Awareness and use of massive open online courses among academic librarians in Ogun state, Nigeria

Abstract

The dynamism of the current digital era requires academic librarians to be lifelong learners who can take advantage of available opportunities to improve their professional competence continuously. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are online learning platforms that provide training to learners at little or no costs. While it is documented that a lot of Africans participate in MOOCs, it is not certain whether academic librarians in Nigeria are aware of and take full advantage of MOOCs. The study surveyed awareness and use of MOOCs among academic librarians in Nigeria. A questionnaire was used for data collection. This was administered to 83 librarians from five randomly selected university libraries in Ogun state, Nigeria. Data were subjected to descriptive analysis. The findings revealed that more than half (61.4%) of the respondents were aware of MOOCs whereas, only (42.9%) enrolled for MOOCs. MIT Open Courseware (40%) was the most popular MOOC website among the librarians. Many (53.3%) of those that enrolled expressed inactive participation. Lack of time (50%) was a major barrier to MOOC participation among librarians. The paper recommended that university as well as library management need to formulate strategies and programs that will promote active participation in MOOC among librarians.

Keywords: MOOCs, Academic Librarian, Awareness, Use