Resumen de MOOC using cloud-based tools: a study of motivation and learning strategies in Latin America
Miguel Morales Chan, Rocael Hernández Rizzardini, Roberto Barchino Plata, José Amelio Medina Merodio
This study describes the motivational and cognitive learning strategies used by students of the large-scale MOOC titled‘‘Cloud-based Tools for Learning,’’ which consists of using free Web 2.0 tools for learning. It is intended to be used byteachers and training professionals who want to innovate their educational practice.A sample of 230 students (11.2% of the2045 total students enrolled) participated in the study. They answered the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire(MSLQ). The MSLQ has questions about motivation and cognitive learning strategies used by students in a course. Themean scores of the 5 subscales are classified as low, medium, or high. Students ranked motivational strategies high, withrelevance to highlight task value, intrinsic goal orientation, and self-efficacy for learning performance, all of them with a‘‘high’’ classification. The cognitive learning strategies were also classified ‘‘high’’ but slightly lower than motivationalsection, which had higher ranks in elaboration, organization, and metacognitive self-regulation. Furthermore, we found acorrelation between motivation and cognitive strategies. We provide results from a MOOC given by the Telescope project(an initiative with a similar objective as Coursera or EdX) at Galileo University, Guatemala, a technological universitywith the longest tradition of computer science within the region. The Telescope project is an initiative carried out by theGalileo Educational System (GES) Department, which is in charge of Educational Technology R&D at the University. Weexamine the importance and relation between the two components, motivation and learning strategies. Hence, such resultscontribute to a better understanding of the learning process in this particular MOOC and will enable further discussion andinsights to improve didactic strategies and the use of innovative cloud-based tools in future MOOCs.
