The objective of the paper is to examine how and what the non-completing participants of MOOCs learn. In this paper we term them invisible learners. The paper presents a qualitative study of learning activities and outcomes of invisible learners. The study consists of 11 interviews with MOOC participants and a survey answered by 51 participants. The results of the study show that invisible learners learn by 1) reading and watching, 2) following and being part of, 3) networking, 4) reflecting and 5) applying. Further, the study shows that the learning outcomes of the invisible learners can be described as 1) inspiration, 2) update, and 3) input for practice. Invisible learners show signs of self-governance by choosing what is relevant to them, and initiating their own learning activities in relation to their own practice. The paper concludes that there are educational potentials of the activities of invisible learners. The study shows that the course format may not be suitable for invisible learners that do not wish to do assignments and follow specific learning objectives. Rather, the educational potential is to provide invisible learners with relevant input to their own practices. To accommodate invisible learners, the challenge is to design courses that provide input and inspiration to learners’ own practices without prescribing what they will learn.

中文翻译：

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迎接MOOC的辍学：探索隐形学习者的潜力

本文的目的是研究未完成的MOOC参与者如何学习以及从中学到什么。在本文中，我们称它们为隐形学习者。本文提出了对隐形学习者的学习活动和结果的定性研究。这项研究包括对MOOC参与者的11次访谈和51位参与者的问卷调查。研究结果表明，无形的学习者通过1）阅读和观看，2）跟随并参与其中，3）联网，4）反思和5）应用来学习。此外，研究表明，隐形学习者的学习成果可以描述为：1）灵感，2）更新和3）实践输入。隐形学习者通过选择与自己相关的事物，并根据自己的实践发起学习活动，从而表现出自治的迹象。本文的结论是，隐形学习者的活动具有教育潜力。研究表明，课程格式可能不适合那些不想做作业并遵循特定学习目标的隐形学习者。相反，教育潜力是为无形的学习者提供与他们自己的实践相关的输入。为了适应看不见的学习者，挑战在于设计课程，以在不规定学习内容的前提下为学习者自己的实践提供输入和启发。教育的潜力是为无形的学习者提供有关其实践的相关投入。为了适应看不见的学习者，挑战在于设计课程，以在不规定学习内容的前提下为学习者自己的实践提供输入和启发。教育的潜力是为无形的学习者提供有关其实践的相关投入。为了适应看不见的学习者，挑战在于设计课程，以在不规定学习内容的前提下为学习者自己的实践提供输入和启发。