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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University

Fahad Alenezi

Northern Illinois University

ETR 520

Introduction to Reasearch Methods In Education

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

Contents
Title Page .................................................................................................................................................... 1
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Definition ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................................... 7
Statement of purpose ............................................................................................................................. 8
Research Questions ................................................................................................................................ 8
Literature Review ..................................................................................................................................... 10
General Idea on MOOCs: Definition, History, and Kinds of MOOCs ............................................ 10
Students Experience with MOOCs. ................................................................................................... 13
Methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 22
Research Design ................................................................................................................................... 22
Instrumentation .................................................................................................................................... 23
Participants ........................................................................................................................................... 24
Data collection (procedure) ................................................................................................................. 24
Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 26
Limitations of the study ....................................................................................................................... 26
References ................................................................................................................................................. 28
APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................................................... 31
Interview Protocol ................................................................................................................................ 31

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

Abstract

The goal of this study is to explore students experience and perspective of MOOCs in terms of

what motivates or limit the use of MOOCs, the extent to which MOOCs is used, and the benefits

and challenges of using (MOOCs). This study will employ a qualitative case study approach in

order to answer the proposed research questions. Previous studies found that MOOCs use require

technical skills that some people lack. Lack of time and background knowledge are the main

problems that students have when using MOOCs. In Addition, no study found in the context of

KSA about students experience with MOOCs. The finding of this study will help providers such

as universities, institutions, and schools learn how to implement and improve MOOCs based on

students perspectives and experiences.

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

Introduction

Millions of learners have enrolled in massive open online courses that are known as

MOOCs in the past few years. It seems that MOOCs are becoming a major higher education

innovation. Many universities and institutions around the world are starting to integrate MOOCs

into their curriculums. As the MOOCs are still an innovation, there are not many studies regarding

their potential benefits, impacts, outcomes in education and students experience. So far, few

studies have been conducted on the adoption and integration of MOOCs. In Saudi Arabia, a slow

rate of adopting to MOOCs is very noticed because of lack of comprehensive information about

how to use MOOCs effectively. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias (KSA) context, King Khalid

University (KKU) is the only one in the country that has started its own MOOCs by providing

some courses in different majors (KKU website, 2015). As far as the Saudi context is concerned,

no studies have been conducted on students experiences and perspectives with MOOCs.

The MOOCs movement has continued to grow at a rapid pace. Three years ago, Stanford

University started its own MOOCs by providing high-quality instruction from elite institutions and

professors at no cost to the students. Later, many universities started lunching their own MOOCs

or partnered with an MOOCs provider such as Coursera and EdX. For example, Harvard,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Stanford are examples of universities and

institutions that adopted and integrated MOOCs during their early stage in the United States. In

the United Kingdom, Edinburgh University launched its MOOCs in early 2013. In Saudi Arabia,

KKU launched and started using its MOOCs by offering these courses to its students. As a new
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

phenomenon, students experiences and perspectives with MOOCs in KSA has not been addressed

extensively in any previous studies.

In general, few research studies have been conducted in the area of students perceptions

and attitudes towards MOOCs. Some of these studies were conducted in the context of the United

States, Canada, and some European countries. Zutshi, OHare, and Rodafinos (2013) examined

the experiences of students who have participated in MOOCs and found that, in terms of

communication, students show a positive attitude towards the sense of community and interaction

in online learning and MOOCs. In addition, they suggested that future qualitative studies be

conducted using in-depth interviews and case studies to provide rich insight about their behaviors

and experiences.

Bruff et al. (2013) examined the students perceptions of blended learning by integrating

an MOOC into a graduate course about machine learning at Vanderbilt University during the fall

2012 semester. The blended design of the course, which supported an MOOC course and a

platform for lecturing, grading, and discussion, enabled the instructor to lead an overloaded course

on a topic much desired by the students. The finding of this study showed that the researchers

noticed enthusiastic responses toward MOOCs on the part of the students. They described the

courses as designed effectively, presented clearly, and made informatively; they also described the

MOOCs as useful for self-paced learning.

Krause (2013) stated, It seemed wise to learn more about MOOCs, and it seemed wise

to learn about them from learners attitudes and perceptionwho continue as perhaps the most

consistent source of information about writing and learning to write in the field (p. 689). Fini

(2009) suggested that further research on participants profiles should be conducted as they

related to the course outcomes and retention. Cultural and educational system background would
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

affect the students usage and attitudes towards MOOCs. Saadatmand & Kumpulainen, (2014)

emphasized that the quality of the learning experience that MOOCs provide and what motivate

MOOC learners need to be addressed in further research. As a result, further research is needed

on students experiences in the use of MOOCs.

Liu et al. (2013) surveyed five thousand students learning experience on MOOCs.

Participants were enrolled in a six-week massive open online course in journalism from 137

countries. The study found that more than %80 of the participants were so excited to take MOOCs.

The three main reasons for their excitement are the course topic, the MOOC format, and personal

/professional development motives. In terms of learning outcomes, 86% of the participants

indicated that they have learned whereas only 13.7% indicated that they did not. Overall, most of

the participants showed a positive attitudes toward MOOC. However, lack of feedback and poor

quality were reported as negative experience.

