The development of online learning programmes requires teachers to introduce modern approaches to education, including mobile applications, online platforms and courses (Tawafak et al., 2021; Tuaycharoen, 2021). Mobile applications are effective for teachers to provide students with educational materials based on visual bases to improve student motivation for learning and promote creativity, critical and lateral thinking with an emphasis on the visual structure of theoretical materials (Sharma et al., 2017). The different functions of mobile devices increase the diversity of the educational processes and facilitate effective video communication for online lessons (for example, Zoom, Skype, Google meet, etc.). Consequently, it is possible to access online educational platforms via mobile phones (Leszczyński et al., 2018). Mobile applications are tools that help to optimise the learning process providing accessibility to the independent management of the educational environment and time (Gupta et al., 2021). Due to their interactive nature based on video and audio materials, the advantages of mobile applications are the development of professional competencies and skills, including creativity, technical competence, critical and lateral thinking (Okuboyejo and Koyejo, 2021). Students can access massive open online courses (MOOCs) via mobile applications. They allow learners to follow all the stages of the learning process, memory development and knowledge sharing since all materials are divided into separate lessons related to one topic. The lessons are united into one educational online course (Troussas et al., 2020).

The modern educational process is mainly dominated by elements of digital practices. They help develop memory and improve knowledge exchange not only between a teacher and a student but also between students. At the same time, it is more challenging to maintain control there over this educational communication and students’ attention (Eldh et al., 2020). The need for online lessons increased in distance learning during the pandemic restrictions. The focus has shifted from the traditional classroom to open online courses, which help students to access full-fledged products for different purposes as interactive additions to the main part of the educational programme (Duan, 2022). In addition to the existing online courses, universities are actively developing new programmes using MOOC platforms (Troussas et al., 2013). Russian universities, along with international platforms, organised local online academies with content that was successfully integrated into the educational process.

During the pandemic, the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and the country’s distinguished university professors developed more than 70 learning courses for an open online academy. In 2022, the university introduced numerous programmes for different specialities using the Moodle virtual learning environment. At the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, more than 200 learning courses were transferred to digital platforms during the pandemic. The MOOCs programmes were developed as optional modules for Bachelors and Masters. They involved a specially designed training programme, available on international educational platforms for students. The most popular educational platforms in Russia are Universarium, Udemy, Eduardo, Stepik, Сoursera, UNIWEB, Open Education, Skillshare, MasterClass, etc.

The advantage of the online MOOC platform is its interactivity focused on the learning process and memory development. The theoretical material is presented through audio and videos, presentations, online lectures or webinars (Yang et al., 2017). In addition, the modules of MOOCs promote open communication between a teacher and course participants in the form of online communication or chatting, which supports the development of communicative competence (Wu, 2021). Courses on the MOOC platform are thematic, and therefore can be applied to both the learning process and personality development (Gameel, 2017).

The present article aims at analysing the impact of mobile applications using MOOCs for the learning process, memory development, knowledge sharing, and ways to increase student motivation to learn. The research objectives are related to the question of whether using mobile applications and online educational platforms improves students’ technical competencies. Moreover, within the framework of the study, a learning programme was developed using MOOCs. The training sessions were conducted based on the programme. The subsequently conducted (second) survey evaluated the effectiveness of training using MOOCs and assessed their impact on the improvement of professional competencies and skills amongst students.

The study’s motivation is related to obtaining new knowledge about the impact of MOOC mobile applications on the learning process, memory development, knowledge sharing, and ways to increase student motivation to learn. This study aims to fill this gap and contribute to the relevant field of knowledge.

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) aroused great interest in the field of higher education (Zhu et al., 2018). Such widespread attention is expected, given the roots of MOOCs and similar forms of open education, which are not a new phenomenon. In fact, MOOC development began in 2007, when David Wiley created the first MOOC or Proto MOOC (Al-Rahmi et al., 2019). MOOCs became even more popular in 2012, shortly after the advent of PLENK2010 (Foley et al., 2019), and rapidly spread worldwide. Currently, there are more MOOC courses, including those from well-known MOOC providers such as Udacity, Coursera, and edX (Wahid et al., 2020). They are available around the world. Despite some skepticism about the future of MOOCs, current data shows that the number of MOOCs is still growing.

