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987759 EAU ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION
Delivering WASH education at scale:
evidence from a global MOOC series
FABIAN SUTER and CHRISTOPH LÜTHI
Fabian Suter is the manager Abstract The water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector is facing a shortfall
of the digital learning of several million appropriately skilled professionals. Massive open online courses
programme at Sandec, the (MOOCs) can play a crucial role in addressing this. This paper presents the case
department of “Sanitation,
study of the MOOC series “Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development”,
Water and Solid Waste for
Development” at Eawag. which has reached over 120,000 learners within six years. It has attracted mainly
well-educated, employed learners, under 34 years old, from Asia, Latin America
Address: Eawag – the and Africa. Underrepresentation of female learners remains a challenge. While
Swiss Federal Institute
MOOCs have proven excellent for delivering WASH education at scale, some
of Aquatic Science and
Technology, Überlandstr. alternative formats (e.g. blended learning, small private online courses) allow more
133, Dübendorf 8600, collaborative, interactive learning environments. Three practical examples from
Switzerland; email: fabian. Nigeria, Indonesia and Mozambique indicate the potential for synergies among
suter@eawag.ch MOOCs and further learning formats. With the global shift towards digital learning
Christoph Lüthi is the due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MOOCs have gained further traction.
department head of Eawag-
Sandec and leads the Keywords capacity development / digital learning / MOOC / WASH
research group “Strategic
Environmental Sanitation
Planning”.
Email: christoph.luethi@
eawag.ch I. Introduction
The immense capacity gaps in human resources in the water, sanitation
and hygiene (WASH) sector(1) are a longstanding issue. In 1991, the UN
1. In this paper, we define Development Programme (UNDP) and UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water
“WASH sector” as the group Education in Delft organized a symposium on water sector capacity
of professionals supporting
the delivery of water and development, which highlighted the gaps in education and training
sanitation services and hygiene opportunities for WASH professionals in low- and middle-income countries
promotion. (LMICs).(2) In 2007, the United Kingdom’s International Development
2. IHE/UNDP (1991), “A strategy Committee argued that the lack of institutional, organizational and
for water sector capacity
individual capacity at the national and local levels is a more serious issue
building”, Proceedings of the
UNDP Symposium, Delft, 3–5 for sustaining sector targets than the lack of financial resources. Likewise,
June. the 2012 United Nations GLAAS report found that only 27 of 67 countries
analysed had sufficient staff to operate and maintain their urban drinking
water systems (and only 11 countries had enough employees for their
rural systems).(3) Clearly, capacity development in most LMICs has not
3. WHO (2012), UN-Water kept pace with the rising need for human resources and well-trained staff
Global Annual Assessment of
for both rural and urban WASH services.
Sanitation and Drinking Water
(GLAAS) 2012 Report: The The most relevant and up-to-date research on human resource
Challenge of Extending and capacity gaps in the sector was published by the International Water
Sustaining Services, Geneva. Association (IWA) in 2014 as an outcome of the multi-year research
project known as the Human Resources Capacity Gap Study. The final
Environment & Urbanization Copyright © 2021 International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). 1
https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247820987759
1–18. DOI: 10.1177/0956247820987759 www.sagepublications.com
ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION
report(4) provided an in-depth analysis of human resource gaps in Africa 4. IWA (2014), An Avoidable
Crisis: WASH Human Resource
and the Asia-Pacific region, using a consistent methodology. The study
Capacity Gaps in 15 Developing
was a wake-up call for the sector to address the serious shortages of human Economies, The Hague.
resources that risk undermining progress in increasing access to safe water
and sanitation for all. The poor situation surrounding the capacity of
institutions involved in water provision and sanitation services is most
severe in sub-Saharan Africa, and the report estimates a staff shortfall of
almost 800,000 professionals to meet universal WASH coverage in the 15
countries included in the study. A key message of the report is that there
can be no sustained progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goal
6, on clean water and sanitation for all, without effective human resource
management and training of the right number and calibre of people.
For urban areas, the latest report on “Progress in Drinking Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene” by the Joint Monitoring Programme estimates a
current coverage of 85 per cent for basic sanitation services and 97 percent
for basic drinking water services. (These figures, however, often fail to
reflect the lack of acceptable provision in the informal settlements that can
house large proportions of the urban population in many towns and cities
in LMICs, and the water indicators fail to take account of quality.(5)) Despite 5. Weststrate, Johanna, Geske
the progress made in recent years, the current pace does not suffice to Dijkstra, Jasper Eshuis, Alberto
Gianoli and Maria Rusca (2019),
achieve universal coverage by 2030.(6) Urban poverty, increasing population “The Sustainable Development
density in cities, and rapid urbanization outpacing infrastructure and service Goal on water and sanitation:
provision are some of the key challenges calling for an integrated approach learning from the Millennium
Development Goals”, Social
providing sustainable solutions for basic urban services, such as sanitation, Indicators Research Vol 143,
water supply, solid waste management and stormwater drainage.(7) The No 2, pages 795–810; also
planning and implementation of these solutions in the coming decade Adams, Ellis Adjei (2018),
requires reaching professionals and students at scale. “Thirsty slums in African cities:
household water insecurity in
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) entered the global educational urban informal settlements of
landscape in 2012 with the revolutionary promise of offering free access Lilongwe, Malawi”, International
to higher education for anyone with internet access. With their scale- Journal of Water Resources
Development Vol 34, No 6,
independent design and open philosophy, they seemed predestined to pages 869–887.
