MOOCs: A systematic study of the published literature 2008-2012
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 5 July 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Athabasca University Press in The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning
- Vol. 14 (3), 202-227
- https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v14i3.1455
Abstract
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a recent addition to the range of online learning options. Since 2008, MOOCs have been run by a variety of public and elite universities, especially in North America. Many academics have taken interest in MOOCs recognising the potential to deliver education around the globe on an unprecedented scale; some of these academics are taking a research-oriented perspective and academic papers describing their research are starting to appear in the traditional media of peer reviewed publications. This paper presents a systematic review of the published MOOC literature (2008-2012): Forty-five peer reviewed papers are identified through journals, database searches, searching the Web, and chaining from known sources to form the base for this review. We believe this is the first effort to systematically review literature relating to MOOCs, a fairly recent but massively popular phenomenon with a global reach. The review categorises the literature into eight different areas of interest, introductory, concept, case studies, educational theory, technology, participant focussed, provider focussed, and other, while also providing quantitative analysis of publications according to publication type, year of publication, and contributors. Future research directions guided by gaps in the literature are explored.Keywords
This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:
- In the year of disruptive educationCommunications of the ACM, 2012
- Review: MITx's online circuit and analysis course [Education]IEEE Spectrum, 2012
- Tweeting for learning: A critical analysis of research on microblogging in education published in 2008–2011British Journal of Educational Technology, 2012
- Will massive open online courses change how we teach?Communications of the ACM, 2012
- Research Blogs and the Discussion of Scholarly InformationPLOS ONE, 2012
- Are open educational resources systematic or systemic change agents for teaching practice?British Journal of Educational Technology, 2010
- “But the data is already public”: on the ethics of research in FacebookEthics and Information Technology, 2010
- Rethinking (e)learning: a manifesto for connected generationsDistance Education, 2008