Collaboration tools in MOOC: A provider’s perspective

Abstract

Collaboration tools are incorporated in Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), to promote community-based learning. Although existing MOOCs incorporate the functionality of collaboration using various tools such as wiki and forum, there is no mention of the feature specification list of these tools. MOOC providers integrate either third-party tools or develop their own tool. The objective of this study is to view the collaboration tools used in MOOC from a provider’s perspective, giving insight into the technological dimension of these tools in terms of their features. The study is based on six popular MOOC platforms including both, open-source and proprietary platforms. The features of collaboration tools supported by the chosen MOOC platforms are identified and formulated in the form of checklists. As an outcome of our study, we suggest the set of features that may be provided for collaboration tools in MOOC by the providers, to facilitate the learning.