Group items tagged

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

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

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

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.

This research paper seeks to relationship between social media and expressions of empathy. Focused primary on Facebook users, the study wanted to determine the amount of a person's positive outlook and the likelihood they would spend time on Facebook, interacting with other people.

This white paper examines the effect of social media as it outpaces society's ability to creates rules of behavior, designed to moderate how people interact with social media and each other.

This article examines what effect online interactive history games have on the achievement and motivation of students in junior high school. A four-week experiment was done comparing students utilizing online games and students not utilizing games and the results indicated that the students who regularly logged into the games were more personally invested in the history material and scored better on their subsequent assessments. This indicates that utilizing gaming, and technology in general, has a positive impact on both student achievement as well as student involvement.

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

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

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

This is right up my alley as a librarian. This article was delivered at a library conference concerning ethics in digital libraries. The article attempts to answer questions relevant to this module such as: How can a democratic right of access to knowledge be guaranteed? How is the integrity and sustainability of these collections economically, technically and culturally guaranteed? SOme of the answers include: How to recognize and articulate ethical conflicts in the information field. To activate their sense of responsibility with regard to the consequences of individual and collective interactions in the information field.

Think about students in special education classrooms. Perhaps you knew these kids when you yourself were in school, or through your own children's classes. Even with this type of daily interaction, you probably don't spend much time thinking about how to improve the ways these students learn, probably because you believe as most do, that it doesn't necessarily impact you or your kids.

The purpose of this paper is to determine how students at the University of Regina would like to interact with the library on their mobile devices and how to best construct a mobile site to suit the university community's needs. Design/methodology/approach - A survey was designed to gather feedback from the university community on their use of mobile devices and how they would want to use the library's resources and services via their mobile device. This survey also attempts to better understand how academic libraries can provide effective mobile services. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to several Canadian academic libraries. Its purpose was to discover what other institutions were doing with mobile technologies. Findings - The survey found that 95.4 percent of students that responded to the survey had a smartphone and 75 percent of them used their mobile phone to access the web. The survey indicated that the library catalogue was the most popular resource chosen to become mobile enabled. The questionnaire distributed to other Canadian academic libraries showed that some libraries were designing and building web apps, while others were creating native apps. Originality/value - With the increase of mobile technology availability and the demand for accessible mobile content, it is imperative that libraries examine how they can provide services to their patrons within this medium in order to continue to provide valuable services. Mobile technologies are constantly changing, so continuous assessment in this area is of importance. [Abstract from ProQuest Research Library Database (at ESC)] Link: http://search.proquest.com.library.esc.edu/pqrl/docview/1317291149/816AB54A77F845FAPQ/1?accountid=8067 Nowlan, G. (2013). Going mobile: Creating a mobile presence for your library. New Library World, 114(3), 142-150. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03074801311304050

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.

The increasing development of virtual reality (VR) technologies has matured enough as to expand research from the military and scientific visualization realm into more multidisciplinary areas, such as education, art, and psychology.

Article noting that our online personalities may not be so different from our offline personalities after all. Moreover how we interact online can be predictive of how we view ourselves, as opposed to being a construct of social media.

A study which examines how the MMORPG game World of Warcraft can create a sense of tribalism amongst its players. The study asks if some people spend a large amount of their time online in the persona of a cyberbully, is there a time which their online persona and can bleed into their real world interactions?

This article discusses the psychological research which shows how people participate in social media affects their interactions with others. Moreover passive displays such as which photos they choice for their profiles can tell a lot about the 'real' person behind the keyboard.

Children with learning disabilities can benefit from technological advances being made, including the use of virtual reality. What is Virtual Reality? Virtual reality allows the user to explore and interact with a three-dimensional (3-D), computer-simulated environment in a seemingly real or physical way, typically using special electronic equipment.