make an important contribution to closing the capacity gap in the WASH 6. UNICEF/WHO (2019),
sector. However, the transition from ideal to reality has raised legitimate Progress on Household
questions, specifically on whether the scalable format of MOOCs has Drinking Water, Sanitation and
been achieved at the expense of equity. Hygiene 2000-2017: Special
Focus on Inequalities, New
This article provides an overview on the history of MOOCs and York.
discusses their potential for the WASH sector with a case study of the 7. Narayan, Abishek and Lüthi,
MOOC series “Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development” Christoph (2020), “Solving urban
(WASH-MOOC series), developed by Eawag-Sandec, the Swiss Federal sanitation – sustainably and
equitably”, Water Environment
Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology. The case study analyses the Federation Vol 43, No 4, pages
learner demographics of this globally available WASH programme, which 18–21.
has attracted over 120,000 enrolled learners within six years, and critically
reflects on challenges, such as low completion rates, overrepresentation
of already privileged learners, the relatively low number of MOOCs
produced in LMICs, and the trade-off between scale-independent design
and contextualized learning. The article concludes with a discussion
about the future of MOOCs in light of the current shift towards digital
learning in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
II. Methodology
A case study approach has been selected to gain a better understanding
of the opportunities and challenges of MOOCs for the WASH sector,
2
D E L I V ER I NG W A S H E D U C A T I O N A T S C A L E
because it allows for investigating a contemporary phenomenon in
8. Yin, Robert (2009), Case depth and within its real-life context.(8) With its broad range of topics
Study Research: Design and (water treatment, sanitation, faecal sludge management, solid waste
Methods, SAGE Publications,
London, 319 pages. management), global reach and continuous high enrolment numbers
over several years, the WASH-MOOC series is well suited to provide a
thorough insight into the MOOC phenomenon and its implications
for the WASH sector. The data used in the case study are drawn from
9. Coursera is the largest Coursera’s(9) course dashboards between April 2014 and May 2020, as
MOOC platform, offering over well as from surveys answered by learners at the beginning (n = 4,300)
4,500 courses to 64 million
and the end (n = 3,143) of all courses of the WASH-MOOC series.(10)
learners globally (https://www.
coursera.org). An important limitation of the case study is the lack of post-course
10. The surveys almost data measuring the impact of the series on WASH professionals and
exclusively contained multiple- learners.
choice questions, with the
exception being an open-ended
question in the final survey
asking for recommendations on III. Moocs – A Brief Overview
how to improve the courses.
When MOOCs emerged in 2012, they challenged the existing educational
models by promising free access to education and equal opportunity
to learners globally. Within months, the first courses offered on newly
11. Class Central provides founded MOOC platforms reached over one million learners.(11) The rapid
regular updates on overall development triggered a debate about disruption and democratization
MOOC learners and courses
across major platforms (https:// of education, and by the end of the year, the New York Times famously
www.classcentral.com), declared 2012 to be the year of the MOOC.(12) Enthusiasts highlighted
including the first major MOOC the “potential to unlock a billion more brains to solve the world’s biggest
platforms: Coursera (https://
www.coursera.org), edX (http://
problems”,(13) while sceptics identified MOOCs’ essential feature as
www.edx.org), and Udacity “short, unsophisticated video chunks, interleaved with online quizzes”(14) and
(https://www.udacity.com). considered them a threat to academia.
12. Pappano, Laura (2012), “The The sudden rise of MOOCs is based on experimentation over several
year of the MOOC”, New York years with technologies and pedagogical concepts for online learning.
Times, 2 November, accessed
15 July 2020 at https://www. Two early initiatives deserve special attention. In 2008, Downes and
nytimes.com/2012/11/04/ Siemens explored new approaches enabled by the internet and social
education/edlife/massive-open- media. They offered a course on “Connectivism and Connectivity
online-courses-are-multiplying-
at-a-rapid-pace.html.
Knowledge” at the University of Manitoba, Canada to 24 paying students
on campus and 2,700 non-paying online students in parallel. The
13. Friedman, Thomas
(2013), “Revolution hits the instructors set up several course sites, including Moodle forums, video
universities”, New York Times, streaming channels and a Wiki. In addition, learners established their
26 January, accessed 15 July own learning spaces, such as blogs and Facebook groups. This course
2020 at https://www.nytimes.
com/2013/01/27/opinion/ coined the term “massive open online course” and is regarded as the
sunday/friedman-revolution- pioneer for “cMOOCs” (connectivist massive open online courses) that
hits-the-universities.html. focus on interaction and connectivity by, according to McAuley et al.,
14. Vardi, Moshe (2012), “Will building “on the active engagement of several hundred to several thousand
MOOCs destroy academia?”,
‘students’ who self-organize their participation according to learning goals,
Communications of the ACM
Vol 55, No 11, page 5. prior knowledge and skills, and common interests”.(15) In 2011, Stanford
15. McAuley, Alexander, Bonnie University created the first “xMOOC” (eXtended massive open online
Stewart, George Siemens course) by successfully exploring the potential of reaching a global
and Dave Cormier (2010), audience at scale with free online courses. Three almost simultaneously
The MOOC Model for Digital
Practice, University of Prince
launched courses on artificial intelligence, data science and machine
Edward Island, Charlottetown, learning reached over 100,000 learners within two months. The courses
64 pages, page 4. focused on knowledge transfer from teacher to learner and were offered
on centralized platforms where students could access new videos
every week, and complete automated multiple-choice quizzes and
programming assignments.
