Increasing MOOC completion rates through social interactions: a recommendation system

Abstract : E-learning research shows students who interact with their peers are less likely to drop out from a course, but is this applicable to MOOCs? This paper examines MOOC attrition issues and how encouraging social interactions can address them: using data from 4 sessions of the GdP MOOC, a popular Project Management MOOC, we confirm that students displaying a high level of social interaction succeed more than those who don't. We successively explore two approaches fostering social interactions: 1) in MOOC GdP5, we give access to private group forums, testing various group types and sizes, 2) in MOOC GdP6, we implement a recommendation system, suggesting relevant chat contacts using demographic and progression criteria. This papers presents our preliminary findings.