MOOCs are increasingly being considered by universities as an integral part of their curriculum. Nevertheless, there are several challenges that to some extent slow this process, where the most important one is the accreditation challenges and financing. These challenges are particularly important in the context of universities in Scandinavian countries where education is mostly free. In order to gain more insights on the status of proliferation of MOOCs in Scandinavian universities and understand any specific challenges, we conducted a study by analyzing two sources of data: research publications and university websites. Further on, these data have been analyzed using a framework that differentiates and categorizes MOOCs in terms of accreditation and scalability. As a result of this analysis, we have identified the remaining challenges as well as a number of opportunities regarding the full integration of MOOCs in the educational system of the Scandinavian Higher Education Institutions. .
The high penetration of Internet, advances in mobile computing and the rise of smartphone usage has largely enhanced the use of social media in education. Moreover, nowadays social learning network (SLN) platforms have become an important educational technology component in higher education. Despite the fact that SLN are becoming ubiquitous in the higher education, there is relatively not much empirical work done investigating their purposefulness when integrated into the learning activities. This paper aims at exploring the impact of SLN in mobile assisted learning and to provide empirical evidence as to what extent SLN and mobile learning (M-learning) can improve the learning experiences. For this purpose, a quantitative experimental approach is used, and two survey questionnaires were conducted. The data is collected from 120 participants. In this study, we focus our intention on Edmodo and Kahoot platforms, which represent social media based tools that aid and support collaboration, knowledge sharing and group activities among students. Computer science students of the Tetovo University (TU) used these tools throughout one semester. From this study, there is significant evidence that students are very interested to use this SLN in a M-learning setting, indicating that SLN can be one of the promising pedagogical technologies that could contribute effectively to learning process.
The recent proliferation of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has initiated a plethora of research endeavors revolving around new pedagogical methods in higher education. Integrating MOOCs in blended learning can be beneficial in different ways for both learners and instructors. In this position paper, we aim to provide a brief and comprehensive review about the challenges that higher education institutions in Macedonia and Kosovo face while coping with the new trends of flexible or blended learning. Moreover, after describing some real cases of MOOC based flipped classroom learning, we also provide some recommendations in order to enhance and enrich learning experience by employing innovative pedagogies.