scholarly journals Does Formal Credit Work for MOOC-Like Learning Environments?

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Engin Kursun
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Goal Orientations ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Innovation In Education ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
And Behavior

<p>Although a number of claims have been made describing massive open online courses (MOOCs) as a disruptive innovation in education, these claims have not yet been proven through research. Instead, MOOCs should perhaps be considered as an integrative model for higher education systems, but to do so will require recognition of credentials. Initial experiments of MOOCs were not offer academic credit, but recently there have been some attempts to offer course credit for MOOCs or MOOC-like courses. However, does earning a credit will affect students’ performance and behavior in MOOCs has not been explored closely. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the effect of crediting on students’ achievement, perceived intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientations, and perceived course value. A causal comparative research design was applied. Data was collected via 516 responses to an online survey and achievement tests. Three credit conditions were compared: credit bearing, non-credit bearing, and credit careless. ANOVA results showed a significant difference between the credit bearing groups and non-credit bearing groups for all dependent variables. The credit bearing group also scored significantly higher achievement scores than the credit careless group. Credit clearly and significantly affected all dependent variables investigated in this study. Therefore, various possible models can be adopted by higher education institutions to integrate MOOCs as a credit. Further studies can explore the effects of credit on students’ online behaviors, such as engagement with online activities and user events on MOOC platforms.</p>

scholarly journals Online Courses in the Higher Education System of Iran: A Stakeholder-Based Investigation of Pre-Service Teachers’ Acceptance, Learning Achievement, and Satisfaction

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 117-142
Author(s):  
Reza Dashtestani
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Learning Achievement ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
University Instructors

This study focused on the acceptance level of higher education stakeholders of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) of online courses in Iran and pre-service teachers’ learning achievement in online courses. Three cohorts of participants who were teaching or learning in online courses included pre-service teachers of TEFL (n=104), TEFL university instructors (n=23), and heads of TEFL departments (n=10). A questionnaire was designed. The Kruskal Wallis test was used to detect differences among the perspectives of the participants. Semi-structured interviews were also utilized. Results indicated that there were significant differences among the perspectives of the three groups of participants about online courses. The pre-service teachers appeared to be relatively positive about online learning, while the university instructors and heads of departments showed a lower level of satisfaction. The participants pointed out several challenges, including the lack of rigor of online courses, the incredibility of the certificates, the lack of technological infrastructures, technical problems, the impractical content of the lessons, the lack of human interaction, the low competence levels of online learning students, and employers’ lack of interest in employing graduates of online courses. The participants also mentioned that pedagogical and technological training was required for both university instructors and pre-service teachers of TEFL. The comparison of pre-service teachers’ mid-term and final scores in the online courses showed a significant difference and improvement of students’ learning achievement in online courses with medium to large effect sizes. In the interviews, the participants also confirmed that online courses could improve student learning.

Massive Open Online Courses

2014 ◽  
pp. 363-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winthrop Gary J. Stockport
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Master Of Business Administration ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
European Business ◽  
Game Changer

This chapter considers the state-of-play as at early May 2013 regarding Free Massive Open Online Courseware (MOOC). It considers whether the initial findings indicate whether MOOCs will prove a “game changer” in higher education. A number of theoretical models such as disruptive innovation theory, technology life cycles, and strategy business models are used to enable a better understanding of the likely potential impact of MOOCs. Data was gathered through investigating the Coursera, Udacity, and edX Websites as well through undertaking a content analysis of the 32 Business and Management courses available on Coursera. It also presents the responses about MOOCs from a small group of potential “customers,” a class of Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) students from a European Business School. Different scenarios are then presented about their potential disruptive impact upon universities. Possible strategies for each scenario are also put forward. Based upon the evidence provided within this chapter, it can be tentatively concluded that MOOCs will not be a “game changer” in the higher education sector.

scholarly journals DO STUDENTS EXPERIENCE FLOW CONDITIONS ONLINE?