Since MOOCs are available at any time, learners can choose the best time for learning. This contributes to the development of self-motivation and self-organisation skills (Kevan et al., 2016; Albelbisi et al., 2021). The online courses for selected programmes allow educators to improve the knowledge base and facilitate the learning process and memory development (Mohamad et al., 2021). The motivation for using MOOCs determines the possibility of self-regulation and self-efficacy amongst students. They can choose the courses for learning purposes and complete them independently (Al-Adwan, 2020). The advantage of MOOCs is the use of gamification to combine the elements of interactivity and gaming principles (Krouska et al., 2020). These factors encourage the creative and strategic thinking of students and help them to find a unique solution to a problem (Aparicio et al., 2019).

Israeli researchers admit that the learner-centred approach as part of MOOCs promotes self-management and brings joy to the learning process (Cohen and Baruth, 2017). Researchers in the US proposed the following factors to consider developing the learning programmes: relevance, interest, measurability, accessibility, and scope (Drake et al., 2015). The Udemy mobile application features online courses in different subject areas. Udemy allows students to use the courses both in the learning process and for self-development (Qiu, 2020). Modern online courses are available on the educational online platform in the Coursera mobile application. The key advantage is the availability of different educational modules on different topics in English (Korableva et al., 2019; Ayoub et al., 2020). The SkillShare mobile application promotes creative, strategic, and lateral thinking by visualising educational courses through video recordings (Qi, 2021). The advantage of the mobile application is the simple structure of the lectures. Therefore, they facilitate interaction between students, practice, and interactive presentation of theoretical material (Troussas et al., 2021). In addition, Chinese researchers note that the courses based on the SkillShare applications are predominantly related to art. They include creativity and art issues, particularly photography, drawing, etc. (Xue et al., 2021).

Researchers from Russia and Indonesia suppose that the iSpring Suite mobile application can be used effectively for the development of online courses (Kirillov, 2021; Umam and Sulaikho, 2021). The application allows students to view and buy ready-to-use online courses and create learning courses from scratch. The main advantage is that the proposed courses can be presented in various forms: the textual part only or webinars, video lectures, and presentations. This allows educators to present theoretical material in an interactive format and motivate students to learn. The iSpring Market mobile application is an online store for selling ready-to-use online courses (Kosareva et al., 2021). Online courses can be developed within the framework of online schools, such as the GetCourse and Learme applications. Scientists from Kazakhstan note that the advantage of GetCourse is thematic modules that facilitate the development of online courses. Consequently, the modules may be combined to create a unique online course with lessons on each topic (Nurgul et al., 2021).

The research by Greek scholars focuses on the LearnWorlds mobile application. The key features of the application are its functionality, including the availability of video and audio materials, online editing of downloaded materials (particularly, the function to add text in an interactive format), and the communication functions that provide interaction between teachers and students (Palaigeorgiou et al., 2017). The Mighty Networks application supports communication functions and the development of communicative competencies. Its main features are a wide range of online threads for discussion enabling communication between all participants (Khaleque and Krasteva, 2021). The Pathwright online platform allows educators to create online courses, based on the action-oriented approach. The online courses clearly define the activities that the student is required to perform throughout the course: reading, writing, listening, etc. (Yu et al., 2017; Friedman, 2018).

Figures 2–7 visualise the responses of a survey conducted before the training based on mobile applications and massive open online courses. Thus, Figure 2 displays the responses to the following survey item: Please, rate the level of your technical competence. The respondents mainly rated their level as average (54%), whilst 43% indicated their level as high and 3% as low.

The majority of students gave a negative answer (60%), and only 40% gave a positive answer to the question Do you use mobile applications in the learning process? It illustrates an insufficient level of modern technologies application in education and the need to introduce them in the educational process (Figure 3).

Figure 4 visualises the answers to the question Are you familiar with massive open online courses (MOOCs)? The answers to the question were as follows: 42% answered Yes, and 58% answered No. However, as noted above, only 40% of students used them in the educational process, which indicated the need not only to inform students about digital platforms but to introduce massive open online courses into the educational process.

