Group items tagged

Cao, M. (2014). Understanding learners' experience in MOOCs: a review of literature. Retrieved from http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/26325 Abstract "MOOCs have become a popular topic in the educational field since 2008. This report reviews the literature from 2008 to March 2014 on the development of MOOCs with a focus on learners' experience. By looking into the topics researchers have been investigating, this review identifies eight themes on this topic: (1) Platforms and Technology, (2) Instructional Materials and Assessment, (3) Instructors, (4) Participants' demographics, (5) Motivation and Engagement Patterns, (6) Self-directed Learning and Learner Interaction, (7) Blended Education, and (8) Completion rates. The review also indicates that MOOC course design (pedagogies, technical support, assessment and instructors) and learner characteristics (motivation, engagement levels, self-directed learning and digital literacy) influence learners' experience. Possible future research questions are also proposed in this report." (p.1) This report is a literature review for a masters by a student at University of Texas at Austin. At the time of writing (March 2014) the author found relatively few references focusing on learners' experience in MOOCs from scholarly journals- 15 in total and she reported on them. These articles disproportionately analyzed cMOOCs as compared with xMOOCs and in both cases data was drawn from relatively early courses. Most references cover only one course. The report identifies 8 themes to categorize the articles' content: (1) Platforms and Technology, (2) Instructional Materials and Assessment, (3) Instructors, (4) Participants' demographics, (5) Motivation and Engagement Patterns, (6) Self-directed Learning and Learner Interaction, (7) Blended Education, and (8) Completion rates. Analysis shows that all these categories are inter-related and affect each other. The author identifies 5 areas for further r

This literature review (2015) by Dr Sarah Hayes, who is a lecturer in Technology Enhanced and Flexible Learning at Aston University, contributes to the MOOCs' debate. "The review demonstrates the breadth and quality of the discussions, and supporting evidence, that are continuing to occur. The review is provided on the basis of offering a wider range of resources, which offer different perspectives and different ways of thinking about the issue of quality that MOOCs generate. "

This article provides a relatively compact, organized overview of the reasons and audiences for assessing teacher performance, followed by a review of various specific methods as actually practiced (mostly in the United States) and evaluating (meta-assessing?) these assessment methods. Despite being described as a "literature review," this reader found it to be more of an overview in general-few specific works of research are discussed. However, this reader will find its references section to be very useful as this project is continued.

Review of teacher appraisal practices.

Yousef, A. M. F., Chatti, M. A., Wosnitza, M., & Schroeder, U. (2015). A Cluster Analysis of MOOC Stakeholder Perspectives. RUSC. Universities and Knowledge Society Journal, 12(1). pp. 74-90. doi http://dx.doi.org/10.7238/rusc.v12i1.2253 Abstract "Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are providing opportunities for thousands of learners to participate in free higher education courses online. MOOCs have unique features that make them an effective Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) approach. Institutions are offering a growing variety of MOOCs. Nevertheless, there are several crucial challenges that should be considered in the development of MOOCs, e.g., the drop-out rate of over 95% of course participants. One of the potential reasons for that is the complexity and diversity of MOOC participants. This diversity is not only related to the cultural and demographic profile, but also considers the diverse motives and perspectives when enrolled in MOOCs. This paper aims to cluster and analyze the different objectives of MOOC stakeholders to build a deeper and better understanding of their behaviors. Our main finding was a set of eight clusters, i.e., blended learning, flexibility, high quality content, instructional design and learning methodologies, lifelong learning, network learning, openness, and student-centered learning. This cluster schema creates a meaningful picture for the MOOC community" (p. 71). This is a peer reviewed scholarly article that uses qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze survey data on MOOC instructors and learners. Responses were relatively low: 158. The context is unclear - where did they get the sampling frame from? And why did they combine the learners and instructors? So there is some question as to the sample and it cannot be generalized. That said, they are innovative in their qualitative analysis. The qualitative work analyzed the open ended questions in their survey. They used a research method that allowed them to catego

Jordan, K. (2014). Initial trends in enrolment and completion of Massive Open Online Courses. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 15(1), 133-160. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/viewFile/1651/2813 Abstract "The past two years have seen rapid development of massive open online courses (MOOCs) with the rise of a number of MOOC platforms. The scale of enrolment and participation in the earliest mainstream MOOC courses has garnered a good deal of media attention. However, data about how the enrolment and completion figures have changed since the early courses is not consistently released. This paper seeks to draw together the data that has found its way into the public domain in order to explore factors affecting enrolment and completion. The average MOOC course is found to enroll around 43,000 students, 6.5% of whom complete the course. Enrolment numbers are decreasing over time and are positively correlated with course length. Completion rates are consistent across time, university rank, and total enrolment, but negatively correlated with course length. This study provides a more detailed view of trends in enrolment and completion than was available previously, and a more accurate view of how the MOOC field is developing." p.133 This is a peer reviewed article by a frequently cited author from the Open University who has set up for other researchers a MOOC Research Literature Browser that currently has 257 annotated research articles. It was written in 2013 using enrolment and completion data that was available on the Internet. It lists the data in a long table (for transparency) and shows in graphs enrolment and completion analysis. The article's main contribution is the aggregation of data for a large number of courses undertaken from 2011-2013 on 3 US based platforms, data not readily ava