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina A. Meyer ◽  
Stephanie J. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Personal Control ◽  
Course Satisfaction ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Mean Frequency ◽  
Online Class ◽  
Significant Difference

This study asked graduate students enrolled in higher education programs at two institutions to ascertain whether and to what extent they experienced nine flow-related conditions in two settings: online courses or surfing or gaming online. In both settings, flow was experienced “sometimes,” although no significant difference in mean frequency was found for the two settings. When asked for examples of flow, however, students gave more examples drawn from non-class-related activities (n = 35) than class activities (n = 3), including researching a number of topics related to health, travel, or shopping, or engaging with Facebook. Finally, students found that online class experiences “frequently” impacted their satisfaction with the course and three flow conditions were found to be correlated with course satisfaction at p ≤ 0.05: clear goals, concentration and focus, and a sense of personal control over activity.

Constructivist Communications Strategies for 21st Century Faculties and Graduate Students

2017 ◽  
pp. 76-101
Author(s):  
Ann W. Armstrong ◽  
Albert J. Gales
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Constructivist Learning Theory ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Information Communications Technologies ◽  
Communications Strategies

The purpose of the chapter is to provide effective communications strategies, instructional strategies, media strategies, and cultural dimension that are critical to designers and faculties that create and deliver online courses using a constructivist foundation, as the participants become increasingly diverse in global online course rooms. Disruptive innovation, which is evidenced in Information Communications Technologies (ICT) throughout higher education classrooms, is changing the way the world learns. Through disruptive innovation, global classrooms are emerging requiring designers and faculties to have deep knowledge of theory and practice. This chapter provides a foundation for a set of related theories and practices that describe the strategies needed to be able to effectively deliver online in an increasingly global context to students in higher education course rooms, using constructivist learning theory as a guide as the disruptive technologies are deployed.

scholarly journals Language Use by Staff Members in Saudi English Higher Education Departments: Beliefs and Gender Differences

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Suliman Mohammed Nasser Alnasser
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
English Departments ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
And Gender

Educational language policies in Saudi Arabia have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. English departments in the country are comprised of male and female staff members who practise these language policies at departmental level and also outside the domain of the classroom and on a variety of occasions. There are several reasons for the use of English (a foreign language) alongside Arabic (the mother tongue) and these have an influence on the shape of current or future language policies. The effect of gender on the selection of particular reasons has not been investigated and this is the focus of the current paper. In the study referred to here, both quantitative (online survey) and qualitative (open-ended section) approaches to data collection were adopted. The context of the study was English departments in Saudi Arabian higher education establishments. The survey consisted of five items (statements) and two questions with open-ended sections. The data was collected from different regions of the country and included male (n = 67) and female (n = 143) staff members. The Chi-Square test of independence was administered to determine the significance of differences found between the two genders and only in one of the five items was a statistically significant difference found. It was, therefore, concluded that males and females in Saudi English departments share similar beliefs with regard to the use of language, with only slight differences between them. This paper discusses the implications of these findings as well as possible areas of investigation for future researchers.

scholarly journals INFORMATION AND MEDIA LITERACY FOR TEACHERS: OVERVIEW OF ONLINE COURSES ON THE PROMETHEUS PLATFORM

2020 ◽  
Vol 9.1 (85.1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergii Sharov ◽  
◽  
Tetiana Sharova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Educational Content ◽  
The Media ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Impact

The article is devoted to an overview of the structure and educational content of online courses on the Prometheus platform, which used for increasing level of info-media literacy of users.It is noted that the rapid technological and information development of society increases the ability of society to exchange information between participants in communication, the formation of new relationships between users, access to large amounts of data. It was found that the consumer often forms an idea of the real world with the help of the media. However, the information offered to him is not always true, which has negative influence to thoughts and behavior of the consumer. Therefore, the realities of the information society actualized purpose for acquiring special competencies related to a critical attitude to information. Modern man must be able to search for the necessary information, recognize fakes, be resistant to manipulative influences.Media education helps to solve the problem of increasing the level of media literacy among consumers of information. It was found that this category is a necessary component of the educational process in higher education, is implemented through appropriate technologies and tools, training and electronic educational resources.One of the means of media education is the platform of mass open online courses. It was found that Ukrainian-language educational platforms provide the principle of open education, are free and accessible to any user.The article reviews three media literacy courses on the Prometheus online platform. Describes the structure and analyzes the educational content of the courses «Media Literacy: Practical Skills», «Media Literacy for Educators», «Access to Public Information: from A to Z». It is noted that they all contain different educational material, provide testing, viewing video lectures lasting 5-15 minutes, have the same navigation bar. After successfully passing the tests for each of the courses, you can get an electronic certificate.In the future, we expect to obtain and analyze empirical data on the impact of online media literacy courses on the level of info-media literacy of higher education students.

