부산대학교 도서관

A careful analysis regarding the characteristics and behaviours of the participants enrolled in the MOOC "Experimental Physics: Electromagnetism" was performed. This MOOC Técnico course related to electromagnetism differs from the remaining courses because it includes a strong laboratorial component which challenges students to understand and analyse experimental data collected during the course. With the present analysis, we intended to study the participants’ background, understand what they aim to achieve by enrolling the course and how the nature of its contents and activities affects their overall success. In more detail, we determined how the inclusion of activities such as hands-on experiments, operation of remote laboratories and open questions with peer review evaluations affect the dropout rates and the evaluations obtained by the students. This information is crucial to tailor the course to the student’s needs, ultimately improving the course quality and the student’s learning experience. To achieve this, data regarding the students characteristics and the number of active participants for the different course stages was collected. The results showed a large participation of people from outside the Técnico Lisboa (IST) community (enrolled students, teachers, researchers, staff, alumni) and a high variety of academic paths inside it. These also made clear that a considerable amount of the enrolled participants dropped out of the course as soon as the proposed tasks became more demanding. However, the remaining students continued committed and completed the following exercises, independently of their nature or complexity. These students were mostly able to complete the course with a good final evaluation and receive the final certificate.