Understanding and articulating the nature of the MOOCs are the most important aspects of

the integration of this kind of courses that must be considered by universities and colleges (Haber,

2014).In Saudi Arabia, KKU is the only one that has started its own MOOCs by providing some

courses in different majors (King Khalid University, 2014). In order to improve and use MOOCs

effectively in education, students experiences and perspectives to those courses must be explored.

The lack of research on Saudi students perspectives and experiences regarding the use and

adoption of MOOCs is noticeable. What remains to be determined are the students experience,

motivations, the potential use, impact of MOOCs in Education.

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

Definition

The term MOOCs was first used by David Cormier, the manager of Web communications

and innovations at the University of Prince Edward Island and the host of the weekly EdTech

Talk webcast (Haber, 2014). MOOCs have been defined by many researchers. One definition by

Aparicio and Bacao (2013), MOOCs are the Free diffusion of content courses to a global usage

through the Web. Integrates the connectivity of social networking, the facilitation of an

acknowledged expert in a field of study and a collection of freely accessible (p. 82). To simplify,

these are free classes available to anyone around the world in which a massive number of learners

can enroll. As a result, many people from all around the world have started to enroll in this classes

for different purposes.

Theoretical Framework

This study will draw from the well-known Rogers model of diffusion theory. Rogers

model (2003) discusses diffusion of innovation for individuals and organizations. The model

examines the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time

among the individuals in a social system (Rogers, 2003). This model is very popular and has been

widely used to understand the adoption and diffusion of technology by individuals and within

organizations.

According to Rogers model (2003), when a person is faced with a new technology or new

use of technology, he or she goes through an adoption decision process in which he or she gathers

information, tests the technology, and then considers whether it offers sufficient improvement to

deserve the investment of time and energy that is required to add it to his or her range of skills

(Rogers, 2003). Then this person decides to use or reject this new technology or the new use of

this technology (Rogers, 2003). He proposed an innovation five-stage decision process whereby
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

people adopt new technologies: knowledge persuasion, decision, implementation, and

confirmation.

This model will be used in this study to understand and explain the findings in regard to

students experience and adoption of MOOCs in their educational practices at KKU. The model

was selected because it provides a useful framework to understand the uses, obstacles, and

advantages regarding MOOCs integration and adoption.

Statement of purpose

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the perspectives and experiences of the

students who have taken MOOCs at KKU in Saudi Arabia. The goal of this study is to provide an

in-depth description of male students experience and perspective of MOOCs (i.e., in terms of

what promote (motivate) or limit the use of MOOCs, the extent to which MOOCs is used, and the

benefits and challenges of using (MOOCs) from students perspectives into their educational

practice. In this stusy, semi-structured interviews with students will explore the students

experience and perspectives with MOOCs at KKU in Saudi Arabia. This study, Rogers model of

diffusion theory will be used to understand and explain the findings in regard to students

experience and adoption of MOOCs in their educational practices at KKU.

Research Questions
For the purpose of this study, one central research question and three research sub-

questions will guide this study. The central questions that will guide this study is:

What are the experience and perspectives of students using MOOCs at KKU?

The Research sup-questions are:

1. What promote (motivate), limit, or affect the students us of MOOCs?

2. How is the extent use of MOOCs among KKU students?

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

3. What are the benefits and challenges of using MOOCs from students perspectives?

The finding of this study will provide information that will help institutions and policy

makers overcome the obstacles and challenges that might be faced when adopting and integrating

MOOCs. In addition, they will be more aware of the potential benefits, impacts, and outcomes of

MOOCs. The finding of this study will also help providers such as universities, institutions, and

schools learn how to implement and improve MOOCs based on students perspectives and

experiences. Instructors will profit from the finding of this study by learning how to use MOOCs

effectively and provide a comprehensive information for best practice with their students. In

addition, students will be more informed about the use of MOOCs and their advantages.

The results of this study will give a vision to the KSA universities about the potential

benefits, impact, and outcomes of MOOCs. Furthermore, recommendations will be provided to

KKU and the other universities about the implementation of MOOCs and how they can be used

effectively according the students perceptions.

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

Literature Review

The purpose of this section is to review the studies related to the topic of this study. This

section will be divided into themes. The first theme will be about the general idea on MOOCs such

as definition, history and kinds of MOOCs. The second theme will include a review of ten studies

related to students experiences with MOOCs. At the end of this section, a conclusion will be

drawn based on the review of the studies.

General Idea on MOOCs: Definition, History, and Kinds of MOOCs

According to Rodriguez (2012), the term MOOC is an abbreviation for Massive Open

Online Course. The term was coined by George Siemens and Stephen Downes in 2008 after

successfully performing the online course CCKo8. The success of CCKo8 came after a series of

other OOCs done previously. MOOCs represent a methodology of online learning that is currently

emerging and gaining a lot of recognition at a very high rate. Rodriguez (2012) states that the term

massive is used in this methodology to refer to the large of participants that can take part in the

learning process simultaneously. The word open is used to refer to the open nature of the

resources used in the learning process. First, the software used is an open-source one and as such,

is open to everyone. Information sources and assessment process are both open in addition to a

wide spectrum of open learning environments. According to Kop et al., (2011), MOOCs engage

networked learning methods outside the typical structure of a traditional course. They invite open

online participation on a certain topic of interest and a schedule. The learning process is facilitated

by individuals with expertise in the topic of discussion and relies on the formation of learning

networks to help the learners.

