10.5281/zenodo.3598665
https://zenodo.org/records/3598665
oai:zenodo.org:3598665
Vasiliki Tsaple
Vasiliki Tsaple
International Hellenic University
Panayiotis Tzionas
Panayiotis Tzionas
International Hellenic University
Qualitative System Dynamics models to assess the effect of MOOCs on the system of tertiary education
Zenodo
2019
Massive Online Open Courses
Systems Thinking
System Dynamics
Causal Loop Diagrams
tertiary education
2019-04-19
2654-0274
10.5281/zenodo.3598664
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are an innovation in higher education that cause disruptions in the traditional operation of universities. For this reason it is important to understand what their effect may be in the tertiary level of education. The purpose of this paper is to study this effect under a Systems Thinking perspective. For that reason, several Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) were developed with the variables derived from a literature review and interviews with students and teachers. These CLDs showed that communication and collaboration among students and with teachers, cost and language are elements that determine the behavior of the system of tertiary education and the MOOCs integration. Furthermore, they can be seen as an important tool for academic advancement and a means for participation in innovative research. However, higher education is a complex system and there is the need for more advanced and/or quantitative research to fully comprehend the effect of MOOCs on it
SUBMITTED: NOVEMBER 2018, REVISION SUBMITTED: JANUARY 2019, ACCEPTED: FEBRUARY 2019, REFEREED ANONYMOUSLY, PUBLISHED ONLINE: 19 APRIL 2019