The technological development of big data has been considered a phenomenon over the last few years. In this article, authors (Wendy Arianne Günthe, rMohammad H.Rezazade, Mehrizi Marleen Huysman, Frans Feldberg) explore the social and economic values of utilization of these data-sets within organizations --- identifying six debates around how organizations should realize the value from big data at different levels of analysis and practices to re-adjust their priorities and structure in order to benefit from big data science.

Strong, detailed article on how to properly write a literature review including its purpose and what to include. Will provide great assistance for the first time writing especially. At a graduate level it provides a deeper understanding of what is expected.

"Technology acceptance in education has been and continues to be a central concern for researchers, application and platform developers, and educators. Rapid advancements in miniaturization along with the availability of fast, reliable, and affordable networks have sparked an increasing demand by students for better ways to complement their mobile lifestyles in support of their learning. Based on a review of the literature of technology acceptance and trends in mobile device usage in learning, this researcher tested the predictive power of the Mobile Learning Acceptance Model (MLAM) in an online higher education setting. MLAM is an extension of the technology acceptance model (TAM) inasmuch as it seeks to obtain user perceptions of usefulness and ease of use and their effect on user attitude and behavioral intention to use mobile devices for learning. For this research, users included students and faculty. Current literature indicates that student desire for access to a variety of learning resources anywhere anytime is growing yet little is known regarding faculty perceptions regarding mobile learning (m-learning) or on how institutions can position themselves to meet the growing demand. A web-based survey design was used to test MLAM using a previously developed and validated instrument, though updated to include and exclude what is now or no longer applicable and the wording modified to ensure relevancy to the target population studied. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to validate the factor structure. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine which factors had the greatest influence on m-learning acceptance." [Abstract from ERIC database.] Link: http://search.proquest.com.library.esc.edu/docview/1399418322/abstract?accountid=8067 Marrs, K. (2013). An investigation of the factors that influence faculty and student acceptance of mobile learning in online higher education. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.library.esc.edu/pqrl/doc

Mackness, J, Mak, S and Williams, R (2010) The ideals and reality of participating in a MOOC, proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Networked Learning 2010, University of Lancaster, available at: www.lancaster.ac.uk/fss/organisations/netlc/past/nlc2010/ abstracts/PDFs/Mackness.pdf' This is a peer reviewed scholarly article, frequently cited, based on mixed method research which studied the learners in the first connectivist MOOC. As such it was the first study of its kind. It appears to have correctly analyzed the relatively small quantitative sample of learners, including an instructor or two. Its contribution is to test the connectivist theory (Siemens and Downes) with a case. As noted in the abstract "The research found that autonomy, diversity, openness and connectedness/interactivity are indeed characteristics of a MOOC, but that they present paradoxes which are difficult to resolve in an online course. The more autonomous, diverse and open the course, and the more connected the learners, the more the potential for their learning to be limited by the lack of structure, support and moderation normally associated with an online course, and the more they seek to engage in traditional groups as opposed to an open network." P. 266 Analysis was focused on the "characteristics of connectivism outlined by Downes, i.e. autonomy, diversity, openness and connectedness/interactivity" p.266. Generally the research outlines the strengths and weaknesses of cMOOCs using this format. Not a lot of further research is recommended other than using a larger sample in future research and "the aims of experiencing learning within a massive open online network are constrained by a course framework and many design issues and aspects of learner experience remain unresolved." P. 273 Abstract "CCK08' was a unique event on Connectivism and Connective Knowledge within a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) in 2008. It was a course and a network about the emergent practices

Macleod, B. H., Haywood, J., & Woodgate, A. (2015). Emerging patterns in MOOCs: Learners, course designs and directions. TechTrends, 59(1), 56-63. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.library.esc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=452639d7-274a-43d4-9d76-6f20356bc6e1%40sessionmgr115&hid=111 Abstract "Engagement with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) at the University of Edinburgh has emerged from its strategic priorities to explore and innovate in the area of online and technologically supported approaches to teaching and learning. This paper provides an account of analysis aimed at understanding who Edinburgh MOOC learners are, who elects to participate and the aspirations of that population, and the place that the MOOC will occupy in the University's online learning ecology. The analysis addresses a number of predictions that have been made about MOOCs since 2012, including their use for providing educational opportunities to the disadvantaged; global uptake of online learning; growth of an 'educational imperialism'; and the claim that 'MOOCs are for male geeks', and concludes with some observations about the University of Edinburgh's future plans in this space." (p.56) This is a peer reviewed academic article from TechTrends by University of Edinburgh. It analyzes the university's experience with MOOC learners after delivering 6 MOOCs on the Coursera platform, twice each. It presents analysis from 150K questionnaire respondents reflecting 600,000 enrolled learners. Some comparisons are made between the Coursera learners with newer platforms namely FutureLearn (UK) and Rwaq, a Saudi Arabian platform in Arabic. The sample of 20% of MOOC learners is considered representative of Coursera learners generally. Good graphics show results of an