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

According to Rodriguez (2012), CCK08 was offered formally and informally through the

University of Manitoba and enrollment was open to everybody worldwide at no cost. Those who

enrolled formally obtained credits from the University while those who were not interested in

credits enrolled informally. Rodriguez (2012) states that CCK08 was not the first instance of open

online courses because previously in the academic year 2007-2008, Alec Couros, and David

Willey had offered courses in the same manner. Additionally, in 2001, Liyanagunawardena et al.,

(2013) states that MIT launched a pioneering OpenCourseWare (OCW) permanently to publish

materials from all its sources on the web. Later, licenses were produced to allow for access,

modification, and redistribution of the same material. Later on, several other institutions of higher

learning joined in publishing their learning materials on the web and allowing for its access.

Carnegie Mellon Universitys Open Learning Initiative was one of such programs. The materials

availed were meant to allow for access by learners and educators. As this practice became common

among learning institutions, MOOCs was born (Liyanagunawardena et al., 2013). Jordan (2014)

states that the MOOCs found their way into the mainstream in the last two years, following the

establishment of several high-profile MOOC platforms, especially Udacity and EdX. The

platforms offered several free courses from elite universities and attracted a lot of attention from

the media. Jordan (2014) stated that 2012 became known as the year of the MOOC. Some people

have thus envisioned MOOCs as the future for higher education where full degrees will be offered

through them to all people worldwide (Jordan, 2014). Rodriguez (2013(a)) states that although all

MOOCs are the same in terms of free access and scale, they have bifurcated into two types of

courses. The bifurcation of courses comes about when a comparison of their underpinning format,

structure, and theory are considered. The two categories according to Rodriguez (2013) are x-

MOOCs and c-MOOCs. Rodriguez (2013(a)) continues that the two formats of MOOCs differ in
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

their concept of openness, with studies conducted previously indicating that although c-MOOCs

and x-MOOCs have certain features in common, their learning theory and pedagogical model on

which they stand vary in many aspects.

According to Rodriguex (2013(a)), c-MOOCs and x-MOOCs terminology was introduced

by Stephen Downes to differentiate between connectivist MOOCs and the others. Stephen thought

that this distinction was necessary because x- and c-MOOCs are based on very different

pedagogical frameworks. The x used in x-MOOCs was derived from EdX and MITx.

Zutshi et al., (2013) states that a distinction between c-MOOCs and x-MOOCs can be

made. They state that c-MOOCs are based strongly on connectivist ideals, often having a weak

structure and influenced by ideals like those of Illich (1971) concerning the empowerment of

learners by allowing all learners who wish to learn access to learning material. On the other hand,

Zutshi et al., (2013) state that x-MOOCs are Ivy League-type. They are run by universities, are

venture capital-funded and have a comparatively fixed curriculum that is very prescriptive

(Rodriguez, 2013(b)). Mackness et al., (2013) state that x-MOOCs are an online version of

traditional instructive correspondence courses, something that contrasts them from c-MOOCs that

focus more on creativity, autonomy, creation, and social networked learning. Examples of x-

MOOCs include Coursera, edX, and Udacity while examples of c-MOOCs include eduMOOC,

MobiMOOC, and PLENK2010 (Mackness et al., 2013; Rodriguez, 2012). Besides the two well-

known formats of MOOCs, Zutshi et al., (2013) state that there is a third sub-family of MOOC

platform, which falls entirely outside the university system. This sub-family of MOOC offers

calendar-based courses and other courses that the learner can complete at their own time. The best

examples are Khan Academy, Future learn, Peer-to-Peer University, and Udemy.
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

MOOCs is an emerging field that is gaining a lot of popularity among educators and

learners worldwide through media. It has two major categories and a third minor one. Due to the

popularity and bright future of this new method of disseminating knowledge, it is paramount that

the effect it has on students and how students are affected by it be studied with a view to making

necessary corrections in future MOOCs.

Students Experience with MOOCs.

Although MOOCs have experienced some tremendous success over the last two years like

Jordan (2014) states, they have not done so without posing challenges for students. Students have

had different experiences and challenges with the platforms, something that has resulted in

different effects. Liu et al., (2014) found that the challenges are not limited to learners alone, but

also affect educational institutions and instructors. Questions about the future of teaching and the

value of a degree have been asked severally. Evidence-based research is being conducted to

determine advantages and constraints associated with using MOOC as a tool for learning.

According to Liu et al., (2014), one of the most important factors of MOOC effectiveness is to

determine students perspective in the courses they enroll in.

Few studies examined the students experience with massive open online courses. A

qualitative study was conducted by Zutshi et al. (2013), to examine the experience of students

who have participated in massive open online courses (MOOCs) as reflected in public blogs. The

authors mentioned that there were a common concerns regarding the MOOCs that must be

discussed such as the pedagogical approaches, employed, and the high drop rate. The research

questions focused on how students described their experience in terms of positive or negative.