3
ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION
Porter’s definition of MOOCs exemplifies early MOOC definitions,
emphasizing the scale-independent design of MOOCs and the intention
of offering open education:
- Massive: MOOCs are intended to be run at scale, with hundreds or even
thousands of participants and without any limit to student numbers being
imposed.
- Open: MOOCs are intended to be open—with the word ‘open’ used to
imply that access to MOOC is both free of charge and also that access to
MOOCs is unrestricted. [. . .]
- Online: MOOCs are delivered completely online and involve no face-to-
face contact. [. . .]
- Course: One of the key attributes that differentiates MOOCs from an open
educational resource is that they have the characteristics of a traditional
course—they run during a specific time period, based upon prescribed
content, and instruction is provided to the student during that period of time.
As with traditional courses, there is usually also an element of assessment
included in MOOCs, and this may include some form of accreditation.(16) 16. Porter, Sarah (2015),
What Are MOOCs?, Chandos
Publishing, Waltham, 156
As MOOCs have grown in popularity, several alternative definitions pages, page 4.
and taxonomies have been proposed in the literature. Clark expanded
Siemens’ distinction between “cMOOCs” and “xMOOCs” into eight not
mutually exclusive categories of MOOCs according to their pedagogy (e.g.,
groupMOOCs that aim to increase student retention, adaptiveMOOCs
using adaptive algorithms to offer personalized learning experiences,
transferMOOCs mimicking a traditional lecture).(17) Conole’s classification 17. Clark, Donald (2013),
scheme is based on 12 dimensions, such as degree of openness, scale “MOOCs: taxonomy of 8
types of MOOC”, accessed
of participation, or use of multimedia.(18) Pilli and Admiraal propose a 20 July 2020 at http://
taxonomy that positions MOOCs according to their level of openness and donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.
massiveness. They differentiate between large-scale, more open courses com/2013/04/moocs-
taxonomy-of-8-types-of-mooc.
and small-scale, less open courses.(19) Liyanagunawardena follows a more
html.
learner-centred approach and proposes a taxonomy with 13 categories
18. Conole, Grainne (2014), “A
covering information provided to learners before entering a course (e.g., new classification of MOOCs”,
mode of assessment, ratings, use of multimedia).(20) The diversity of The International Journal for
taxonomies underlines the difficulty in accurately classifying MOOCs. Innovation and Quality in
Learning Vol 3, No 3, pages
The costs for production and delivery of MOOCs are highly context- 65–77.
specific. In a study focusing mostly on MOOCs produced in the US, 19. Pilli, Olga and Wilfried
Hollands and Tirthali found overall costs ranging from US$ 38,980 to Admiraal (2016), “A taxonomy
325,330 per course and costs per completer of US$ 74 to 272.(21) Human of Massive Open Online
resources, video production and acquiring access to a MOOC platform are Courses”, Contemporary
Educational Technology Vol 7,
considered key cost drivers. No 3, pages 223–240.
After an initial debate about MOOCs, which was based on anecdotal 20. Liyanagunawardena,
evidence rather than on robust data, a growing number of empirical Tharindu (2019), “A MOOC
studies has started to provide insight on what happens when thousands of taxonomy based on
classification schemes of
people are learning with the same educational material. Three challenges MOOCs”, European Journal of
of particular relevance are low completion rates, overrepresentation of Open, Distance and e-Learning
already privileged learners and the relatively low number of MOOCs Vol 22, No 1, pages 85–103.
produced in LMICs. 21. Hollands, Fiona and
According to Jordan, the completion rates for MOOCs are 6.5 per cent Devayani Tirthali (2014),
“Resource requirements
on average, consistent across university rank and total enrolment, and and costs of developing
completion is negatively correlated with course length.(22) A study by Reich and delivering MOOCs”,
and Ruipérez-Valiente, analysing 261 courses with 5.63 million learners, The International Review
of Research in Open and
offered between 2012 and 2018 on edX, reveals that completion rates did
4
D E L I V ER I NG W A S H E D U C A T I O N A T S C A L E
Distributed Learning Vol 15, No not improve over time and only 52 per cent of enrolled learners actually
5, pages 113–133.
started the course.(23) MOOCs have been repeatedly criticized for their low
22. Jordan, Katy (2014), “Initial completion rates when compared to traditional university courses. However,
trends in enrolment and
completion of Massive Open critiques focusing exclusively on completion rates tend to overlook the fact
Online Courses”, International that auditing a MOOC or other forms of non-completion might still offer
Review of Research in Open a valuable learning experience, and one that suits the learner’s intention.
and Distributed Learning Vol 15,
No 1, pages 133–160.
