Effectiveness of Language Massive Open Online Courses in Teaching Persian for Nursing Purposes Skills through Social Robots

Using a parallel design, this interventional study explored the effectiveness of robot-enhanced LMOOCs in learning Persian for nursing purposes skills education among 229 non-Iranian students at the Medical University of Isfahan. After conducting a Persian proficiency test, the participants were randomly divided into three groups, namely, CLMOOC, XLMOOC and blended LMOOC to interact with telepresence robots; this way, the arrangement was made for conducting 16 sessions for practicing Persian for nursing purposes through the robot-enhanced LMOOCs. In parallel, the participants’ receptive and productive skills were assessed in the healthcare field. The study was completed through a focus-group interview. While the quantitative data were analyzed through the Repeated Measures ANOVA procedure, the qualitative data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings revealed the functionality of the robot-enhanced LMOOCs in Persian for nursing purposes skills education. The CLMOOC appeared as a highly efficient course for boosting the functionality of the robot-enhanced LMOOCs in Persian for nursing purposes skills education. The participants believed that playing an active role in developing the scenes of LMOOCs can help boost the functionality of LMOOCs in Persian for nursing purposes skills education. The findings could be useful for the medical college authorities who are interested in using new LMOOCs in higher education.