The second question guided this study was about the common issues and discussion themes that

students post in blogs. The researchers collected that data through twenty- one blog posted by
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

students who at least take one MOOCs. The data were analyzed by a content analysis approach

where the research analyzed the sample of blog posts. Zutshi et al. (2013) found that students

expressed a mixed experience and identified positive and negative aspects. In terms of the

second research question, Zutshi et al. (2013) found that assessment is the most common issue

discussed by students who participated in MOOCs was the assessment methods. Zutshi et al.

(2013) stated that conventional methods of assessment are simply not feasible, and clarity of

assessment instructions is needed. The second issue was related to communication. As stated by

Zutshi et al. (2013) is the lack of interaction and the feeling of anonymous were a very common

issue that participants reported on blogs. Zutshi et al. (2013) concluded their study by suggesting

a similar study to be conducted using in-depth qualitative interviews, and case studies approach

because it will offer rich insights into behavior and experiences of students who have taken

MOOCs.

A similar study was conducted by Adams, Yin, Vargas Madriz and Mullen (2014) to

examined students experience with xMOOCs. Adams et al., (2014), conducted an exploratory,

phenomenological study to examine the everyday experience of students who has completed the

majority of the assessment offered in an xMOOCs. The authors mentioned that a lack of empirical

studies in students experience was obvious. The research question was clearly stated in the

methodology section. The research question was What are completers experiences of learning in

an xMOOC? (p. 207). The study employed a qualitative research methodology phenomenology

of Practice. The data was gathered via two human science methods. The first one was written

self-protocols by four adults engaged in a self-chosen MOOC. The second one was in-depth

phenomenological interviews with six xMOOC completers. Adams, Yin, Vargas Madriz, &

Mullen, (2014) stated that participants expressed a positive attitudes toward the pre-recorded
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

instructional videos. Participants describe the videos the developed for them by xMOOCs

instructors as a unique and powerful sphere of intimacy. The authors also mentioned that

participants described the xMOOCs as a new phenomenon that is completely different from

previous online courses. The authors concluded their study by mentioning the high drop rate as

cited from (Chafkin, 2013) which was 93%. What to do about the other 93%? was the questions

that the authors concluded they study.

Another relevant mixed methods study was conducted by Liu, Kang, Cao and Lim (2013)

to examine participants learning experiences in the context of a six-week MOOC in journalism.

Liu et al., (2013) stated that the current rabid growing of MOOCs has raised a questions about the

future of teaching and learning, the degree importance and how technology effect the education

system at universities The research questions guiding this study are focused on examining

students experience in taking a MOOC in journalism and aspects of this MOOC that students find

beneficial to their learning. The data was collected through surveys and interview. Liu et al., (2014)

found that several factors affected students and led to mixed experiences. Students who failed to

finish the course quoted time as the main factor while those who responded to the survey

highlighted sources of negative experience to be poor quality and lack of feedback. Besides the

two major factors that led to the negative experience, too much work, lack of organization, familiar

topics, and lack of participation were also cited as reasons. Overall, 86% of students said they

found the MOOC beneficial while 13.7% did not and cited the reasons above. Surprisingly,

75.31% of the interviewees had a better experience with the MOOC than with face-to-face

learning, 6.48% indicated no difference, and 18.21% chose face-to-face tutoring over MOOC. The

positive experience was attributed to several features such as flexibility, self-pace, peer learning,

useful and quality course material, worldwide participation, and expertise of the tutor.
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

Another mixed methods study was conducted by Kop, (2011), to find out challenges to

connectivist Learning on Open Online Network learner autonomy, presence, and critical literacies.

The authors highlighted the learners experience and perceptions to those challenges.The author

mentioned that there were some challenges that might prevent learners from having a quality

learning experience. Two research questions guided this study which are whether the four activities

highlighted as being crucial to learning (aggregating, relating, creating, and sharing) were actually

as important as envisaged by the course planners and whether the challenges identified from the

literature (critical literacies, presence, and self-directed learning) were actually perceived as being

as problematic as identified in the literature. The author collected the data through survey,

observation and focus group to gain the study purpose. The data collected on the Moodle forums,

wiki, participants blogs and Twitter posts. 1616 participants were enrolled in a connectivist course

(cMOOC) named as PLENK. Kop, (2011) found that the majority of participants did not achieve

the following activities, aggregation, relation, creation, and sharing. However, Kop, (2011) found

that self-directed learning is an important aspect for participants to gain the benefits form MOOCs.

In addition to that, participants need to have a level of critical literacies that will help them to

participate, engage and get involved with learning activities (Kop, 2011). The result showed that

participants online courses such MOOCs need to be confident and skilled to use the different tools

in order to engage in meaningful interaction. According to Kop, (2011), the social presence of

participants and facilitators would engage learners to be involved in a connective learning

environment and build confidence and stimulate active participation.

In a study by Kop, Fournier and Mak (2011), the researchers conducted a mixed methods

study to examine how emergent technologies could influence the design of learning environments.

