Using Accountability to Engage Participants in MOOCs

• In Event: Learning Strategies for Online Environments

Abstract

MOOC participants may find it hard to stay engaged in learning and complete the course due to a lack of accountability. This study applied accountability interventions, encouraging participants to talk with somebody inside or outside the course who could hold them accountable for making learning progress. Surprisingly we found that contacting people inside the course significantly decreased participants’ comments on the course platform across countries. Specifically, the U.S. participants who were asked to contact people inside the course completed fewer posts and final projects than those who were asked to contact people outside the course. The results provided practical recommendations on designing MOOCs to engage participants across cultures, as well as suggestions for future research.

Authors

• Yue Li, University of Florida

• Ji Yong Cho, Cornell University

• Rene Kizilcec, Cornell University

• Marianne E. Krasny, Cornell University