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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

EDU681102 - Module 2, Week 2. Mark Ness, article #3.

Edited link - https://diigo.com/08285j

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

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

Marcum (1997) uses a quote from Jarislav Pelikan to establish the need for archival commitment to preserve information (knowledge) in establishments such as libraries, museums, archives (federal, state and local municipalities) and the like as illustrating "embalming of the dead". To this end, a task force was formed by combining the Commission on Preservation and Access and the Research Libraries Group formed a Task Force on the Archiving of Digital Information. This task force identified a short list of five challenges associated with the preservation of digital artifacts. Specifically, organizational in nature: − "The first line of defense against loss of valuable digital information rests with the creators, providers, and owners of digital information. − Long-term preservation of digital information on a scale adequate for the demands of future research and scholarship will require a deep infrastructure capable of supporting a distributed system of digital archives. − A sufficient number of trusted organizations must exist that are capable of storing, migrating, and providing access to digital collections. − A process of certification for digital archives is needed to create an overall climate of trust about the prospects of preserving digital information. − Certified digital archives must have the right and duty to exercise an aggressive rescue function as a fail-safe mechanism for preserving valuable digital information that is in jeopardy of destruction, neglect, or abandonment by its current custodian" (pp. 358-359). The task force also established a list of greatest organizational challenges opposing support for the preservation of digital information. This list includes the following items: − "Legal bases for deposit and rescue. In individual countries and internationally, legislation and agreements are needed to encourage legal deposit of electronic resources with archival repositories, to enable rescue of abandoned resource

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 - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate open source software (OSS) for digital libraries and collection management and to propose different utilization scenarios based on the characteristics of the tools. Design/methodology/approach - The tools are assessed on the basis of their technical features and options, the type of the content they manage, the support for common library operations such as cataloging and circulation, the searching support and the interoperability options. Then they are evaluated by users and finally a number of usage scenarios are analyzed based on the results of the evaluation. Findings - The basic findings of the study is that open source digital library and collection management tools offer advanced operations and support various metadata and interoperability protocols with easy and user-friendly interfaces. Most of the tools are extensively used under various settings and establishments already. Language support for the interfaces should be extended with more languages and some tools with limited operations should be improved to be of practical use. Practical implications - The findings of the paper could be used support the selection of specific open source tools for various types of establishments. Originality/value - The study reviews the characteristics of a few OSS for digital libraries and collection management and reveals their specific strengths and weaknesses. It also presents a number of realistic scenarios and proposes the usage of specific tools based on time, technology and staff constraints

Ho, A. D., Reich, J., Nesterko, S., Seaton, D. T., Mullaney, T., Waldo, J., & Chuang, I. (2014). HarvardX and MITx: The first year of open online courses (HarvardX and MITx Working Paper No. 1). Retrieved from http://ssrn.com/abstract=2381263 The report analyzes in detail the interaction between the students and courses and draws conclusions based on the findings and suggests further research. One of the insights that makes MOOCs quite different than traditional classroom courses is the usage patterns. The authors pointed out that "[n]ew metrics, far beyond grades and course certification, are necessary to capture the diverse usage patterns in the data. A simple comparison of grades and viewed content shows thousands of users who fit a range of profiles. Of particular interest may be those students who accessed substantial course content but did not participate in assessments." (Ho, et al., 2014, p. 3.)

To Marian: I never really paid that much attention to MOOCs until you presented all this information on them. I suppose distance learning and MOOCs are the wave of the future. I am going to have to learn a lot more about MOOCs to understand where higher education may well be going -- at least at the undergraduate level.

Marian: We have an unusual culture where I work. If there is work, it comes with a price. We have many faculty who feel that they need to be paid a lot more to develop in this platform model. 100 students in a course is hard for them to imagine, but much of the grading can be automated. I would like to encourage the use of MOOCs for a few reasons, but I have two that are of value to the education industry. The first is students who are unsure of their educational goals can take advantage of the free or very low cost access to content to see if the path is for them. Second, there seems to be an opportunity for increased enrollment. This is an area that many institutions across the nation are struggling with. Having so much more online availability and larger classes could be part of the solution.

The preservation of cultural memory falls upon custodians of cultural memory. "Separating usage [allowing users to utilize exact replicas] from the original, digital technology affords multiple, simultaneous uses from a single original in ways that are simply not possible for materials stored in any other form" (p. 2). Although digital technologies afford advantages in the digital preservation of information, using digital technologies for preservation of original works poses ethical and moral concerns not previously encountered. Again, the continual evolution of technological devices and software severely challenges archival efforts. "…technological obsolescence represents a far greater threat to information in digital form than the inherent physical fragility of many digital media" (p. 5). "Jeff Rothenberg, for example, has recently suggested that there may be sufficient demand for entrepreneurs to create and archive emulators of software and operating systems that would allow the contents of digital information to be carried forward and used in its original format" (p. 6). Perhaps the greatest challenges facing digital archiving are "costs and the technical, legal and organizational complexities of moving digital information forward into the future raise our greatest fear about the life of information in the digital future: namely, that owners or custodians who can no longer bear the expense and difficulty will deliberately or inadvertently, through a simple failure to act, destroy the objects without regard for future use" (p. 7). To this end, the "Commission on Preservation and Access and the Research Libraries Group (RLG) have joined together in charging the Task Force on Archiving of Digital Information to take this first essential step toward a national system of digital preservation. They have asked the Task Force to "consult broadly among librarians, archivists, curators, technologists, relevant government and private sector or