The study focused on the roles of educators and learners in creating networked learning
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

experiences on massive open online courses (MOOCs). A mixed-methods approach and a variety

of research techniques and analysis tools were used to capture the diverse activities and the

learning experiences of participants on MOOCs. The data was collected through surveys and

observations. Kop et al. (2011), stated that it is very important to make connections between

learners and fellow learners and between learners and facilitators. Kop et al. (2011) pointed out

that the more experience in networked learning and through MOOCs, the higher the level of

participation. Regarding the support structure, the study mentioned that providing a comfortable,

trusted, and valued place or community would engage learners in critical learning. The question

guided this study was about determine the role of educators in facilitating MOOCs.

In 2009, Jordan, conducted a quantitative study in order to explore factors that affect

enrollment and completion of MOOCS. Jordan (2009) mentioned that there is a gap between the

characteristics of MOOCs and their effect upon enrollment and completion. The research question

was to study how MOOCs are developing in terms of enrollment and completion rates and what

factors might affect the enrollment and completion of these courses. Data about enrollment

numbers and completion rates were collected through the public available data on the internet

including news stories, university reports, conference presentations, and MOOC student bloggers.

The author used linear regression to analyzes the collected data Minitab statistical software.

According to Jordan (2014), students that are not conversant with technology are left behind by

MOOC as indicated by the high number of elites who enroll for courses. Daphine Koller from

Coursera states that most students enrolling for courses are usually educated already, mostly

holding undergraduate degrees. Out of all students, 42.8% hold a bachelors degree, 36.7% hold

masters degree while 5.4% are holders of doctoral degrees. Another survey by the University of

Pennsylvania shows the same trend, with 83.0% of all students being graduates and 44.2% being
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

educated at postgraduate level. As such, the study concludes that MOOCs are not achieving their

primary goal of reaching disadvantaged students. Additionally, a high literacy level is required

coupled with a high-speed internet; therefore, preventing the achievement of the goal of

eliminating geographical boundaries (Jordan, 2014).

Another quantitative study was conducted by Fini, (2009) to investigate learners views

about tools used in the CCK08 course and provide suggestions for multi-tool course environments.

The author mentioned that there was a need to understand the effectiveness of multi-tool

environments in supporting education and students in order to improve their effectiveness for

learning. The authors did not include the research question clearly in the study. From the purpose

of the statement, it is clear that the research guided this study was to what extent multi-tool

environments are effective in supporting education and learning. The data collected via an online

survey that included three sections namely, Personal information, General opinions about the

toolset used in the course and Detailed questions on each tool used in the course. The survey

determined major sources of negative experience to be language barriers, time constraints, and the

necessity for ICT skills. Fini (2009) found that lack of ICT skills made most participants to favor

passive, time-saving mailing list instead of time-consuming discussion forums. Fini (2009)

suggested that in the future, participants should be left to choose their preferred tools for use in the

courses. Fini (2009) found that besides MOOC requiring participants to have some basic to

medium skills in ICT, it also requires participants to have a good mastery of the English language.

Fini (2009) names English as the global lingua franca and suggests that it be made a necessary

requirement by universities.
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

Milligan, Littlejohn and Margaryan (2013), conducted a qualitative study to address the

lack of empirical data about how learning experience afforded by cMOOCs is suited to learners

with different motivation, skills and disposition. The study was guided by two research questions

that focused on patterns of engagement and factors affecting engagement in the cMOOCs. Three

types of engagement were recognized which are active participation, passive participation and

lurking. The study was aimed to provide insight in how to design an effective cMOOCs in the

future to better support the learning needs and learners expectations. The authors employed a

semi-structured interviews to collect the data. Twenty-nine participants were interviewed for one-

hour via Skype. Milligan et al., (2013) found that the ideal of this kind of cMOOCs is the active

participants because they are not just consuming content, they are connecting with other

participants and sharing a new resources to others that created by them. Such a cMOOCs would

fail without a critical of massive of active participants (Milligan et al., 2013). However, all the

benefits can be gained by lukers but without contributing in return. Regarding the passive

participants, Milligan et al., (2013) found that most of the passive participants had dropped out of

the course because their needs are clearly not being met. They stated that cMOOCs was not suitable

for everyone. Regarding the second research question, the authors clearly stated that confidence,

prior experience, and motivation are key factors affecting cMOOCs.

Saadatmand & Kumpulainen, (2014) stated that there are a very growing research

base about the phenomenon of MOOCs, but it is immature. The learning experience that MOOCs

provide is a paramount importance to researchers. Saadatmand & Kumpulainen, (2014) conducted

a qualitative study to examine participants experience and perceptions of learning in cMOOCs in

terms of dealing with an abundance of resources and tools, learning activities, and network

engagement. This study employed an online ethnography design to gain a deeper understanding of
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

participation and learning in cMOOCs. The research questions that guided this study focused on

how tools being used by participants in cMOOCs, networking activities in cMOOCs and the nature

of participation and learning in cMOOCs. The data of the study were collected through an online

questionnaire, online semi-structured interviews and auto ethnographic insight. The data were

interpreted using an ethnographic research design based on a framework of analytic induction and

comparative analysis. The result of the study show that (87.5%) of the participants said they

moderately used Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds of the course that were used by the course

facilitators to aggregate blog posts and tweets from the participants. In addition, Blogging was one

of the main activities of the participants. Finally, the study showed that the nature of cMOOCs

requires students to assume active roles, in a spirit of openness, to shape activities and collaborate

in goal achievement.

