MOOCs Adoption Pattern during Pre and Prevailing Pandemic Periods in Indian Context – A Comparative Study

Abstract

Covid-19 has impacted education globally. However, it paved the opportunity for online education practice. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) became an effective mode of online education. This study attempted to quantify MOOCs comparative impact in terms of adoption across varying parameters like geographical distribution and gender. The study was conducted on 2 MOOCs-one conducted before covid-19 and the other during the covid-19 period. It is found that learners’ participation rose to 81.5 per cent during covid-19 as compared to 74.6 per cent during pre-covid. MOOCs were adopted by more learners from remote regions of the country during covid-19. There was a statistically significant association between region influence on learners and learners’ participation during the pre-covid and covid-19 periods with respect to the study variables. It is also observed that female participation has risen by 122 per cent during covid-19 as compared to their participation during pre-covid. The learner participation has significantly increased in all activities like assignments submission, learning resource access and participation in the quiz. The study suggested that MOOCs can help the education system as an effective model for reaching unreached people during this pandemic situation and also help increase inequitable gender participation.