The role of social media in MOOCs: How to use social media to enhance student retention

Saijing Zheng, Kyungsik Han, Mary Beth Rosson, John M. Carroll

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

40 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) have experienced rapid development. However, high dropout rate has become a salient issue. Many studies have attempted to understand this phenomenon; other have explored mechanisms for enhancing retention. For instance, social media has been used to improve student engagement and retention. However there is a lack of (1) empirical studies of social media use and engagement compared to embedded MOOC forums; and (2) rationales for social media use from both instructors' and students' perspectives. We addressed these open issues through the collection and analysis of real usage data from three MOOC forums and their associated social media (i.e., Facebook) groups as well as conducting interviews of instructors and students. We found that students show higher engagement and retention in social media than in MOOC forums, and identified both instructors' and students' perspectives that lead to the results. We discuss design implications for future MOOC platforms.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationL@S 2016 - Proceedings of the 3rd 2016 ACM Conference on Learning at Scale
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages419-428
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9781450337267
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 25 2016
Event3rd Annual ACM Conference on Learning at Scale, L@S 2016 - Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Duration: Apr 25 2016Apr 26 2016

Publication series

NameL@S 2016 - Proceedings of the 3rd 2016 ACM Conference on Learning at Scale

Other

Other3rd Annual ACM Conference on Learning at Scale, L@S 2016
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityEdinburgh
Period4/25/164/26/16

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Education
  • Software
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Computer Networks and Communications

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