Students and Teachers’ Perception, Acceptance and Effectiveness of Using Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) as Blended Learning Activity for Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET)
Ricky Yuk-kwan Ng, William Leung, Wing-yee Lau and Alan Nga-lun WongMassive open online courses (MOOC) have been widely adopted by higher education institutions as a flexible learning activity. However, the application of MOOC in vocational and professional education and training (VPET) is relatively sparse. Other than learning theories, VPET emphasizes hands-on practice, and so questions and doubts have been raised on the possibility of adopting MOOC for VPET. To address this issue, this paper explores students’ and teachers’perceptions and acceptance of MOOC, and the effectiveness of using MOOC as a blended learning activity for VPET.
The study was carried out in one of Hong Kong’s largest VPET institutions, with two groups of students being invited to participate in this comparative study. MOOC was used as a blended learning activity for one group of 20 students, while another group of 20 students received only face-to-face classroom delivery. Paper-based assessments were conducted to assess the learning performance and learning effectiveness of the two groups of students after two weeks of lessons. Questionnaire surveys were then conducted on the students and teachers using MOOC as a blended learning activity to examine their perceptions and acceptance. The results of the written assessment indicated that the learning performance and learning effectiveness of the students using MOOC as a blended learning activity were relatively better than the group who received only face-to-face classroom delivery. The findings also revealed that students’ and teacher’ perception and acceptance of using MOOC as a blended learning activity to support their learning and teaching were generally positive. Noteworthy points from this study are: (1) MOOC enhanced VPET students’ online self-directed learning experiences by sequencing theory learning and hands-on practice of a topic; (2) as a blended learning activity, MOOC allowed pre-lesson preparation and post-lesson revision, as well as timely review, to enhance students’ learning performance and effectiveness; and (3) continuous assessment within the MOOC course was the essential ‘backwash effect’ to motivate and engage students in learning.