American youth are interested in civic engagement as well as in playing with media. A research team commissioned by MTV interviewed more than twelve hundred young people, conducted expert interviews and ethnographies, and took a national poll of a representative sample ages 12-24, between December 2005 and April 2006. The research found, 70% believing in the importance of helping the community, 68% already doing something to support a cause on a monthly basis and 82% describing themselves at least somewhat involved. From this data, it does seem that the majority of young people are convinced that civic engagement (i.e., supporting a social cause of some kind) is something they should be involved. However, there is a strong disparity between interest and involvement, an "activation gap" and there is significant room for growth.

"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

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.

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.

The article identifies common archival issues (i.e., listing and cataloging) associated with archiving digitally created information, due to rapidly changing technologies used to create digital information. This makes it challenging to appropriately list and catalog the moral impacts created by the rapidly emerging technologies. The article (n.d.) states, "ever morphing nature of information technology is changing our ability to even fully understand moral values as they change. Lorenzo Magnani claims that acquiring knowledge of how that change confounds our ability to reason morally '…has become a duty in our technological world'" (section 1.1). The article alerts to impending moral and ethical dilemmas created by smart phone apps that will be soon be capable of streaming biometric data (e.g., vital signs, physical activity logs, caloric intake, etc.) and linking it with GPS tracking to identify geo-locators tied to fluctuations in biometric data via phone applications. The advantage of such technology can lead to promotion of more healthy lifestyles. However, streaming such sensitive biometric information (data) leads to privacy and ethical concerns that are not easily resolved. Other moral, ethical and privacy issues are created surreptitiously when browsing websites on the Internet. "Browser software records all manner of data about our visits to various websites which can, for example, make webpages load faster next time you visit them. Even the websites themselves use various means to record information when your computer has accessed them and they may leave bits of information on your computer which the site can use the next time you visit. Some websites are able to detect which other sites you have visited or which pages on the website you spend the most time on. If someone were following you around a library noting down this kind of information you might find it uncomfortable or hostile, but online this kind of behavior takes place behin

EDU681102 - Module 2, Week 2. Mark Ness, article #4.

"This study which is based on the Technological Acceptance Model (TAM), seeks to explore whether librarians and LIS students are familiar with the newest technological innovations and whether they are ready to accept them. The research was conducted in Israel during the first and second semesters of the 2012 academic year and considered two populations: librarians and LIS students. Researchers used two questionnaires to gather data: a personal details questionnaire, and a mobile technology questionnaire. On the whole, the current study supported the two core variables of the TAM (perceived ease of use and usefulness), as well as personal innovativeness that may predict librarians' and students' behavioral intention to use mobile services in the library." [Abstract from ERIC database.] Link to full-text EbscoHost Education Source database at ESC: http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.library.esc.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=9&sid=6b435564-9bcd-4f6f-95df-581478f9b036%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=94658055&db=eue Aharony, N. (2014). Mobile Libraries: Librarians' and Students' Perspectives. College & Research Libraries, 75 (2), 202-217.

The governance of the Internet provides one of the most important arenas in which new ideas regarding Internet studies can be applied and tested. . "If the government, NGOs and other stakeholders would expand their perspectives on Internet governance derived from more institutionalized arenas, and from a more sophisticated understanding of the way inter-state politics play a role in establishing the pressures and constraints of security policy, it would allow a more critical understanding of the way security claims can be exploited strategically to advance the interests of military and governmental actors'

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 examines technology trends in higher education and how they impact student habits and preferences in college libraries. A study was conducted among students at the Sam Houston State University in East Texas to investigate their usage of electronic devices and technologies such as text messaging, Twitter, podcasts, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, and social networks. Results indicate that students do wish that basic library services were available through the most popular social networking sites and Internet technologies. Topics include a review of literature consulted, methods used, and the demographics of the student body researched. [Abstract from ESC Academic Search Complete database] Link: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.library.esc.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=7&sid=32d26eef-5aab-4af2-ad1a-c9624344797d%40sessionmgr115&hid=126&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=61993848&db=a9h Cassidy, E. D., Britsch, J., Griffin, G., Manolovitz, T., Shen, L., & Turney, L. (2011). Higher Education and Emerging Technologies: Student Usage, Preferences, and Lessons for Library Services. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 50(4), 380-391.