Completion rates for MOOCs are ridiculously low – and my completion rate specifically is appalling. I did successfully complete Kevin Werbach’s Coursera MOOC on Gamification (which I can recommend although it is business not education focussed) but aside from that there has been a long string of MOOCs that I have signed up for and then slunk away from after a week or two. Most recently this includes ANU’s Edx MOOC on Ignorance. Why did I sign up for that? No idea.

The new MITx (Edx) MOOC however seems like it was made for me. Implementation and Evaluation of Educational Technology.  It starts today, so if you’re interested, there’s still time to get on board.

This is a MOOC that ties directly to my work as a learning technologist and for which I even have a learning outcome / project in mind. I’ve been asked to find a good in-class instant response system (polling/multi-choice) to get better live learner feedback in lectures.

I’ve also read the research indicating that people who pay a small fee are far more likely to complete a MOOC than average participants, so I’ve signed up for a verified certificate.

Now I think I might try to find some study buddies to ratchet up the pressure a little further.

How do you stay motivated in a MOOC? What is your complete/abandon ratio like?