In the context of Saudi Arabia, Jawharah & Zamil, (2014) employed a quasi-experimental

study with pre and post-test to investigate the effectiveness of a Massive Open Online Course

(MOOC) on developing listening skill among Saudi EFL university students. The authors stated

that this study is an attempt to determine how the awareness of EFL teachers integration of

MOOCs is hindered by misconceptions on the part of instructors. The research question of the

study was Are there statistically significant differences in the students achievement in listening

between the experimental group (who have been taught by employing a MOOC) and the control

group (who have been taught conventionally) that can be attributed to using MOOCs? (p.129).

Clearly, the research question matches the hypothesis of the research that once MOOCs are

integrated into English language courses for EFL Saudi students, their listening achievement will

be improved. The Data was collected from two groups of listening course students through the

result of the pre and post-test listening. One was the experimental group, and the other one was
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

the control group. Jawharah & Zamil, (2014) found that there were statistically significant

differences between the experimental group and the control group, with the distribution being in

favor of the experimental group. This result indicates the effectiveness of the MOOCs in

developing listening skills. Jawharah & Zamil, (2014) suggested that the result of this study should

be implemented in English courses for EFL learners to improve their listening comprehension.

Based on the reviewed studies above, it is clear that in as much as MOOCs are helpful in

disseminating information and educating large masses of people, they are most suited for already

educated people. They also require technical skills that some people lack in addition to the stable

internet connection required. Learners on the other hand also have several problems that limit their

learning processes such as lack of time and background knowledge. In the context of Saudi Arabia,

there is a lack of studies that explore students experience with MOOCs. The purpose of this study

is to explore the perspectives and experiences of the Saudi students who have taken MOOCs at

KKU in Saudi Arabia.

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

Methodology

The purpose of this section is to describe and discuss methods that will be used in this

study. This section will address the study design, Instrumentation, a description of the studys

potential participants and data collection methods. It also offers an overview of the data analysis

procedure and addresses the ethical issues that will be considered.

Research Design

The goal of this study is to provide an in-depth description of male students experience

and adopting of MOOCs (i.e., in terms of what promote (motivate) or limit the use of MOOCs, the

extent to which MOOCs is used, and the benefits and challenges of using (MOOCs) from students

perspectives into their educational practice. This study will employ a qualitative case study

approach in order to answer the proposed research questions. This study will represent an

exploratory and descriptive research effort. Qualitative research provides a rich and

comprehensive description of the research topic in the form of a narrative report (Creswell, 2007).

In general, as noted by Ary, Jacobs, Sorensen, and Razavieh (2010), qualitative research is used

to contextualize findings, interpret behaviors and intentions, and understand perspectives.

The general goal of case study research is to provide a detailed description and

understanding of the entity (Creswell, 2015). A case study is a type of qualitative approach that

focuses on a single entity, which could be one individual, group, organization, or program

(Creswell, 2015). A case study produces an in-depth, rich, holistic description of a context or issue

(Creswell, 2015); it also provides great advantages in understanding human behavior in terms of

individuals past, present, and future actions; environment; emotions; and thoughts. The researcher

will follow Pattons (1987, 1990, 2003) guidelines for designing this research study.

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

Instrumentation
The researcher will conduct in-depth, open-ended interviews with eight male students at

KKU. The individual interview will be the primary source of data. According to Patton (2003), the

three kinds of data collection in qualitative methods include in-depth, open-ended interviews,

direct observation, and written documents. The study will select the individual interview as the

primary source for data collection because open-ended questions and probes yield in-depth

responses about people's experiences, perceptions, opinions, feelings, and knowledge.

There are three basic approaches with which to collect qualitative data through open-ended

interviews. These include the informal conversational interview, a general interview guide, and

the standardized open-ended interview (Patton, 1990). The standardized open-ended interview

approach will be followed in this study in which the interview consist of a set of questions that

will be asked of each interviewee through the same sequence and words. The standardized open-

ended interview allows the questions to be evaluated as it also guarantees time efficiency (Patton,

1990).

This qualitative study will use a number of eleven questions to gather the data. The

structure of the interview will be the semi-, or partially structured, interview in which the interview

questions are formulated prior to the interview. The interview questions were carefully designed

and formulated to address the purpose of the research. The interview questions will be divided into

three categories to explore what promote (motivate) or limit the use of MOOCs, the extent to which

MOOCs is used, and the benefits and challenges of using (MOOCs) from students perspectives

into their educational practice. However, the interviewer may modify questions or ask more related

inquiries during the interview process (Ary, Jacobs, Sorensen, & Razavieh, 2010). Probes will be

used to receive more elaborated responses from the participants (For the interview protocol refer
 24
Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

to Appendix A). The semi- or partially structured interview approach is known for its flexibility

and utility in initiating a conversation between the interviewer and interviewee about the examined

topic (Patton, 2000). The interview questions will be translated into Arabic by the researcher. Next,

the researcher will present the Arabic version of the questions to three graduate students at

Northern Illinois University, who are native Arabic speakers, in order to verify that they are

grammatically correct and understandable

Participants

This qualitative case study will utilize a purposeful sample of eight participants from KKU.

