Usage preferences of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC): an exploratory study among pharmacy students in UiTM Puncak Alam

Abstract

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is an online education system that has gained increasing popularity in higher education in recent years. Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) has implemented MOOC as part of its teaching and learning modalities, in line with the launch of the Vice Chancellor’s special project, MOOC 450 in 2017. In the Faculty of Pharmacy, UiTM, a total of seven MOOC courses are being offered to the students. However, the enrolment rate of MOOC courses is quite low. Therefore, this research is conducted to gain insihts on the preferences of our students in using MOOC as part of their learning process in UiTM. A total of 133 students of Bachelor of Pharmacy in UiTM Puncak Alam, Selangor were involved in this reasearch. Respondents were given a set of self-administered questionnaire comprising of three parts: (i) general usage of MOOC; (ii) factors that influence students’ preference in using MOOC; (iii) problems that hinder students from using MOOC. Our results showed that various teaching materials, flexible accessibility and the capacity to learn at one’s own pace are the top three variables that affect the students’ preferences in using MOOC. Meanwhile, the top three problems which prevent students from using MOOC are a poor internet connection, lack of physical interactions between students and tutors and lack of interaction between students.