HOW MALAYSIAN LECTURERS VIEW MOOC AND ITS CHALLENGES

This study addresses a relatively new phenomenon in the Malaysian higher education (Massive Open Online Courses) MOOCs and explored the perception of the Malaysian lecturers on the emerging online learning environment. A qualitative case study was adopted and fifteen lecturers were interviewed from a higher education institution in Malaysia. These lecturers are familiar with the blended learning approach. The in-depth interviews were further transcribed and thematic analysis were considered to identify the emerging themes. The study identified themes related to educational change, design of the instruction, motivational and challenging issues. The findings demonstrated that the lecturers were aware of the transition from traditional classroom teaching to the teaching in the virtual platform. The investigation also contributes to greater understanding of challenges of integrating MOOCs in Malaysian higher institutions. Based on the findings, pedagogical implications are discussed on how workshops should integrate certain aspects related to MOOCs that can be useful for the Heads of Higher Institutions and policy makers. It is hoped that these strategic workshops will increase the effectiveness of MOOC implementation in Malaysian higher institutions.