Kizilcec, R. F., Piech, C. and Schneider, E. (2013). Deconstructing disengagement: analyzing learner subpopulations in massive open online courses. In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (pp. 170-179). New York, NY, USA: ACM. doi:10.1145/2460296.2460330 The abstract begins as follows: "As MOOCs grow in popularity, the relatively low completion rates of learners has been a central criticism. This focus on completion rates, however, reflects a monolithic view of disengagement that does not allow MOOC designers to target interventions or develop adaptive course features for particular subpopulations of learners. To address this, we present a simple, scalable, and informative classification method that identifies a small number of longitudinal engagement trajectories in MOOCs." This peer reviewed conference paper goes on to describe how they classified learners and using data analytics from 3 courses as well as survey data from learners they developed 4 classifications. Of these classifications in addition to those who completed the courses, the auditors were of interest. They proceeded to suggest possible areas where the MOOC approaches could be adapted and tested to meet the needs of learners such as auditors. They also considered ways of increasing access and equity.

Emma Baccellieri | Thursday, November 6 2014The computer science department has launched an investigation into academic integrity violations in core course Computer Science 201. All students who are currently enrolled in the class and who took the class in Spring 2014 received an email Wednesday night, notifying them that concerns about academic dishonesty have prompted a review of assignments.

The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy Description: Current issues are now on the Chicago Journals website. Read the latest issue. The Library Quarterly is an international journal focused on research that chronicles libraries as organizations that connect their communities to information. This article was part of required reading but I believe it is applicable to my project.

When reading the literature review about mobile gaming it got me thinking more about online gaming programs to use in the classroom. I did some digging to find this article about the effectiveness of games in education.

Many computer science teachers are very concerned about students cheating in their courses. Surveys report that almost three-quarters of high school students admit to cheating within the past year. John Barrie, founder of the plagiarism-detecting Web site Turnitin.com, says that about a third of the papers submitted to the site have significant levels of plagiarism.

Morris, N., & Lambe, J. (2014). Studying a Mooc : a Guide. Retrieved from http://www.palgrave.com/resources/Product-Page-Downloads/M/Morris-Studying-a-MOOC/Studying-a-MOOC-Neil-Morris-James-Lambe.pdf How-to "free" guide book from Palgrave to help anyone prepare themselves to study a MOOC course. As MOOCs tend to appeal to learners with good digital study habits already - this will bring less technically savvy people familiarity with MOOCs as well as people who are not used to studying in an online environment the essential information that they need to know about the online features. It is extremely clearly written, easy to follow, with good advice in each section and not too long. It covers the A-Z of MOOCs from the learner perspective. It provides really useful hyperlinks for finding courses. (The only information not given is related to the copyright issues for user content.) It is a 'first' as far as I can tell in this sort of study guide. It would be useful to younger students (say highschool level) who have never taken an online course before or to older learners (over 30) who have good study habits but are not familiar with digital technology and online communication methods and etiquette and want to learn how to participate in MOOCs including discussion groups, etc. before they start. I thought that it would be a useful resource prior to starting the MALET programme as it gives a lot of practical advice that is relevant to all online learning.

MOSS is effective in detecting similar structures in nearly every different type of language that we use here at the University at Buffalo, including C, C++, Java, LISP, Perl, Python, Scheme, Matlab and Prolog. As you can guess, it is not fooled by renaming variables, rearranging or functionalizing blocks of code, extracting code to different modules or files, or the placing of NOP or junk code between useful codes. MOSS can also exclude matching base files (code supplied by instructors or TAs) and it can exclude the consideration of code that is matched across many different submissions (code perhaps supplied by a coding book or website, like a sorting algorithm, that is not central to the assignment).

Abstract: In this paper we present a new cheating technique that is successful at defeating cheating detectors and could become popular with students. The idea is to use obfuscating code transformations (such as those found in the SANDMARK tool) to apply a sequence of minor code transformations to a copied programming assignment. This purpose is to produce a copy that will defeat detection. We show that this technique is successful in defeating common plagiarism detectors such as Moss. This paper is offered as a cautionary tale to the Computer Science teaching community. With the advent of powerful code transformation tools it will become necessary to develop correspondingly more powerful cheating detectors, or to revert back to manually testing for plagiarism.

Editorial Board | Tuesday, November 11 2014Some students enrolled in Computer Science 201 found themselves especially anxious evening. The cause wasn't an upcoming midterm exam, but an email from the computer science department notifying students of an investigation into cheating in the class.