Low completion rates of MOOCs are not problematic as long as learner
23. Reich, Justin and José
feedback is good. A simple comparison of dropout rates between MOOCs
Ruipérez-Valiente (2019), “The and traditional lectures, without considering learner intention and format-
MOOC pivot”, Science Vol 363, specific incentives, can be misleading.
No 6423, pages 130–131. The well-documented overrepresentation of more affluent and better-
24. Liyanagunawardena, educated MOOC learners(24) is challenging the initial promise of MOOCs to
Tharindu and Shirley Williams
(2013), “The impact and reach democratize education by removing such hurdles as wealth, credentials or
of MOOCs: a developing geographic location. There is an estimated global digital population of 4.1
countries’ perspective”, billion persons, yet a large proportion of global learners are currently unable
eLearning Papers Vol 1, No
33, pages 38–46; also Hansen,
to learn with MOOCs or other digital learning formats, due to the lack of
John and Justin Reich (2015), affordable broadband internet, technology issues or deficiencies in digital
“Democratizing education? learning literacy.(25) The trend towards monetizing MOOCs with paywalls
Examining access and usage for course content and certificates, micro-credentials and degrees is creating
patterns in massive open
online courses”, Science additional hurdles for less affluent learners. At the same time, organizations
Vol 350, No 6265, pages have successfully designed and offered MOOCs for disadvantaged learner
1245–1248. populations. Based on an analysis of a globally diverse set of studies and
25. United Nations Economic reports, Lambert provides an overview of promising approaches tackling
and Social Council (2020),
Progress towards the
inequity in MOOCs, including learner-centred and multilingual course
Sustainable Development design, courses offered at no cost and personal support provided to learners.(26)
Goals, report of the Secretary- A repeatedly published critique refers to the tendency of MOOCs
General prepared for the 2020 to embed Western-centric epistemologies; this perspective calls for a
session, 19 pages, accessed 14
July 2020 at https://undocs.org/ more pluralistic approach, including increased MOOC production in
en/E/2020/57. LMICs.(27) Zhang et al. identify the concentration of MOOC production
26. Lambert, Sarah (2020), “Do in high-income countries and the misalignment with local cultures,
MOOCs contribute to student languages, pedagogies and contexts as the most critical challenge of
equity and social inclusion? A
systematic review 2014–18”,
MOOCs.(28) In 2016, Abidi et al. expressed their surprise regarding the
Computers & Education Vol small number of MOOCs produced in LMICs and, based on their practical
145, 17 pages. experience gained as MOOC producers at the Aga Khan University in
27. Adam, Taskeen (2019), Pakistan, published a roadmap for offering more MOOCs from LMIC
“Digital neocolonialism and institutions.(29) In recent years, universities and training institutes in
massive open online courses
(MOOCs): colonial pasts and LMICs have increasingly positioned themselves as content producers.
neoliberal futures”, Learning, The proliferation of affordable smartphones and mobile data plans have
Media and Technology Vol 44, enabled learners at scale to access MOOCs also in the absence of reliable
No 3, pages 365–380.
landline infrastructure. Today, MOOC platforms based in LMICs (e.g.,
28. Zhang, Ke, Curtis Bonk,
SWAYAM in India, MéxicoX, ThaiMOOC, IndonesiaX, etc.) are offering
Thomas Reeves and Thomas
Reynolds (2020), “MOOCs thousands of courses, which are reaching millions of learners. Highly
and open education in the popular learning apps (e.g., Byju’s in India, Kytabu in Kenya) further
global South: successes and underline the trend towards digital learning.
challenges”, in MOOCs and
Open Education in the Global Over the course of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed
South, Taylor & Francis, New education on a global scale and led to a distinctive shift towards digital
York, pages 1–14. learning. The UN estimates that over 90 per cent of global learners on
29. Abidi, Syed, Aamna all levels have been affected by school closures caused by COVID-19.(30)
Pasha, Greg Moran and Syed
During the crisis, enrolment numbers for MOOCs have drastically
Ali (2017), “A roadmap for
offering MOOC from an LMIC increased worldwide;(31) universities that produced COVID-19-dedicated
institution”, Learning, Media MOOCs for a broader audience (e.g., Imperial College London), or
and Technology Vol 42, No 4, specifically for health professionals (e.g., Javeriana University School of
pages 500–505.
Medicine in Bogotá), have reached thousands of learners. According to the
5
ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION
World Bank, the crisis is an unprecedented shock to education, but also 30. See reference 25.
provides an opportunity to build stronger and more equitable educational 31. In its annual conference on
systems.(32) At the same time, there is also a serious risk that the pandemic 24 April 2020, Coursera stated
that there had been over 10
and the predicted global recession will further increase the digital divide, million course enrolments in
and severely impede achieving SDG 4, which seeks to “Ensure inclusive and 30 days, an increase of 644 per
equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. cent year over year.
32. World Bank (2020), The
COVID-19 Pandemic: Shocks
to Education and Policy
IV. Case study – Mooc Series “Sanitation, Water and Responses, Washington, DC.
Solid Waste for Development”
In 2014, Eawag-Sandec launched the WASH-MOOC series with the goal
of providing free access to high-quality WASH education at any time and
in any place. The series is primarily designed for WASH professionals and
students in LMICs and consists of four courses on water treatment, sanitation
planning, solid waste management and faecal sludge management:(33) 33. For more information:
https://www.eawag.ch/mooc.
