A study by Cornell and Stanford investigated the engagement patterns of more than 300,000 Coursera students and devised a “taxonomy of engagement” that divides MOOC participants into five different types:
1. Bystanders. Bystanders are students who register, but don’t engage much. They may never login at all, or they may poke around, but then disappear.
2. Collectors. Collectors are students who mainly just download the lectures, but don’t participate much in the course.
3. Viewers. Viewers are students who watch the lectures, but don’t do many of the assignments.
4. Solvers. Solvers do the assigned work, but don’t necessarily watch the lectures.
5. All-Rounders. Finally, all-rounders achieve a balance of watching lectures and doing assignments.