Impact through community? Effects of workplace support in computer science MOOCs
Keywords:
workplace learning, continuing education, MOOC, online education, workplace support, social support, learning transferAbstract
Workplace support is related to the success of workplace learning. For Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) the role of such support is not properly understood, however. We investigated how employed students in massive open online courses differed in terms of workplace support, how participants described the impact of the courses, and how support was related to the perceived utility of the courses. This mixed method study is based on survey answers of ca. 600 participants who were employed while taking MOOCs related to software development and artificial intelligence.
Based on workplace support, participants were divided into four distinct groups. Widely-Supported were allowed to complete the course during their working hours, and their work community was interested in the topic. The other three groups were Supported by Work Community, Working Time Utilizers and Unsupported. Widely-Supported and Supported by Work Community considered the courses more useful than Working Time Utilizers and Unsupported. In the qualitative analysis of the effects of the courses, the themes identified included, for example, increased understanding, benefit in current job (Unsupported reported this less than expected), benefit in studies, desire to learn more, benefit in career, and increased interest.
The results highlight the significance of social support at workplace while using MOOCs for workplace learning. There was no difference in experienced utility of the course between the group using working hours without further social support and the unsupported group. Actions to promote social support should be considered both at workplaces and in MOOC design.