- Introduction to Household Water Storage and Treatment
(HWTS-MOOC) covers the most important water treatment methods
at the household level, successful implementation strategies, and
means of assessing the impact of Household Water Treatment and Safe
Storage (HWTS). (https://www.coursera.org/learn/water-treatment).
- Planning & Design of Sanitation Systems and Technologies
(Sanitation-MOOC) deals with how to plan for urban sanitation
at the city and neighbourhood levels, and provides an overview of
different sanitation system and technology configurations. The
course is offered in parallel in English and French. (English version:
https://www.coursera.org/learn/sanitation; French version: https://
www.coursera.org/learn/sanitation-fr)
- Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries
(Solid Waste-MOOC) provides an overview of the municipal solid
waste management situation in LMICs. It covers key elements of the
waste management system, such as its technical, environmental,
social, financial and institutional aspects. (https://www.coursera.org/
learn/solid-waste-management)
- Introduction to Faecal Sludge Management (FSM-MOOC)
focuses on what can be done to work toward solutions for faecal sludge
management in LMICs. It includes an introduction to faecal sludge
management; covers the engineering fundamentals and required
information for the design and selection of technologies, especially for
non-sewered urban and peri-urban contexts; and provides an overview of
innovation in the sector. (https://www.coursera.org/learn/faecalsludge)
The courses are managed in close collaboration by content and
digital learning experts at Eawag-Sandec. They have been produced in
partnership with Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and
its Center for Digital Education, which spearheaded MOOC production
in continental Europe. Inclusiveness is a priority of the courses and is
being targeted through consistent efforts to make the courses accessible
to a multilingual and culturally diverse group of learners, as well as a
collaborative effort to engage with global sector specialists (Photo 1).
Course content is continuously updated in order to promptly embrace
new sector developments (Photos 2 and 3). Free access to the complete
6D E L I V ER I NG W A S H E D U C A T I O N A T S C A L E
PHOTO 1
Charles Niwagaba from Makerere University, Uganda presenting
a video lecture on non-sewered sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa
© Eawag-Sandec (2020).
educational material is offered to all institutions that aim to use the
WASH-MOOC series for educational purposes.
The WASH MOOCs are available for free on the learning platform
Coursera as five-week courses with an estimated workload of 25 hours
each. During the first two years, courses were available exclusively during
the course period of five weeks plus an extra week to prepare for the
final exam. Course materials were uploaded afresh at the beginning of
each week. Since 2016, the courses have been continuously offered in
session format, allowing learners to join a course throughout the whole
year. Each session has fixed start and end dates with suggested deadlines,
incentivizing learners to progress through the course together. Enrolled
learners get immediate access to the full course including videos, readings,
discussion forums and assessments. Due to the short average attention
span in video-based learning, the video lectures are split up into modules
of 6 to 10 minutes and enriched with interactive elements (e.g., quiz
34. Geri, Nitza, Amir Winer and questions, discussion prompts).(34) Learners can test their progress online
Beni Zaks (2017), “Challenging with multiple-choice quizzes, practical assignments and a final exam.
the six-minute myth of online
video lectures: Can interactivity
Discussion forums serve as interaction platforms. Learners who complete
expand the attention span the full series receive a free Statement of Accomplishment from Eawag-
of learners?”, Online Journal Sandec. In addition, Coursera offers an optional course certificate for US$
of Applied Knowledge 49. The courses are offered in English with subtitles in English, French,
Management Vol 5, No 1, pages
101–111. Spanish and Portuguese. Further subtitles (e.g., Hindi, Bangla, Russian)
have been added to individual courses.
a. Reaching WASH learners at scale
Overall, the series has reached 121,649 enrolled learners within six years.
Three courses launched in 2014 and 2015 attracted several thousand
7ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION
PHOTO 2
Rick Johnston and Sara Marks in the video studio at EPFL record-
ing a module on water treatment methods
© Fabian Suter (2015).
PHOTO 3
Animation in the Sanitation-MOOC illustrating the sanitation
service chain
© Eawag-Sandec (2020).
8D E L I V ER I NG W A S H E D U C A T I O N A T S C A L E
Figure 1
WASH-MOOC series – cumulative enrolled learners per course
SOURCE: Coursera dashboards of the WASH-MOOC series (April 2014–May 2020).
35. The HWTS-MOOC offered learners within a limited period of six weeks.(35) The full potential of the
in 2014 and 2015 and the WASH MOOCs, though, came into play when the courses were offered
Sanitation-MOOC offered in
2015 reached 20,359 enrolled continuously from 2016 onwards. Since then, the growth rate has been
learners. constantly high, reaching on average 1,581 new learners every month from
January 2016 to February 2020. In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic
led to a sudden expansion of enrolment numbers, increasing them fourfold.
It is yet unclear if the current growth rate of 5,000 to 6,000 new learners per
month is temporary or the beginning of a long-lasting trend.
