Estudio del proceso de diseño, creación e implementación de una estrategia de desarrollo de MOOC de la Universitat Politècnica de València

Abstract

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The general objective of this research is to study the process of design, development and progressive improvement by which the Universitat Politècnica de València has equipped itself with the necessary infrastructure to create and implement MOOC courses. It is approached from 3 perspectives with specific objectives: 1.Study of the process from the technical/administrative point of view: 1.1. Document the technical/administrative process followed by the UPV to launch the MOOC platform 1.2. Analyze in detail the decision-making process 1.3. Determine which institutional objectives were pursued and which have been achieved 1.4. Know the degree of satisfaction with the objectives obtained 1.5. Identify the remaining problems to be solved. 2.Study of the process from the faculty’s point of view of: 2.1. Know the opinion of teachers and their perception of the process 2.2. Know the reasons why teachers offer courses on the platform, collect what objectives they have achieved and what is their degree of satisfaction 2.3. Identify the sources of improvement perceived by teachers that should be incorporated into the following actions. 3.Study of the process from the student’s point of view: 3.1. Describe the characteristics of the students who have participated in the initiative and the use they have made of the MOOCs 3.2. Know the opinion of the students about the initiative and the courses 3.3. Inquire if, after learning about the initiative, they are willing to do more MOOCs in the future and pay for their certificates 3.4. Analyze and identify the sources of improvement identified by students METHODOLOGY The thesis has been proposed as an Evaluative Research (ER) process that seeks the analysis of the UPV's MOOC initiative from various perspectives, leaving aside the analysis of the initial objectives, and that we could characterize as ER of a formative type, whose purpose is to increase knowledge about the practice that is being carried out and the improvement of the program itself by integrating the points of view of the different actors involved. The thesis has been approached as a case study, as it is a research approach that allows to generate a deep and multifaceted understanding of a complex topic in its real-life context. Each of the articles has been dedicated to studying one of the aspects of the MOOC initiative, dealing with a facet of the case study and trying to achieve together a vision as complete as possible of the case studied. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS In this thesis, a study of the MOOC initiative of the UPV has been carried out, considering the points of view of the main stakeholders . Article I has answered Objective 1, documenting in depth the technical/administrative and decision-making process followed by the UPV to launch the MOOC platform. Article IV has answered Objective 2, collecting the opinions of almost all the faculty involved (79) and documenting their reasons for taking courses and the problems they had in creating them, collecting their suggestions for improvement. In the research that is under review, an answer has been given to Objective 3, describing the characteristics of the students who participate in the courses, their opinions and suggestions for improvement, and studying the courses they select the most. The two articles on the use of MOOCs made by the university community during the pandemic have also contributed to answer Objective 3, describing the characteristics of the students who participated in the initiatives, their opinions and suggestions for improvement, studying the courses that were most used and analyzing whether they can be considered a success. With this we can affirm that the institutional objectives that were pursued have been achieved and that the thesis has achieved its objective of studying the MOOC initiative from the different points of view of the most important actors. The thesis has had additional unplanned results, such as the application of machine learning techniques to conduct comprehensive literature reviews in collaboration with researchers from other institutions, opening spaces for collaboration for future projects.