Who takes a MOOC? Profile of student in the framework of a European project

Abstract

This research analyzes the profile of students on MOOC (massive open online courses) courses within the framework of the ECO project (E-learning, Communication and Open-Data: Massive Mobile, Ubiquitous and Open Learning) promoted by the European Union. An analysis of the profile of students enrolled in the five editions of the course entitled “Educational innovation and professional development. Possibilities and limits of technology” has been conducted based on the following objectives: (a) gain knowledge about the profile of students; (b) identify the students’ perception of their level of digital competence for participating in the course; (c) find out what their real expectations were when they enrolled on the course; and (d) suggest proposals for improving the design of the course based on the study carried out on the student profile. This research shows the tendencies of students enrolled on these types of training processes and suggests improvements in the design of the course in order to satisfy the participants’ motivations and expectations. In this regard, the results suggest that the design of MOOCs should be based on a sustainable, social and communicative curricular approach while at the same time greatly enhancing interaction and collaborative work.