According to Creswell (2015), Individuals and sites of the research can be applied as a purposeful

sampling. As the prospective participants should be using or have used MOOCs for at least one

semester, a homogenous sampling design will be best suited to collect the appropriate data from

the appropriate participants. The focus of this research will be on male students at KKU. The

prospective participants are enrolled at KKU as an undergraduate students in different majors.

Participants will be selected according to their use of MOOCs. This study, in which eight students

will participate, will take place within the KKU in Saudi Arabia. The researcher will select students

at KKU as a research site because the University of King Khalid is the only one adopting MOOCs.

Regarding the potential participants, the research will select them based on their use of MOOCs

because those will provide rich information and help to understand the phenomenon. The

researcher will ask the faculty members to provide him with a list of students email who are using

MOOCs.

Data collection (procedure)

This study is a qualitative study that involves the use of face-to-face interviews. First, the

research will apply to the Institutional Review Board at Northern Illinois University to get their
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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

permission to conduct the study. Then, the researcher will obtain the required permissions and

authorization from KKU. After that, the researcher will visit the Web site of the KKU in order to

collect the names and emails address of the faculty members who are using MOOCs in their

teaching practice. After that, the researcher will ask the faculty members to provide him with the

emails of students who are taking MOOCs. An invitation email will be sent to each prospective

participant to ask for their participation. The researcher will provide the participants with a consent

form that made it clear that participation in this study is voluntary and that the participant are under

no obligation to be involved with the effort. The consent form will also state that the interview

questions would be provided to the participants prior to the interview and that the participants

could decline to answer any question that made them feel uncomfortable. Each participant will be

interviewed on an individual basis. Each interview will last between 45 to 60 minutes. Each

interview will be audio recorded after receiving the participants permission.

Several ethical issues must be considered in designing a qualitative study. The related

ethical issues to this research study include explaining the purpose, confidentiality, informed

consent, and data access and ownership. For the purpose of this study, the researcher will provide

the participants with an explanatory statement that state the purpose of the research, the possible

benefit, and the time required of the participants, expected inconvenience/discomfort concerns.

The researcher will provide the participants with a consent form that made it clear that participation

in this study is voluntary and that the participant are under no obligation to be involved with the

effort. Also, the participants will be provided with a finding report of the study. In order to get

permission from the gatekeeper at KKU, an explanation letter about the aim and data collection

procedure will be provided to the gatekeeper.

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

To preserve confidentiality in this research study, all of the names of the participants will

not be revealed or identified when analyzing and publishing data. The researcher will use code

names to present the data.

Data Analysis

For the purpose of analyzing the data that will be gathered in this study, the researcher will

follow the guidelines presented by Patton (1990) and Ary, Jacobs, Sorensen, and Razavieh (2010)

for qualitative data analysis. The data analysis will go with three stages (i.e., organizing and

familiarizing; coding and reducing; and interpreting and representing) (Ary, Jacobs, Sorensen, &

Razavieh, 2010).Once the individual interviews finished, the researcher will transcribe the tape-

recorded interviews and take reflective notes regarding the data. After that, the researcher will

organize the data according to the source (i.e., the eight participants). In the coding and reducing

stage, the researcher will sort the data for each participant into units of meaning, where the

researcher will code or Labelle each unit with a meaningful title. The researcher will place all units

with the same code into a single category. Once the categories were established, the researcher

will link similar and related categories into themes. Then the researcher will merge the categories

and themes of each participant together.

The final stage of data analysis will be interpreting and representing the stages in which

the researcher extract meaning, relationships, and insights from the data. In addition, the researcher

will report the major finding and implications of the study.

Limitations of the study

Due to cultural limitations and the education system, the researcher will only interview

male students at KKU. In Saudi Arabia, boys and girls are segregated in schools and universities.

In addition, Out of the 21 universities in Saudi Arabia, the researcher will conduct this research
 27
Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

study in the KKU because its the only university adopting MOOCs at this time. As I will use in-

depth interviews to collect the data, self-report data is not always reliable, accurate and indicator

of true individual perspectives, feeling and behavior. This study will only employ qualitative case

study, future research is recommended to use mixed methods design to generate more data on

students experience and perspective in Saudi Arabia.

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

References

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large: the tutorial sphere of xMOOC video lectures. Distance Education, 35(2), 202216.

doi:10.1080/01587919.2014.917701.

Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Sorensen, C., & Razavieh, A. (2010). Introduction to research in

education (8th ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Aparicio, M., & Bacao, F. (2013, July). E-learning concept trends. In Proceedings of the 2013

International Conference on Information Systems and Design of Communication (pp. 81-

86). ACM.

