@1L2P’s twitter stream pointed me here this morning: http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/passive-mooc-students-dont-retain-new-knowledge-study-finds/52295
The researchers found that most students entered the course hoping to gain skills to boost their careers. As time passed, however, their main concerns shifted to completing the course and getting high scores, not practicing their newly acquired skills.
“Learners focused on activities such as watching videos and taking tests, with little evidence of learners’ relating new knowledge into practice, or connecting to their peers through the discussion board,” said Colin Milligan, a research fellow at the university, in a news release.