A study of Veterinary Scholars' Perception of MOOCs

Kutty Kumar

摘要

Purpose - Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a currently trending e-learning platform that presumably attract thousands of participants because of boundless participation, are open to any person to enroll, are free to begin and are delivered completely online, thus contradicting the spatial limitations of a traditional classroom. This study aims to present the findings of a study among veterinary science students examining their perceptions of MOOCs. In total, 200 participants were randomly selected for the survey, out of which 177 responded, owing to a response rate of 88.7 per cent. Majority of the respondents (93 per cent) opined MOOCs supplement other learning methods and provide lifelong opportunity. A study report established that Coursera is the largest platform by user base (82 per cent), followed by Udemy (70 per cent), and 65 per cent knowledge seekers ranted the enormous propaganda about MOOCs are not because of the technology's inherent edifying value, but because of the incredible potentials of lower costs. The participants in this survey valued their course and overall MOOC experience pleasing. Design/methodology/approach - The aim of the study is to explore veterinary students' perception of MOOCs featuring in their subject of interest. The questionnaire was written in English because it is the teaching language for undergraduates and postgraduates in most Indian higher education institutes, including the one used as a context for this study. The online questionnaires were electronically mailed to a sample of veterinary students (undergraduate and postgraduate) with a consent form seeking their permission for participation in this study and swearing them the confidentiality of their responses. The e-mail included information about the purpose of the study as well as the URL to the survey site, demographic questions on age, gender and education. This part was followed by an important research question asking if the student had heard about the new open online educational system (MOOCs) provided in websites, including Coursera, Edx, Udacity and FutureLearn, among others. Based on respondents' answers, they were directed to different sections. Students who knew about MOOCs were asked various mode of getting enrolled in MOOCs. If they were not enrolled in any course, the respondents were asked about the limitations to their use. Enrolled students were questioned on their perspectives and experiences with MOOCs. For students who gained certificates, were enquired for their level of satisfaction, opinions about the integration of MOOCs into the veterinary field and hindrances encountered during accessing the course. Out of a total of 200 students who initially agreed to take part, 177 responses were received, with a response rate of 88.50 per cent, with no cases of missing data. The data were stored automatically in the hosted online survey service into a separate database after the submission of the responses. The descriptive data analyses (such as average) were led using the data analysis tool provided. Findings - Even though most MOOCs do not provide academic credit or result in a degree, some of the biggest beneficiaries of MOOCs are students formally enrolled in an academic program, are provided a free mode to obtain additional academic assistance that would not otherwise be available (Parke Muth, 2018)15. Correspondingly, 93 per cent of the students opined MOOCs supplement other learning methods and provide lifelong opportunity. Learning has traditionally cost both money and time. With MOOCs, it now just costs time. In total, 24 per cent of the participants have discoursed free of cost as one of the intentions to choose their course. Almost every respondent (99 per cent) was interested toward online discussion forum, and 91 per cent preferred course materials containing video and audio files were pretty beneficial, while 88 per cent felt teaching through electronic whiteboard was the most advantageous criterion in their course. The study findings indicated that Coursera is the largest platform by user base (82 per cent), followed by Udemy (70 per cent). Research limitations/implications - The study considered veterinary science undergraduate (BVSc) and postgraduate (MVSc) students alone, veterinary faculties are not included for the survey. There was comparatively less participation of respondents who enrolled or successfully completed a MOOC, which makes the analysis of limitations and satisfaction less reliable. Hence, the study results cannot be generalized as a comprehensive report of veterinary science scholars' perceptiveness. Originality/value - Animal health involves household pets and their care, in addition to livestock health and protection from diseases like bovine babesiosis, bovine tuberculosis and heartwater. There are numerous MOOCs offering online, contact or blended interventions in veterinary science and animal health that afford professionals quick and easy options to

机译：目的-大规模开放式在线课程（MOOC）是一种当前流行的电子学习平台，由于无限制的参与，大概吸引了成千上万的参与者，任何人都可以免费注册，可以免费开始并完全在线上交付，因此与空间传统教室的局限性。这项研究旨在介绍兽医学学生的一项研究结果，以检查他们对MOOC的看法。总共随机抽取了200名参与者进行了调查，其中有177位做出了回应，这是因为回复率为88.7％。多数受访者（93％）认为MOOC补充了其他学习方法，并提供了终身机会。一份研究报告确定，Coursera是用户数量最大的平台（占82％），其次是Udemy（占70％），而65％的知识寻求者对MOOC进行了大量宣传并不是因为该技术具有内在的教育价值，但是由于降低成本的巨大潜力。参加这次调查的参与者对他们的课程和MOOC总体经验感到满意。设计/方法/方法-该研究的目的是探讨兽医学生对他们感兴趣的学科所具有的MOOC的看法。问卷是用英语编写的，因为它是大多数印度高等教育机构的本科生和研究生的教学语言，其中包括用作本研究背景的一种语言。在线问卷通过电子邮件发送给样本的兽医学生（本科生和研究生），并附有同意书，以征求他们的同意参加这项研究，并向他们起誓对他们的回答保密。该电子邮件包含有关研究目的的信息以及调查站点的URL，有关年龄，性别和教育的人口统计学问题。这部分后面是一个重要的研究问题，询问学生是否听说过包括Coursera，Edx，Udacity和FutureLearn等网站中提供的新型开放式在线教育系统（MOOC）。根据受访者的回答，他们被定向到不同的部分。向了解MOOC的学生询问了各种MOOC注册方式。如果他们没有参加任何课程，则会向受访者询问其使用限制。在校学生被问及他们对MOOC的看法和经验。对于获得证书的学生，询问他们的满意程度，关于将MOOC整合到兽医领域的意见以及访问该课程时遇到的障碍。在最初同意参加的200名学生中，收到177份答复，答复率为88.50％，没有丢失数据的情况。提交响应后，数据将自动存储在托管的在线调查服务中，并存储到单独的数据库中。使用提供的数据分析工具进行描述性数据分析（例如平均值）。调查结果-尽管大多数MOOC都没有提供学分或学位，但MOOC的一些最大受益者是正式注册了学术课程的学生，提供了免费模式来获得其他方式无法获得的学术帮助（帕克·穆斯（Parke Muth，2018）15。相应地，有93％的学生认为MOOC补充了其他学习方法并提供了终身机会。传统上，学习既耗费金钱又耗费时间。使用MOOC，现在只需要花费时间。总计，有24％的参与者免费讲课，这是他们选择课程的目的之一。几乎每个受访者（99％）都对在线讨论论坛感兴趣，而91％的首选课程材料（包含视频和音频文件）非常有益，而88％的人认为通过电子白板进行教学是他们课程中最有利的标准。研究结果表明，Coursera是用户数量最大的平台（占82％），其次是Udemy（占70％）。研究的局限性/意义-该研究仅考虑了兽医专业（BVSc）和研究生（MVSc）的学生，不包括兽医系。注册或成功完成MOOC的受访者参与程度相对较低，这使得对局限性和满意度的分析不太可靠。因此，研究结果不能概括为兽医学者的感知力的综合报告。原创性/价值-动物健康不仅涉及家畜健康，而且还应提供免受牛乳杆菌病，牛结核病和心水等疾病的保护，还涉及家庭宠物及其护理。在线提供大量MOOC兽医科学和动物健康的干预，接触或混合干预措施，为专业人员提供了快速简便的选择

A study of Veterinary Scholars' Perception of MOOCs

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