Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Oct 16, 2019
Date Accepted: Apr 10, 2020
Building a successful massive open online course (MOOC): A description of our process and lessons learned
ABSTRACT
Background:
Over the course of a year, we have developed and tested a six-week massive open online course (MOOC) about multiple sclerosis (MS) in consultation with the MS community. The course is aimed at a general audience and is entitled “Understanding MS”.
Objective:
Here we present an evaluation of the development process that we used.
Methods:
The development process included a course development focus group, the creation of more than fifty content videos and related text, quizzes, activities and discussion prompts, the creation of original images and animations, a pilot study, and collaborations with people living with MS, MS nurses, allied health care practitioners, as well as neurologists and researchers from four universities.
Results:
The first open enrolment of the course had a 51% completion rate, with 1,934 participants completing the course. It was well received by participants, with 97% satisfied or very satisfied with the course overall. As of this writing, it is ranked second among all science and health MOOCs, based on participant reviews.
Conclusions:
With a few small changes, we would recommend our process to anyone seeking to develop a similar course. Clinical Trial: N/A
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