Initial recommendations of MOOCs characteristics for academic discipline clusters

Abstract

Massive Open Online Courses (known as MOOCs) have been introduced as an extensive and pervasive learning style in order to increase students’ performance. Many academics and students in Malaysian higher education institutions have begun to show their interest in applying MOOCs to deliver course material or conduct distance education in an innovative way. However, there are no guidelines available to assist the application of MOOCs; in particular, there are no guidelines to help academics develop their own MOOCs based on their area of expertise. In the education domain, usually these areas of expertise are arranged according to certain groups referred to as academic discipline clusters. This study investigates existing MOOCs characteristics and recommends specific characteristics in relation to academic discipline clusters. Content analysis was carried out by exploring MOOCs characteristics implemented successfully in six universities worldwide. This included an examination of the platforms used and the courses that applied MOOCs. Based on the results, the desirable characteristics of MOOCs are recommended with regard to academic discipline clusters, with the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia used as a case study.