MOOCs and Inclusive Education: Perspectives of Online Learners

Abstract

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are courses that can be taken online by a large number of students from different locations.  These courses are often free; however, some MOOC platforms also offer paid courses. The National Policy on Education, 2020 aims to bring about a reformative change in terms of ensuring equity, inclusiveness, and accessibility, among other things, and it also highlights the importance of MOOCs in addressing these challenges. This paper is an attempt to study the perspective of MOOC participants regarding their experience of learning through MOOCs and the possible impact of MOOCs on the future of inclusive online learning. Furthermore, this study highlights the barriers to the use of MOOCs as perceived by the MOOC participants. The research is primarily descriptive and exploratory in nature.  A survey was conducted to collect the perspectives of students of higher education institutions in Delhi and the NCR who have participated in one or more MOOCs. Data was analysed quantitatively.  The findings revealed that the majority of the courses attended by the MOOC participants were based on the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The major reasons of digital exclusion, as perceived by them, included high cost of devices and internet, language incompatibility, and lack of digital literacy.