When the students were inquired to assess their learning motivation, the majority rated it as average (54%), 42% rated their level of motivation as high and 4% indicated their motivation was low (Figure 5).

Figure 6 shows the answers to the following question: Do mobile applications and online educational courses influence learning, memory development, and knowledge sharing? The majority of students (83%) answered Yes and only 17% answered No to the question. The results confirm the need to implement modern mobile applications and online educational courses into education.

The responses to the question What online educational platforms do you use for your education purposes were as follows: Udemy – 52%, Skillshare – 32%, MasterClass – 20%, Coursera – 54%, EdX – 40%, Udacity – 25% (Figure 7). The highest scores were given to the online platforms Udemy and Coursera.

The second stage included training based on mobile applications using MOOCs. The programme period was 1 month and contained lessons of 45–60 min each. Thus, the teaching methodology was developed using massive open online courses and mobile applications in order to motivate students to use modern technologies in the educational process or training and to develop professional skills and competencies. The training was managed and equipped by the university based on which the experiment took place. The lessons were conducted by educators at each university. The training took place in a remote format, and all participants required a computer or mobile phone with Internet access and downloaded Zoom and Google Meet applications.

The training programme was available on the Moodle online platform intended for distance learning. The students received an access code to the online lessons via the email. Only students and teachers who participated in the first stage of the experiment and registered on the platform had access to the page with the programme and all educational materials. At the same time, teachers were enabled to upload different video and audio materials or links to online courses to the page with the programme. The programme was based on MOOCs; therefore mobile applications such as Coursera, EdX, and Udemy were required for learning. Thus, online courses became the main components of the developed educational programme.

The post-training survey showed improved performance in groups that were trained with MOOCs mobile applications. The answers of respondents who learnt the traditional programme did not change. Consequently, for the survey item Please, rate the development of your technical competence, the indicators amongst the students of the first group did not change (Figure 8).

However, the indicators in the second group were distributed as follows: 58% of respondents rated the their level of technical competence as high, an average level of competence was identified for 39, and 3% noted a low level of competence. A comparative analysis showed that after training in different programmes, half of the first group respondents demonstrated the average level (54%). The students in the second group showed better results for a high level (58%) of technical competence. This indicated the effectiveness of training based on the developed programme.

Figure 9 visualises the responses of both groups to the question Are massive open online courses (MOOCs) used in the learning process? A comparative analysis shows that after the detailed analysis of the MOOCs and training according to the proposed programme, the indicators of the second group increased (61% answered Yes and 39% answered No), respectively. The indicators amongst the first group did not change (40% answered Yes, 60% answered No).

A comparative analysis of responses to the statement Please, rate your motivation for learning showed an increase in indicators demonstrated by the second group, trained according to the developed programme. The results were as follows: high – 50%, average – 47%, low – 3% (Figure 10). However, the answers of the first group involved in learning without the use of MOOCs remained the same (high – 42%, average – 54%, and low – 4%).

The responses to the question Do mobile applications and online educational courses affect the processes of learning, memory development and knowledge sharing? demonstrated that the results in the first group did not change (83% answered Yes, and 17% answered No; Figure 11). The results of the second group, which the developed programme was applied to, changed: 92% answered Yes, and 8% answered No.

Figure 12 shows the responses to the question What online educational platforms do you use in training? The first group used the following platforms: Udemy – 52%, Skillshare – 32%, MasterClass – 20%, Coursera – 54%, EdX – 40%, and Udacity – 25%. However, the indicators amongst the second group participants increased by 10–15%: Udemy – 62%, Skillshare – 42%, MasterClass – 39%, Coursera – 68%, EdX – 55%, Udacity – 40%. This percentage distribution also indicated the need to implement modern educational online platforms in the educational process.

