MOOCs Motivation and Communication in the Cyber Learning Environment

Technological promises to change education have been around for years. The latest incarnations of tech-as-game-changer are Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs. The adoption of this course format by prestigious universities worldwide has sparked discussion about the future of education, or at the minimum, the future of academia's role in it. Data shows that while a typical MOOC may attract thousands of participants, less than 10% will complete the course. A lot of education scientists have been talking about “changing education paradigm” (Robinson, 2011) recently, pointing out that the power of technology has caused fundamental changes in all aspects of our lives, including education process. This paper examines how learning styles can affect motivation MOOC participants, and how individual learning styles can be included the design and implementation of such courses.