Figure 1 represents the substantially different enrolment numbers per
course. Most learners have enrolled in the Solid Waste-MOOC (59,995
learners). This is followed by the Sanitation-MOOC in English (25,908
learners) and HWTS-MOOC (24,873 learners). The FSM-MOOC covers
a more specialized topic, and, hence, has attracted a smaller audience
(6,909 learners). Compared to its English counterpart, the Sanitation-
MOOC offered in French is reaching considerably fewer learners (3,994
learners).
b. WASH MOOC learners = young, well educated, employed,
male and from LMICs
Glass and colleagues, along with other observers, describe typical MOOC
learners as young, male, well educated, employed, and originating from
36. Glass, Chris, Mitsue a high-income country.(36) This description supports the argument that
Shiokawa-Baklan and Andrew MOOCs contribute to the digital divide rather than democratizing
Saltarelli (2016), “Who takes
MOOCs?”, New Directions for
education. The analysis of the learner demographics in the WASH-MOOC
Institutional Research Vol 2015, series shows that this description is an accurate representation of learners
No 167, pages 41–55. in terms of age, gender, education and work status. Between 76 and 80
per cent of learners have completed a bachelor, master or doctoral degree,
9ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION
and the majority are younger than 34 years of age. Female representation
ranges between 26 and 39 per cent among the courses, which is even lower
than the average on Coursera. A majority of learners are professionals.
Only about one-third of learners are categorized by Coursera as full-time
students (32.7 per cent).
In terms of learner origin, however, the data of the WASH-MOOC
series fundamentally contradict the Glass et al. description of typical
learners. In all courses, the vast majority of learners are from LMICs. Most
learners are from Asia (36.8 per cent), followed by Latin America (20.6
per cent), Europe (17.3 per cent) and Africa (15.3 per cent). With over
25,000 learners, India is the country with most enrolled learners. At the
course level, the reach per country and world region vary substantially.
The Solid Waste-MOOC features high enrolment among Latin American
learners (26 per cent versus 11–14 per cent in the other courses). The
HWTS-MOOC and FSM-MOOC have above-average learner numbers from
Asia (47 per cent and 45.6 per cent respectively); and the majority of the
learners in the Sanitation-MOOC offered in French are from francophone
Africa (52 per cent).
The greater representation of learners from LMICs underlines the
attractiveness of the content and format for the primary target group of
the WASH-MOOC series. At the same time, surveys completed by learners
at the end of all four MOOCs(37) revealed that learners from LMICs still 37. In all courses of the WASH-
consider internet access, financial resources and languages to be hurdles. MOOC series, students were
asked to fill in a survey before
Course learners particularly highlight the need to offer improved access starting and after completing a
for learners without reliable or affordable broadband internet (e.g., by course. By June 2020, a total of
reducing file sizes, by offering user-friendly download options of the full 4,300 learners had answered
the initial survey and 3,143
courses), to issue free certificates at the course level and to make courses learners had completed the
available in more languages. Learners from LMICs further recommend final survey.
expanding the content, mainly by adding more case studies and practical
examples from their respective world regions and countries, and increasing
collaboration with local partners (e.g., universities, companies, NGOs,
local authorities) to create contextualized learning offers with credentials.
In the absence of long-term studies measuring the impact of the
WASH MOOCs, final survey answers from course completers provide
some insights on the extent to which the courses can foster students’
ability to get jobs in the WASH sector and broaden the skills of currently
employed professionals to respond to WASH challenges. Most course
completers stated that they were able to use the gained knowledge in their
profession right away (55.4 per cent) or expected to use it in the next five
years (39.5 per cent).
c. Completion rates – the bane of MOOCs?
Compared to other MOOCs, the WASH-MOOC series has above-average
completion rates. Out of 121,649 enrolled learners, 79,642 (65 per
cent) have started and 14,796 (12.1 per cent) have completed a course
(Figure 2). However, the completion rates have only limited information
value if learners’ intentions are not taken into account. The “easy-
in, easy-out” options of most MOOCs allow learners to enrol without
lengthy application protocols or initial payment, and to drop out with
two mouse-clicks. Low completion rates are, therefore, not a bane, but
a logical consequence of a format that also attracts learners who might
10D E L I V ER I NG W A S H E D U C A T I O N A T S C A L E
Figure 2
WASH-MOOC series – cumulative learner numbers per learner
category
NOTES: Within six years, the series has reached 121,649 enrolled learners.
65 per cent of enrolled learners have started a course, and 12.1 per cent
have completed a course.
SOURCE: Coursera dashboards of the WASH-MOOC series (April 2014–May 2020).
be only interested in specific course offerings (e.g., technical aspects of
treatment methods, case studies).
A progress funnel (Figure 3) provides more detailed information
than the completion rate, which simply divides enrolled learners by
course completers. All courses feature the typical high dropout rate at the
beginning and a relatively flat curve from week 2 onwards. Measuring the
number of active learners per month (Figure 4) offers a complementary
indicator to learner engagement. This figure illustrates that the COVID-19
pandemic has not only led to a massive increase of enrolled learners
(Figure 1), but also caused a steep rise in learner engagement.
d. Digital learning formats beyond MOOCs
According to Torrisi-Steele and Drew, higher education in the 21st
century “faces the challenge of providing cost-effective, high quality learning
experiences appropriate to the needs of an ever-increasing, culturally diverse
student population and to meet the competency demands of a digital,
38. Torrisi-Steele, Geraldine knowledge driven society”.(38) While MOOCs have proven to be beneficial
and Steve Drew (2013), for delivering WASH education at scale, they can fall short in providing a
“The literature landscape of
more contextualized learning experience. Blended learning initiatives(39)
blended learning in higher
education: the need for better and so-called SPOCs (small private online courses) have emerged as more
understanding of academic targeted formats that allow more collaborative and interactive learning
blended practice”, International environments. In practice, there is a high synergy potential among these
Journal for Academic
formats.
11ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION
Development Vol 18, No 4,
pages 371–383, page 378.
39. Blended or hybrid learning
combines online and face-to-
face learning. Online materials
are used to complement
in-class learning by offering
additional exercises or content.
Figure 3
WASH-MOOC series – progress funnel
NOTES: The progress funnel shows similar retention rates for all courses of
the WASH-MOOC series. Most learners drop out before starting the course
and before completing week 1. A majority of learners starting week 2
complete the full course.
SOURCE: Coursera dashboards of the WASH-MOOC series (January 2016–May
2020).
Figure 4
WASH-MOOC series – learner engagement per month
NOTES: Learners that have at least completed one course item per month
are categorized as active learners.
SOURCE: Coursera dashboards of the WASH-MOOC series (January 2018–May
2020).
12D E L I V ER I NG W A S H E D U C A T I O N A T S C A L E
PHOTOS 4A AND 4B
Elizabeth Oloruntoba of Ibadan University in Nigeria integrates
MOOC modules into her lecture by jointly watching the videos
(4A) followed by a discussion (4B)
© Ibadan University (2016).
The following three examples from universities and training centres
in Nigeria, Mozambique and Indonesia illustrate the versatile application
potential of MOOCs as a component of online, onsite and blended
learning formats:
- The most common approach chosen by partner institutions is the
integration of selected video modules into an existing onsite lecture.
Photos 4A and 4B show Elizabeth Oloruntoba using a video module
13ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION
in her “Water Supply and Quality Management” course at Ibadan
University in Nigeria. After an introduction to the topic, she watches
the videos together with the learners, followed by a discussion about
the content. Alternatively, partners apply the “flipped-classroom”
mode whereby students learn content by watching video modules of
the WASH-MOOC series outside of the classroom and then come to
class prepared to engage with the content.
- An instructive example of a full-fledged programme based on the
WASH-MOOC series is the ZAMADZI capacity-building initiative in
Mozambique. Directing the learners to the MOOCs on Coursera was
not considered a viable option, due to the language barrier and the lack
of affordable internet. Therefore, the complete series was transferred
to a locally hosted Moodle platform, translated into Portuguese and
merged with onsite activities focusing on the contextualization of
content (e.g., field visits, student presentations, group assignments,
roleplays). The overall learner feedback has been positive. Remaining
challenges are the high costs of data bundles, video-based preparation
for the classes, and the language barrier that continues to exist in
courses, which are subtitled but not fully delivered in the learners’
native languages.(40) 40. A blog post written by
the programme manager
- The course “Kuliah Online Pengelolaan Sampah di Indonesia” provides insights into the
(“Online Lecture on Waste Management in Indonesia”) exemplifies design and management of
the ZAMADZI capacity-building
the development of a more contextualized online course based
initiative. Arsénio, André (2019),
on a MOOC. The course was created jointly by Eawag-Sandec and “Cooperation with EAWAG in
the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB), after local stakeholders the short-course program”,
expressed a demand for easily accessible knowledge on solid waste ZAMADZI blog, 30 September,
available at https://zamadzi.
management issues in Indonesia. The complete Solid Waste-MOOC net/2019/09/30/cooperation-
has been subtitled in Bahasa Indonesia, and local experts have with-eawag-in-the-short-
provided additional video modules on the specifics of solid waste course-program.
management in Indonesia. The contextualized course is hosted by
41. The course is freely
ITB and offered completely online.(41) available on the ITB-webpage
at https://ftsl.itb.ac.id/link/
kuliah-online-pengelolaan-
sampah-di-indonesia.
V. Discussion
Although MOOCs have not fully lived up to the high initial expectation of
democratizing education, they have enriched the educational landscape
by offering free or affordable education to millions of learners globally.
The continued growth in the number of MOOC learners, courses and
platforms indicates that MOOCs are here to stay.
This article has critically examined the opportunities and challenges
of MOOCs for WASH practitioners and students based on the case of
the WASH-MOOC series. The series has reached WASH professionals and
students at an unprecedented scale, with a majority of learners coming from
LMICs. The monthly growth rate of around 1,500 new learners in normal
times, and 5,000–6,000 new learners since the outbreak of COVID-19,
indicates a continuous high demand for online courses in the WASH sector.
The analysis of the students’ demographics shows that WASH MOOCs can
reach learners who will play a crucial role in closing the capacity gaps in the
sector – well-educated and young professionals in LMICs.