Bruff, D. O., Fisher, D. H., McEwen, K. E., & Smith, B. E. (2013). Wrapping a MOOC: Student

perceptions of an experiment in blended learning. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning

and Teaching, 9(2), 187-199.

Creswell, J. W., (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions,

(Second Ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Creswell, J. W. (2015). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating

quantitative and qualitative research (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Education.

Fini, A. (2009). The technological dimension of a massive open online course: The case of the

CCK08 course tools. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed

Learning, 10(5).
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Jawharah, A., & Zamil, A. (2014). THE EFFECT OF INTEGRATING MOOC S ON SAUDI

FEMALE STUDENTS LISTENING ACHIEVEMENT, 10(34), 127142.

Jordan, K. (2014). Initial trends in enrollment and completion of massive open online courses.

The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15(1).

Haber, J. (2014). MOOCs. MIT Press.

King Khalid University. (2014). Deanship of E-learning. Retrieved March 8, 2015 from

http://elc.kku.edu.sa/en/news/term/3

Krause, S. D., & Rice, J. (2013).Symposium on MOOCS. College Composition and

Communication, 64.4: 689-703

Kop, R. (2011). The challenges to connectivist learning on open online networks: Learning

experiences during a massive open online course. The International Review of Research

in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(3), 19-38.

Kop, R., Fournier, H., & Mak, J. S. F. (2011). A pedagogy of abundance or a pedagogy to

support human beings? Participant support on massive open online courses. The

International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(7), 74-93.

Liu, M., Kang, J., Cao, M., Lim, M., Ko, Y., Myers, R., & Schmitz Weiss, A. (2013).

Understanding MOOCs as an emerging online learning tool: Perspectives from the

students. American Journal of Distance Education, 28(3), 147-159.

Liyanagunawardena, T. R., Adams, A. A., & Williams, S. A. (2013). MOOCs: A systematic

study of the published literature 2008-2012. The International Review of Research in

Open and Distributed Learning, 14(3), 202-227.

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Mackness, J., Waite, M., Roberts, G., & Lovegrove, E. (2013). Learning in a small, task

oriented, connectivist MOOC: Pedagogical issues and implications for higher education.

The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 14(4).

Milligan, C., Littlejohn, A., & Margaryan, A. (2013). Patterns of engagement in connectivist

MOOCs. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 9(2).

Patton, M. Q. (1987). How to use qualitative methods in evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (1st ed.). Newbury Park, CA:
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Rodriguez, C. O. (2012). MOOCs and the AI-Stanford Like Courses: Two Successful and

Distinct Course Formats for Massive Open Online Courses. European Journal of Open,

Distance and E-Learning.

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Rodriguez, O. (2013). The concept of openness behind c and x-MOOCs (Massive Open Online

Courses). Open Praxis, 5(1), 67-73.

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Zutshi, S., O'Hare, S., & Rodafinos, A. (2013). Experiences in MOOCs: The perspective of

students. American Journal of Distance Education, 27(4), 218-227.

APPENDIX A
Interview Protocol
Time of interview: ________________ Date: __/___/____

Place: __________________________

Interviewee: _____________________

Interviewer: _____________________

Position of interviewee: ____________

Documents Obtained: _e.g. Consent form_______________________

Script
Welcome and thank you for your participation today. My name is FAHAD ALENEZI and I am a doctorate
student at Northern Illinois University conducting my research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Ed.D. This interview will take about 45 to 60 minutes and will include 11 questions regarding
your experiences with MOOCs. I would like to take your permission to tape record this interview, so I may
accurately document the information you convey. If at any time during the interview you wish to
discontinue the use of the recorder or the interview itself, please feel free to let me know. All of your
responses are confidential.
The purpose of this study to explore the perspectives and experiences of the students who have taken
MOOCs at KKU in Saudi Arabia.

Regarding the consent form, you and I have to sign and date the consent form, certifying that we
agree to continue this interview. You will receive one copy and I will keep the other under lock and key,
separate from your reported responses.

Your participation in this interview is completely voluntary. If at any time you need to stop, take
a break, or return a page, please let me know. You may also withdraw your participation at any time without
consequence.

Interviewee background:

What year are you in at KKU?

What is your field of study?

Extent of MOOCs use:

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Saudi Students experience with MOOCs at King Khalid University.

1- When did you start using MOOCs in your educational practice and why?
2- How often do you use MOOCs for Educational purpose?
3- Have you receive any training in relation to the uses MOOCs?
Probe: Have you receive training session, workshops, online training about the use of MOOCs.
Reasons cause the use or not use of MOOCS:
4- What do you think are the most important reason that promote the use of MOOCs?
5- What do you think are the most important reason that limit the use of MOOCs?
6- How can the university facilitate the uses of MOOCs among the students in KKU?
7- Do you think students receive enough support from the faculty members to use MOOCs?

Benefits and Challenges:

8- What are the limitations of MOOCs in your opinion?
9- What do you think are the challenges of using MOOCs
10- What are the difficulties in using MOOCs?
Probe: do you face any problems or difficulty during the use of MOOCs?
11- What are the benefits from using MOOCs for students in your opinion?

Script:
(Thank you for your cooperation and participation in this study)