The results of two surveys conducted before and after MOOC training confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed programme. It was confirmed that mobile applications within the framework of MOOCs can be effectively used not only at Russian universities but also at universities in other countries. Thus, the scientists from Malaysia analysed the academic achievements of students studied MOOC-based programmes. The researchers found that students improved their knowledge using massive open online courses (Al-Rahmi et al., 2019; Albelbisi, 2020). Similar research was carried out in Israel. It identified the correlation between the level of students’ motivation to learn and using MOOCs (Magen-Nagar and Cohen, 2016). Israeli scientists concluded that MOOCs were effective tools that influence positively the self-motivation of students. These results are similar to the results of the present experiment and prove that after learning a programme based on mobile applications within the MOOC, the students’ motivation increased from an average (34%) to a high (45%) level.

Researchers from Spain evaluated satisfaction with learning amongst students enrolled in different programmes (Gutiérrez-Santiuste et al., 2015). The scientists used a similar methodology and conducted a comparative analysis of the learning process using MOOCs and the traditional curriculum. Thus, the conclusions made by Spanish scientists showed a higher level of student satisfaction with learning using MOOCs compared to the psychological and sociological indicators of students who followed the traditional curriculum.

In the present research, the majority of students (92%) whose learning was MOOC-based noted the impact of online courses on learning processes, memory development, and knowledge sharing, whilst the students who followed the traditional curriculum showed lower results (82%). Similar research was conducted in Indonesia: students were also divided into two groups trained with or without MOOC technologies (Sukriono and Sudirman, 2020). As a result of the experiment, students enrolled in the Massive Open Online Course programme were able to improve their academic performance from average to high level or from low to average one.

In Scotland, the use of MOOCs encouraged the investigation of psychological indicators, including the motivational component (Terras and Ramsay, 2015). The main similarity with the present research was that using online courses increased motivation by 10–11%. However, Scottish researchers noted that in addition to the positive impact of MOOC technologies, there may also cause psychological barriers or an inability to control the time spent using digital learning applications.

Researchers from the United States analysed the MOOC-based ways to improve students’ motivation. Their study revealed some psychological barriers (lack of readiness for mobile learning, difficulties in using educational online platforms, insufficient self-regulated learning, lack of time, lack of resources, etc.; Rieber, 2017; Shapiro et al., 2017). However, the American study underlines the significance of knowledge, work, availability of resources, and personal interest as factors of motivation for using MOOCs, whilst these issues were omitted in the present experiment.

The research of scientists from England focused on self-regulated learning, the indicators of which were the highest in MOOC-based learning due to the possibility to control the learning time (Onah and Sinclair, 2017). Researchers from Korea and Austria investigated student engagement in MOOC-based learning (Khalil and Ebner, 2017; Jung and Lee, 2018). The key factors influencing students’ involvement in the educational process were as follows: academic self-efficacy, a teacher’s work and the perception of information, including the assessment of its significance by students.

The research on the role of instructors in the learning process based on MOOCs was conducted by Spanish scientists. They analysed the effectiveness of massive open online courses not only for students but also for instructors. They found that MOOCs increased motivation to use modern technologies and online educational programmes on different educational platforms for teaching (Gil-Jaurena and Domínguez, 2018).

The results showed that the use of MOOCs has a positive impact on the educational process and increases the involvement of students in mastering the discipline. The initial survey showed that the average level of technical competence prevailed (54%) for students who were not engaged in the MOOC-based program. At the same time, 43% of them indicated their level as high and 3% as low. Moreover, 60% of respondents noted that they did not use mobile learning applications. About 42% of respondents were familiar with massive open online courses (MOOCs).

More than half of the respondents (54%) rated their motivation for learning as average. The majority of students (83%) noted the influence of mobile applications and online educational courses on learning, memory development, and knowledge sharing. The survey conducted after training showed improvements in performance of the group, which was involved in MOOC-based training on mobile applications. However, the responses of students who followed the traditional programme remained unchanged.

A comparative analysis of the secondary survey results showed an increase in the number of students with high technical competence (58%). It proved the effectiveness of the developed programme. The research significance is related to the possibility of using the programme based on mobile applications and massive open online courses at different university departments. Future research is required to assess the influence of MOOCs on the academic achievements of students from different faculties and analyse students’ motivation for learning.

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Ethical approval was not required for the study involving human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent to participate in this study was obtained from the participants.

KA-S conceived and designed the analysis. AB collected the data. OS contributed data or analysis tools and performed the analysis. KA-S and AB wrote the paper. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.