With the explicit formulation of a standalone goal on education
(SDG 4: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong
14D E L I V ER I NG W A S H E D U C A T I O N A T S C A L E
learning opportunities for all”) and the integration of numerous education-
related targets within other goals, education is considered a key driver for
the overall achievement of the SDGs by 2030. Can a dedicated MOOC
series make a viable contribution? The transdisciplinary character of the
SDGs is represented in the WASH-MOOC series, which, besides its strong
focus on SDG 6 (“Ensure availability and sustainable management of water
and sanitation for all”), embraces aspects of other goals, such as no poverty
(SDG 1), good health and wellbeing (SDG 3), gender equality (SDG 5), and
sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11). The series can offer learners
new perspectives and knowledge they would otherwise not have access
to. As a case in point, many engineering schools in sub-Saharan Africa
and South Asia continue to teach over-engineered, conventional sewer
systems as the best urban solution for environmental engineering, even
though these systems have failed to reach the vast majority of citizens in
the past decades. The Sanitation-MOOC and the FSM-MOOC presented
in Section IV offer in-depth alternative content for participants to learn
about non-sewered solutions that they would otherwise not have access
to. This leads to the question of whether MOOC learners can convert
the offered learning experiences into practical actions contributing to
the SDGs. Feedback collected from learners at the end of the courses
indicates that a vast majority of course completers are using the gained
knowledge in their profession right away or are expecting to use it in the
next five years. In addition, there is some anecdotal evidence from WASH-
MOOC learners and universities using the courses that the MOOCs are
fostering students’ employability in the WASH sector. However, getting a
better understanding of the extent to which WASH MOOCs are actually
contributing to the SDGs will require further research that entails a
systematic impact assessment.
With a format designed for delivering education at scale, providing a
contextualized learning experience is only possible to a certain extent. It
is, therefore, important to highlight the suitability of MOOCs to serve as
a starting point for high-quality, cost-effective blended learning formats.
This potential for synergies does not come as a surprise, because the initial
experimentation at Stanford University that continues to shape MOOCs
was strongly driven by the aims of making on-campus education more
engaging and making better use of time by enabling students to learn the
core material online and using class time for discussions or experiential
activities. An alternative digital learning format that addresses some of
the shortcomings of MOOCs are SPOCs, which have emerged as a more
targeted format, encouraging cohort-based experiences with smaller
learner groups and defined start and end dates. Their scaled-down
approach allows for the design of content that is tailored to a usually
more homogeneous cohort (e.g. staff from Tanzanian municipal utilities).
SPOCs offer “face time” between instructors and participants, e.g. in-
person orientation, webinars, Q&As, group work, quizzes, capstone
exercises and a reliable mentoring system – in short, a challenging
learning experience that allows participants to acquire new competencies.
Like MOOCs, SPOCs can be sequenced to allow for on-the-job training,
without learners having to take time off.
In the coming years, escalating population growth, exploding
demand for education, diminishing technological hurdles (e.g., rapid
spread of smartphones, fast penetration of landline and mobile broadband
internet), and a growing number of universities that are discovering the
15ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION
potential of MOOCs as an integral component of their curriculum, are
increasingly turning WASH MOOCs into an important and viable option
for learners in LMICs across the globe. Reaching such a diverse learning
population at scale requires a continuous effort to adapt content and
format.
Recommendations from course completers in LMICs particularly
point out the importance of improved access for learners without
affordable broadband internet, additional translations, more case studies
from LMICs, and increasing collaborations with partners in LMICs to
offer contextualized learning offers. Providing free credentials and course
validation is frequently requested by learners but remains a thorny subject.
More development work is needed to create internationally recognized
certification standards for verified achievements. Future digital learning
offers will need to address three distinct issues to become a driving force
in WASH education in the next decade: (i) strengthening inclusion and
equity, particularly by improving the current gender imbalance of MOOC
learners; (ii) gaining a better understanding of learners’ needs, intentions
and behaviours, e.g. by using emerging analytical methods based
on artificial intelligence; and (iii) improving learning experiences by
combining MOOCs with more tailor-made online and blended learning
formats for targeted learning cohorts.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the trend towards
digital learning and has forced educational institutions in the WASH
sector to build up or expand their digital learning offer in a very short
period, leading to a wealth of first-hand experiences with challenges and
opportunities related to digital learning. The practical experiences gained
during the pandemic will influence the design of the post-pandemic
educational systems and raise the expectation that an increasing number
of WASH MOOCs, SPOCs and blended learning initiatives produced by
universities in Asia, Latin America and Africa will reduce the capacity gap
in the WASH sector.
Acknowledgements
We thank Christian Riuji Lohri and Abishek Sankara Narayan for their
helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. We would
also like to express our gratitude to Elizabeth Oloruntoba from the
University of Ibadan, Nigeria and André Arsénio from the ZAMADZI-
programme in Mozambique for sharing their insights on usage and
contextualization of the MOOC series. Many thanks to all instructors
of the WASH-MOOC series (Rick Johnston, Sara Marks, Christian
Zurbrügg and Linda Strande) and their teams for their passion for
digital learning, as well as to the colleagues at the Center for Digital
Learning at EPFL for the fruitful collaboration during the production
of the MOOC series.
Funding
The MOOC programme was supported through funding by the Swiss
Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss Federal
Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag).
16D E L I V ER I NG W A S H E D U C A T I O N A T S C A L E
ORCID iD
Fabian Suter https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5494-4558
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