Massive Open Online Courses, aka MOOCs, have become an indispensable part of the online education routine. Many universities and organizations put a lot of effort into designing, developing, and running such courses. However, it still remains to be an under-researched area. One of the most important issues associated with success in MOOCs is the learner motivation. High dropout and low retention rates have been attributed to learners' low motivation. A recipe for these motivational challenges in MOOCs is provided by the ARCS-V motivational theory. This motivation design model provides a frame for analyzing the MOOCs learners, learning environment, and the resources. Based on this analysis, the model provides suggestions for assigning motivational tactics and strategies. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to introduce Keller's ARCS-V motivational design model and discuss it as a potential remedy to motivational issues in MOOCs by administering and delivering motivation...

This paper introduces an innovative motivational framework for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) instructional design coined as Open Quest Framework (OpenQuest). OpenQuest aims to improve learning and user engagement in MOOCs by drawing lessons from the success of quest-based initiatives, gamified web platforms, and massive-multiplayer online games (MMOs). The framework is grounded on established motivational theories such as the Self-Determination Theory and Situated Motivational Affordance. It supplements existing MOOCs design schemes that usually focus on pedagogy, assessment and technology. It features specific motivational mechanisms including, quests and narration, reputation systems, progression mechanisms, multiple learning pathways, well-designed feedback and social elements, that can be used to enhance learners' engagement and personalize learning.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have recently experienced rapid development and garnered significant attention from various populations. Despite the wide recognition of MOOCs as an important opportunity within educational practices, there are still many questions as to how we might satisfy students' needs, as evidenced by very high dropout rates. Researchers lack a solid understanding of what student needs are being addressed by MOOCs, and how well MOOCs now address (or fail to address) these needs. To help in building such an understanding, we conducted in-depth interviews probing student motivations, learning perceptions and experiences towards MOOCs, paying special attention to the MOOC affordances and experiences that might lead to high drop rates. Our study identified learning motivations, learning patterns, and a number of factors that appear to influence student retention. We proposed that the issue of retention should be addressed from two perspectives: retention as a problem but also retention as an opportunity.

Although MOOCs platforms offer a unique way to provide information for a large cohort of participants, only a small percentage of participants complete MOOCs. The high number of dropouts in MOOCs is a key challenge, and the literature suggests that it can be affected by participants' motivation. However, it is not known how and to what extent motivation influences participants' dropout in MOOCs. There is a need to provide an overview of the role of motivation in MOOCs' retention. In this study, we aimed to identify motivational factors and theories that affect participants' retention in MOOCs and explain how does motivation supports participants to complete MOOCs. To do so, a systematic review was conducted using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria and a set of relevant keywords and databases which resulted in 50 relevant publications. Our analysis led us to identify six main motivational factors that influence participants' MOOCs completion including academic, social, course, personal, professional, and technological motives. These factors were divided into two main categories including need-based motivation and interest-based motivation. The results showed that academic motives play the most important role in participants' MOOCs retention compared to the other factors. It was also found that self-determination theory was used as the most dominant theory to support participants' motivation for MOOCs completion. In addition, the results revealed that the motivational factors not only impacts participants' MOOCs retention directly, but also this impact is mediated by participant satisfaction, self-regulation, attitude toward using MOOCs, performance, engagement, and level of participation. Based on the results, further implications for practice and future research are provided.

Whilst several existing studies on foreign language learning have explored motivation in more traditional settings (Dörnyei, 2003), this paper presents one of the first studies on the motivation of participants in a MOOC. The MOOC, Travailler en français (https://sites.google.com/site/mooctravaillerenfrancais/ home), was a 5-week open online course for learners of French at level B1 of the CEFR, and aimed to develop language and employability skills for working in a francophone country. It took place in early 2014 and attracted more than 1000 participants. Intrinsic motivation (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000), is directly linked to one’s enjoyment of accomplishing a task. We conducted a study based on the cognitive variables of the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), and adapted the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory to the context of a MOOC in order to understand the expectancy beliefs and task values of participants engaging with the MOOC. Participants answered a 40 Likert-type questions on enjoyment/ interest (i.e. I will enjoy doing this MOOC very much), perceived competence (i.e. I think I will be able to perform successfully in the MOOC), effort (i.e. I will put a lot of effort in this MOOC), value/usefulness (i.e. I think that doing this MOOC will be useful for developing my skills), felt pressure and tension (i.e. I think I might feel pressured while doing the MOOC) and relatedness (i.e. I think I will feel like I can really trust the other participants). Results highlight significant factors that could directly influence intrinsic motivation for learning in a MOOC environment. The chapter makes recommendations for LMOOC designers based on the emerging profile of MOOC participants, on their motivation and self-determination, as well as on the pressures they might feel, including time pressures. Finally, the extent to which participants relate to each other, and are able to engage in social learning and interaction, is a real challenge for LMOOC designers. Keywords: LMOOC, motivation, self-determination, enjoyment, competence, usefulness, pressure, relatedness

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) require students' commitment and engagement to earn the completion, certified or passing status. This study presents a conceptual Learning Analytics Activity-Motivation framework that looks into increasing students' activity in MOOCs. The proposed framework followed an empirical data analysis from MOOC variables using different case studies. The results of this analysis show that students who are more active within the offered environment are more likely to complete MOOCs. The framework strongly relies on a direct gamified feedback that seeks driving students' inner motivation of competency.