Literature review

Layout and Language

As well as self-paced versus fixed schedules, MOOCs can have differing layouts, although many tend to follow a pattern of short videos followed by quizzes, with occasional discussions and assignments.

 The papers in this review do not provide much detail on how effective the layout is to the success of a MOOC, although in their study of 205 learners and professors, Yousef et al, (2014) did survey MOOC participants about the layout. However, their question “User Interface: Does the MOOC layout have impact on the learning experience?” only in fact refers to video layout and and search facilities, not weekly layout or selective release. Again, this highlights the paucity of research on choice of course content display and the effect on retention and completion in MOOCs.

Adaptivity

Sonwalker (2013) reports on a MOOC on molecular dymamics which used Adaptive learning to present content to participants dependent on their performance in a pre-MOOC quiz and weekly assessments and their preferences in terms of how they liked to learn. According to the author, adaptive learning will: 

"..allow students to learn better by customizing their own learning strategies in a MOOC environment."

The Learn Moodle Basics MOOC is 'adaptive' only in that it displays content dependent on participants' responses to a Moodle Group Choice activity at the start of the MOOC. However, adaptive learning features (activity restriction and display based on previous activity completion) is a widely used feature of Moodle courses, albeit not a widely researched one.  The paper by Sonwalker (2013) is less useful in that it  focuses on the scalable Cloud architecture behind such an 'adaptive MOOC' rather than the effect differentiating content display might have on completion. 

Léris et al (2017) propose six indicators for adaptivity in a MOOC, with the aim of improving motivation and increasing completion rates. Four hundred and seventy five MOOC participants  were surveyed about which indicators they found the most important. (The authors warn  that the MOOC participants were mainly middle-aged Spanish speakers, which could potentially restrict the scope of the findings.) The first indicator refers to materials being made available according to participant choice (or previous performance) and this directly relates to the Learn Moodle MOOC choice. However, participants responded that for them, most important were the second indicator (adapting the MOOC to the pace of personal work) and the third indicator (offering various levels of difficulty and targets). 

Language:

With the exception of  Léris et al (2017), the MOOCs in the above studies were run in English. It is not mentioned what proportion of the participants did not have English as their first language and whether this made a difference to their motivations, navigation and completion. 

Moodle open source software offers participants the opportunity to display course instructions in their own language. The option was taken up in the first  ever Learn Moodle MOOC, according to Cooch, Foster, Costello (2014):

 “Although the MOOC was delivered in English, participants were encouraged to post in forums and enter data in other activities in their own language. Participants could select their own language in their profile; 53 different languages were selected.”

 In her position paper on four MOOCs, Bali (2014), commenting on the courses she explored, noted that non-native speakers preferred “to use transcripts or lecture slides rather than listen to lectures in English” and then when “reading the discussion forums, one could see that some had used some sort of translation software in order to contribute” Whether this extra hurdle affected their performance is not stated.