A MOOC as part of a curriculum The importance of instructional design

Abstract

A conventional five-week MOOC in English was integrated into a German-language Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) on “Innovations in Digital Learning” as an elective. Overall, the total number of students showed values in the medium to high range for the enjoyment of learning, and perceived learning success. Of the 23 CAS students, 70% received a certificate, compared to 13% of students not enrolled in the CAS. For many of the CAS students, the English-language videos were a challenge. In addition, there were shortcomings in the MOOC’s instructional design (e.g. instruction of the peer review tasks). The challenge for creating a successful integrated MOOC lies in the instructional design.