scholarly journals The Technological Dimension of a Massive Open Online Course: The Case of the CCK08 Course Tools

Author(s):  
Antonio Fini

In 2008, a new term emerged in the already crowded e-learning landscape: MOOC, or massive open online course. Lifelong learners can now use various tools to build and manage their own learning networks, and MOOCs may provide opportunities to test such networks. This paper focuses on the technological aspects of one MOOC, the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK08) course, in order to investigate lifelong learners’ attitudes towards learning network technologies. The research framework is represented by three perspectives: (a) lifelong learning in relation to open education, with a focus on the effective use of learning tools; (b) the more recent personal knowledge management (PKM) skills approach; and (c) the usability of web-based learning tools. Findings from a survey of CCK08 participants show that the course attracted mainly adult, informal learners, who were unconcerned about course completion and who cited a lack of time as the main reason for incompletion. Time constraints, language barriers, and ICT skills affected the participants’ choice of tools; for example, learners favoured the passive, filtered mailing list over interactive but time-consuming discussion forums and blogs. Some recommendations for future MOOCs include highlighting the pedagogical purpose of the tools offered (e.g., learning network skill-building) and stating clearly that the learners can choose which tools they prefer to use. Further research on sustainability and instructor workload issues should be conducted to determine the cost and effectiveness of MOOCs. Investigation is also necessary to understand whether such terms as <i>course</i>, <i>drop-out</i>, and <i>attrition</i> are appropriate in relation to MOOCs.

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Zsolt Námesztovszki ◽  
Dorottya Balázs P. ◽  
Cintia Kovács ◽  
Lenke Major ◽  
Dijana Karuović

Manapság egyre több szó esik az időtől és helytől független tanulásról, amely elektronikus eszközök segítségével valósul meg. Ezen eszközök szervezett és összefogott megjelenítését biztosítják a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) típusú kurzusok. Ezek a kurzusok egyre nagyobb népszerűségnek örvendenek az oktatók és a tanulók körében is, és egyre több ilyen struktúrájú képzés jelenik meg. Az utóbbi években magyar nyelvű képzések is egyre gyakrabban érhetők el, azonban ezek működése (az empirikus adatok tükrében) már kevésbé ismert. Ezt a kört bővíti ez a tanulmány, amely a tanulói aktivitás intenzitását vizsgálja a videómegtekintések, a fórumaktivitások és a tesztek kitöltésének ideje alapján három, saját készítésű MOOC felületén. --- Tracing learners' activity patterns in 3 MOOC trainings Nowadays, more and more researchers and teachers are talking about e-learning, which makes education independent of time and place. The MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) provides the organized and coordinated look of these e-learning tools. These courses are becoming more and more popular among instructors and students alike, and there are a number of these sorts of structured courses. In recent years there have also been a great number of courses available in Hungarian too, but their working process is less well-known (in light of empirical data). This study examines the intensity of the student activities during the video-material, the forum activities and the time of completion of the tests, on the basis of three self-made MOOCs.


Author(s):  
Tali Kahan ◽  
Tal Soffer ◽  
Rafi Nachmias

<p class="3">In recent years there has been a proliferation of massive open online courses (MOOCs), which provide unprecedented opportunities for lifelong learning. Registrants approach these courses with a variety of motivations for participation. Characterizing the different types of participation in MOOCs is fundamental in order to be able to better evaluate the phenomenon and to support MOOCs developers and instructors in devising courses which are adapted for different learners' needs. Thus, the purpose of this study was to characterize the different types of participant behavior in a MOOC. Using a data mining methodology, 21,889 participants of a MOOC were classified into clusters, based on their activity in the main learning resources of the course: video lectures, discussion forums, and assessments. Thereafter, the participants in each cluster were characterized in regard to demographics, course participation, and course achievement characteristics. Seven types of participant behavior were identified: <em>Tasters</em> (64.8%), <em>Downloaders</em> (8.5%), <em>Disengagers</em> (11.5%), <em>Offline</em> <em>Engagers</em> (3.6%), <em>Online Engagers</em> (7.4%), <em>Moderately Social Engagers</em> (3.7%), and <em>Social Engagers</em> (0.6%). A significant number of 1,020 participants were found to be engaged in the course, but did not achieve a certificate. The types are discussed according to the established research questions. The results provide further evidence regarding the utilization of the flexibility, which is offered in MOOCs, by the participants according to their needs. Furthermore, this study supports the claim that MOOCs' impact should not be evaluated solely based on certification rates but rather based on learning behaviors.</p>


Author(s):  
Hoi K. Suen

<p>The teach-learn-assess cycle in education is broken in a typical massive open online course (MOOC). Without formative assessment and feedback, MOOCs amount to information dump or broadcasting shows, not educational experiences. A number of remedies have been attempted to bring formative assessment back into MOOCs, each with its own limits and problems. The most widely applicable approach for all MOOCs to date is to use peer assessment to provide the necessary feedback. However, unmoderated peer assessment results suffer from a lack of credibility. Several methods are available today to improve on the accuracy of peer assessment results. Some combination of these methods may be necessary to make peer assessment results sufficiently accurate to be useful for formative assessment. Such results can also help to facilitate peer learning, online discussion forums, and may possibly augment summative evaluation for credentialing.</p>


Author(s):  
Hermano Carmo ◽  
Teresa Maia e Carmo

A sociedade contemporânea é marcada por três macrotendências que a identificam como uma sociedade singular na história humana: processo de mudança acelerada, desigualdade crescente e fibrilhação dos sistemas de poder. Tais tendências têm tido como efeitos um quadro de ameaças e oportunidades que tanto têm constituído gigantesco desafio aos sistemas educativos quanto configuram a urgência de ressocialização de todas as gerações vivas no sentido da construção de uma cidadania global. Nesse contexto, propõe-se um modelo que configura uma estratégia de educação para a cidadania, com dois eixos, quatro vertentes e dez áreas-chave. Seguidamente, descreve-se e discute-se a emergência quase explosiva dos Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) a partir de instituições de ensino superior internacionalmente reconhecidas, no quadro do novo paradigma digital, sua diversidade e seu potencial ainda em aberto. Confrontando a nova abordagem educativa com o modelo de educação para a cidadania proposto, conclui-se constituir um meio robusto para o potenciar.Palavras-chave:Conjuntura. Macrotendências. Educação para a cidadania. MOOC. Tecnologia educativa. Paradigma digital.Link: http://revista.ibict.br/inclusao/article/view/4171/3642


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