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.

some of you referenced Turkle's earlier work, Alone Together, on the ways in which technology is shifting not only our attention spans, but our interpersonal relationships - here is a brief review of Turkle's latest work

To Dr. Gal: Thanks for this link. I read the review. Somehow, I think Turkle's book is going to be more interesting than the review of it! Turkle is right. Most people appear to communicate mainly through their technological devices. At work, some younger employees (in their 20s) don't say anything to you (and I am not the only one who says this about some of these employees). It's as though the notion of conversation has become meaningless (and muted -- like sound that has been muted on your computer!) -- to some people -- unless it is done on some technological device. Then it's OK to unmute the sound. Sometimes I want to ask one of those non-talking 20-somethings if I need to download a sound driver, but I just remain muted -- just like them. Just my thoughts. Robert

Hi Robert, I will have to agree with you about the younger generation and how speaking to each other seems to be a thing of the past. Over the years, I been able to witness the oncoming medical students each year and as technology has advanced in the mobile device arena the less they spoke or interacted with each other.

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

Turkle herself, in a brief commentary on her new book (see review, also tagged here) - Her reference to the interactive dynamics in MOOCs is interesting - something we should attend to as we join our Coursera study later this month.

To Dr. Gal: I would like to read this Chronicle of Higher Education article about Turkle -- but the Chronicle does not allow full access. I will try to find this somewhere so I can read it. Robert

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

Purpose - Society may be on the verge of a revolutionary phase of mobile device use in higher education generally and in libraries in particular. This paper seeks to address this issue. Design/methodology/approach - Through an examination of trends and technological developments in the area of mobile devices and a review of the potential of mobile devices, the paper analyzes the potential of mobile devices in academic libraries. Findings - Most college students own cell phones and laptops and the capabilities of these and other devices are expanding. Research limitations/implications - Libraries have the opportunity to extend new types of services to users of mobile devices and to develop, license, or otherwise make available scholarly content that is configured for mobile devices. Ideally, libraries will become part of an institutional planning process for the development of services for mobile devices. Practical implications - The more pervasive use by students of smartphones, the uptake of e-book readers, and the increasing use of mobile devices in some areas of the curriculum all have implications for libraries. Social implications - Some writers in this area believe that the increased capabilities of mobile devices could lead to new forms of engagement with student learning; this possibility can be embraced by academic libraries that seek to be strong partners in the teaching and learning process of their institution. Originality/value - The paper synthesizes developments and provides suggestions for the future. [Abstract from ESC ProQuest Research Library database] Link: http://search.proquest.com.library.esc.edu/pqrl/docview/200472713/abstract/66E4668274504CDCPQ/1?accountid=8067 Lippincott, J. K. (2010). A mobile future for academic libraries. Reference Services Review, 38(2), 205-213. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00907321011044981

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.

Westerlund, M. (2019). The Emergence of Deepfake Technology: A Review. Technology Innovation Management Review, 9(11), 39-52. https://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1282

Reference Gasevic, D., Kovanovic, V. Joksimovic, S., Siemens, G. (2014). Where is Research on Massive Open Online Courses Headed ? A Data Analysis of the MOOC Research Initiative. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 15(5), 135 -176. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1954/3111

Marian, this is an involved research report on MOOC research initiative! Specifically, the issue of low course completion and high degree of student attrition was often pronounced as the key challenge of MOOCs & that understanding factors that affect student engagement, completion and success in MOOCs is a complicated psychological process. Theory of planned behavior (TPB) - used to study behavioral change - in the study's case, changing students intention to complete a MOOC and thus, increase their likelihood of course completion - it remains to be seen to what extent a student's intention can be changed if the student did not have an intention to complete a MOOC in the first place. What would be a reason that could motivate a student to change their intention in cases when she/he only enrolled in a MOOC to access information provided without intentions to take any formal assessments? Side note - are you aware of (or have you already taken) ESC's EDU-681111 Metacognitive Analysis: U Albany & Empire State College MOOC? Also, you may be interested in reading this article - Beyond MOOCs: Is IT Creating a New, Connected Age? EDUCAUSE Sprint 2013.

"While language learning and place-based learning linked to history, geography, sociology, and social studies are already available for such devices, the next developments are focused on using wearable devices linked to smartphones for self-assessment linked to a much wider range of learning. Imagine being a student four weeks away from final examinations in chemistry. What if your Apple Watch or smartphone asked you chemistry questions related to your course of study twice a day, every day for these four weeks? The daily feedback could help you focus review on topics you are weak in and reinforce your mastery of topics in which you are strong. These adaptive assessments are becoming more widely used and can be linked to open educational resources on the specific topics the student needs to master so as to aid their learning."

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.

This is a short literary review of Jason Ohler's 2008 book (title above). For the purpose of organization, Ohler classifies digital storytelling into three sections: Part I-Storytelling, Education, and the New Media, Part II-The Art and Practice of Storytelling, and Part III- Going Digital. According to Ohler, Digital storytelling is important to society, it shares an interrelationship with technology and it has a place in education, tied to literacy. Regardless of the technology advances made in the future, people will use it to fulfill the inherent need to tell their story. (For proof, just look at the progressive advancement of Snapchat. What began as an app allowing users to send cellphone picts to friends using custom contacts lists image display times of ≤10 sec has evolved to allow creation of Sanpchat Stories allowing users to chronicle daily activities via video clips, images & captions available for friends to view over 24 hr.) Ohler identifies fundamentals of a digital story as: Genre, resonance, active/passive viewing, point of view, emotional engagement, tone, spoken narrative, soundtrack, creativity, media grammar, and more. In addition, the reader is able to see how each element connects to literacy development, inquiry, and the backwards design.

All analyzed economies have copyright limitations and exceptions frameworks to allow certain unlicensed uses of copyrighted materials, e.g. for personal use, review, criticism, parody, educational purposes, etc. To ensure that the legitimate interests of rights holders are respected, laws typically include limitations restricting such content from being used for commercial purposes or from interfering in markets for the original work. (Specific cases when copyright exemptions apply are discussed in greater detail in the main body of the paper

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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.