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Exploring Personal Experience and Value Creation in Postdigital Education: Insights from a Large-Scale MOOC Survey
Ali Soleymani1,2, Maarten De Laat3, Marcus Specht1
1Center for Education and Learning, EWI, EEMCS, TU Delft, Delft, the Netherlands.
Postdigital Science and Education
|May 28, 2026
Summary
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) create value by enhancing skills and confidence, but learners desire more practical application and relevance. Aligning content and support maximizes educational value for personal and professional growth.
Area of Science:
- Educational Technology
- Online Learning
- Higher Education
Background:
- Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are increasingly prevalent in higher education.
- Understanding learner-perceived value creation is crucial for optimizing online learning experiences.
- The value creation framework (VCF) provides a lens to analyze educational benefits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how MOOC participants perceive value creation across different cycles (immediate, potential, applied, realized, transformative).
- To empirically validate a questionnaire assessing learner value perception in MOOCs.
- To identify factors influencing the perceived impact of MOOCs on personal and professional development.
Main Methods:
- Developed and validated a questionnaire based on the VCF.
- Collected data from 1227 learners enrolled in TU Delft MOOCs.
- Analyzed study behavior's impact on learners' value perception.
Main Results:
- Learners reported benefits like skill acquisition, professional development, and increased confidence.
- Areas for improvement include practical application opportunities and course relevance.
- Study behavior significantly impacts learners' perception of value.
Conclusions:
- MOOCs offer significant value, but alignment with learner needs and practical application is key.
- Ongoing support and relevant content are vital for maximizing educational value in online learning.
- These findings inform the development and support of MOOCs for continued growth in the postdigital era.
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