About the article

The amount of plastic released into the environment has increased dramatically in recent decades and has a negative impact on marine ecosystems, society and the global economy. The policies put in place to address this problem are inadequate. There is an urgent need for local action based on the current understanding of the factors involved.

The paper examines the potential of MOOCs for disseminating environmental education and mobilising participants to take action themselves. The conclusions drawn from the implementation of a MOOC to combat the problem of marine litter in the world are presented. 

The study describes the activities of 3,632 participants from 64 countries who actively participated in the MOOC Marine Litter, providing them with a range of tools to tackle the problem of marine waste worldwide. The participants drew up a variety of action plans, often for their own region, which also brought them into contact with important (global) networks. Pre- and post-questionnaires examined behavioural changes regarding the actions of the participants in the fight against marine litter. The role of MOOCs is weighed against that of social media, formal education and informal education. 

The findings show that MOOCs are useful instruments for promoting environmental activism and for developing local solutions to global environmental problems. Many initiatives were developed by the participants, such as actions for clean beaches, the reduction of plastic bottles, educational initiatives and the ban on disposable plastic.

Learn more

Want to know more? Download the Open Access article.