since becoming available worldwide in 2012. There are currently > 30,000 MOOCs available from > 900 universities. However, despite their global reach, MOOCs typically have low completion rates.
To evaluate reasons for non-completion among enrolees in the Understanding Multiple Sclerosis (MS) MOOC.
This was a mixed methods study evaluating quantitative and qualitative data collected in an online questionnaire administered to Understanding MS enrolees who did not complete the course. The quantitative data was evaluated using frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. The qualitative data was assessed using textual analysis.
We recruited 397 participants (4.5% of non-completers). Both the qualitative and quantitative data suggests that the primary reasons for non-completion were time constraints and/or limitations. Some of these were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. People with MS also cited MS-related symptoms as a reason for non-completion. Suggested changes to the course reflected these results and included extending the course open period and making it self-paced.
Although it was impossible to determine if study participants were representative of all non-completers due to selection bias, the results provide useful information for developing future MS educational resources. Accessibility, particularly addressing potential challenges related to MS symptoms and time constraints, should be a primary consideration when developing an educational resource for the MS community.
大规模在线开放课程（MOOC）自 2012 年在全球范围内推出以来，迅速普及。目前有超过 900 所大学提供超过 30000 门 MOOC。然而，尽管它们具有全球影响力，但 MOOC 的完成率通常较低。
评估参与理解多发性硬化症（MS）MOOC 的注册者未完成课程的原因。
这是一项混合方法研究，评估了在向未完成课程的理解 MS 注册者在线问卷中收集的定量和定性数据。定量数据通过频率、百分比、平均值和标准差进行评估。定性数据采用文本分析进行评估。
我们招募了 397 名参与者（未完成者的 4.5%）。定量和定性数据都表明，未完成的主要原因是时间限制和/或限制。其中一些因 COVID-19 大流行而加剧。MS 患者还将 MS 相关症状列为未完成课程的原因。对课程的建议变更反映了这些结果，包括延长课程开放时间并使其自主学习。
由于选择偏差，无法确定研究参与者是否代表所有未完成者，但结果为开发未来 MS 教育资源提供了有用的信息。在为 MS 社区开发教育资源时，应主要考虑可及性，特别是解决与 MS 症状和时间限制相关的潜在挑战。
