Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are becoming increasingly popular among academics and learners due to their extended utility beyond standard e-Learning course offerings. One of the unique features of MOOCs is that the participants follow the complete module on their own; A MOOC follower is often not constrained by typical factors that are considered necessary to participate in a blended or e-learning offering. The learning content type and the delivery of learning content can play an important role for MOOC success; importantly attractive learning content can help the self-paced MOOC learners to perform well in their learning process. We explored an improved MOOC setup with virtual reality (VR) support and the paper describes a comparative analysis on the efficacy of MOOC with virtual reality content delivery against standard video based MOOC learner support. The evaluations were carried out with groups of participants having different competency levels relevant to the course topic; one group had learnt the subject matter already whereas the other group was with zero prior knowledge. The results indicated statistically significant better performance from the students who have used VR with MOOC. The student feedback provided valuable insights into the way they perceived their learning interactions with positive responses promoting MOOC VR infusion. Research outcomes can help design effective learning content and interaction within MOOCs for the mainstream teaching and learner support needs.

virtual reality, MOOCs, learner engagement, learning content Offering, learner experience, Immersive technologies for learning