ABSTRACT This qualitative case study examined the effect of a six-week, pre-induction socialization Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), “Head Start Online”, on participants’ constructions of their expected study experiences in online or part-time higher education. The data analysed in this study were gathered from participant posts in discussion forums. The forums were purposively located within a course designed to provide a supportive resource and interactive platform for these learners during the early stages of the study lifecycle. The key themes constructed through the analytic process were: goals; community & support; balance; and learning. The data revealed that participant constructions of expected higher education experiences reflected the key messages that the course was designed to communicate and reinforce. In addition, the findings illustrate how specific design elements of the Head Start Online MOOC supported the creation of an engaged learning community within course discussion forums.

中文翻译：

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在线领先：灵活性，过渡和学生成功

摘要此定性案例研究考察了为期六周的入学前社会化大规模在线在线课程（MOOC）“ Head Start Online”对参与者构建在线或非全日制高等教育的预期学习经历的影响。本研究中分析的数据来自讨论论坛中的参与者帖子。目的是将这些论坛设在旨在为学习者生命周期的早期阶段提供支持资源和交互式平台的课程中。通过分析过程构建的关键主题是：目标；社区与支持；平衡; 和学习。数据显示，预期的高等教育经历的参与者构造反映了该课程旨在传达和加强的关键信息。此外，