MOOC Platforms in Asian Countries: A Comparative Study of Interest and Adoption Before and During Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic rapidly swept across the world, impacting more than 180 million individuals (as reported by the WHO Coronavirus COVID-19 Dashboard). This global health crisis has had far-reaching effects, including on education, which was forced to quickly transition to online learning in response. MOOCs emerged as a crucial tool in facilitating this educational adaptation during the pandemic. This study aimed at examining the adoption of MOOC platforms before and during the pandemic. Secondary data from "Google trend time series" and "Google trend country interest point" were used as a proxy variable to investigate the popularity of MOOCs. However, the data showed that MOOC platforms did not consistently experience increased interest rates during the pandemic, and adoption rates remained low in some countries. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the surge in MOOC adoption rates persisted for the first few months, following the WHO's declaration of Covid-19 as a pandemic.