What factors impact successful collaboration in virtual learning environments? A study of Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs)

Previous studies on MOOCs show that such virtual learning environments fail to provide social interaction and knowledge exchanges between MOOC participants. which also contribute to high attrition rates (Jordan, 2014). Projects and tasks based on group work are an important element for engaging students in collaborative learning. Collaboration among globally dispersed students can be an important element of the emerging online or blended learning environment pedagogy. It allows isolated students to interact with their peers and extend their individual learning beyond watching videos and taking multiple-choice tests. However, few MOOCS integrate collaborative learning so far, e.g. (Wen, Yang, & Rosé, 2015). Literature reports a multitude of factors that impact group work performance and satisfaction e.g. (Razmerita & Kirchner, 2015; Taras et al., 2013) but also group resistance (Turel & Zhang, 2011) or the intension to join group work in a MOOC (Razmerita, Kirchner, Hockerts, & Tan, 2018). However, little is known about which factors contribute to successful collaboration in a MOOC.