MOOC in a Blended Learning Model for a Statistics Course: Exploring Participation and Achievement

Introduction

In recent years, technology has played an essential role in the educational process, especially in distance education, with a special interest in massive open online courses (MOOC), where the educational material provided is mainly video lectures based on different learning approaches (Veletsianos, 2016). Courses in open electronic platforms, MOOC, which are the evolution of distance education, are offered by specialized providers online and are available to learners who need to attend a specific curriculum. The learners use the online material while they can interact in the course forum and receive help from a large student community that simultaneously is attending the same program. MOOCs have some features in common with traditional courses, such as timetables, assignments, prescheduled activities, and assessments. Access to the platform is usually free unless the learner intents to get academic credit for the course or acquire a certificate (Sammour et al., 2015). Next, MOOCs are explained, along with their advantages and weak points.