This paper presents findings of a mixed methods study on the experience of novice learners in a MOOC designed to build skills for successful online learning. The Learn to Learn Online (LTLO) MOOC, a five week course delivered in the Canvas platform, has been delivered in 2015 and 2016. This paper describes the intentions of the design team and the
participants, the pattern of interactions through the initial and second revised offering, and retrospective perceptions of the course. Utilizing the Community of Inquiry (CoI) in regards to design and delivery resulted in the identification of ways in which to support quality delivery of a MOOC. The ongoing efforts to improve and humanize the design approach in the LTLO deliveries, which included common features found in both cMOOCs and xMOOCs, resulted in adjustments for the second offering of the course to better support a nascent CoI and address some of the unexpected dimensions in the initial 2015 offering. Findings related to the MOOC design point to ways in which design and delivery of MOOCs may utilize the CoI framework. Preliminary delivery findings indicate that learners who responded to the survey were very satisfied with the course design and enthused about online learning after their LTLO experience. Learners expressed how the course has enabled them to continue to develop and explore online learning and to integrate it into their own educational practices. Outcomes of this research point to ways in which
MOOCs, designed using a CoI focus, can be developed in scalable ways while maintaining meaningful and quality delivery for learners.

Keywords

cMOOC · CoI Model · community learning · community of inquiry · literature review · MOOC · MOOC Design · xMOOC