scholarly journals Visual and Verbal Engagement of Higher Education Students in Videoconferencing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Händel ◽  
Svenja Bedenlier ◽  
Bärbel Kopp ◽  
Michaela Gläser-Zikuda ◽  
Rudolf Kammerl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Course Characteristics ◽  
The Status ◽  
Potential Factors ◽  
Synchronous Online

Given that videoconferencing serves as a crucial means for remote teaching, the current study investigated higher education students’ (non)use of webcams and engagement in synchronous online courses. Three phases were studied: (1) A state of engagement; (2) antecedents that influence it; and (3) consequences of engagement. In particular, the aim of the study was to describe the status quo of students’ situation-specific engagement and to analyze potential factors contributing to it, namely, course characteristics, behavior of others, and individuals’ perceptions. Furthermore, the extent to which verbal and visual engagement influence each other was investigated. The cross-sectional online survey encompassed 4,143 students from all fields of studies of a comprehensive university. Results indicated that visual and verbal engagement were only slightly related to each other. Structural equation modelling revealed different direct and indirect influences on either visual or verbal engagement in synchronous online higher education courses. Due to the novelty of the research scope, results of this study provide a foundation for further investigation.

scholarly journals Determinants of Academics’ Knowledge Sharing Behavior in United Arab Emirates Universities

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roslina Othman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Private Universities ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Knowledge Sharing Behavior ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Sharing Behavior

This research aims to determine the factors affecting knowledge sharing behavior among academics in United Arab Emirates universities and identify the effect of university type on academics’ behavior. The research adopted Ajzen’s amended Theory of Planned Behavior. Employing an online survey, data were collected from academics in public and private universities using a questionnaire. The model was tested using Partial Least Squares structural equation modeling. The results found a significant difference in academics’ knowledge sharing behavior between public and private universities. Results also revealed that intention is the main determinant of knowledge sharing behavior, and that attitude, subjective norms, and self-efficacy have significant influence on intention while controllability has no influence on it. The significance of this research lies in that it is one of the first to use the amended theory and the only research to address knowledge sharing behavior in higher education in the Arab World. This research provides useful basis for higher education institutions to create a knowledge sharing culture and helps academics to enhance their performance.

Pedagogical transitions experienced by higher education faculty members – “Pre-Covid to Covid”

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharti Pandya ◽  
Louise Patterson ◽  
BooYun Cho
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technological Support ◽  
Anova Test ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Assessment Strategies

PurposeThis study aimed to analyse if significant pedagogical transitions occurred from Pre-Covid-19 to Covid-19 period concerning applied teaching methods, course content, assessment strategies, technical support and faculty's readiness.Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative study wherein perceptions of 116 faculty (from higher education institutions) from 22 countries were collected through an online survey. The authors classified the responses by five measurement characteristics and treatment, that is, Pre-Covid and during Covid. ANOVA test identified the differences between the ten groups. The authors also conducted ANOVA test for five Pre-Covid groups and five Covid groups and found meaningful differences among those groups.FindingsThe authors compared the differences by the treatment, that is, Pre-Covid and Covid, and found the significant difference in teaching methods, assessment strategies and faculty's readiness while there was no significant difference found in course content and technological support.Practical implicationsThe findings and recommendations have a practical application for higher education leaders, curriculum managers and faculty working within this academic environment of online learning either completely remote or hybrid.Originality/valueThe interpretive analysis suggests key improvement areas where education policymakers and higher education strategists need to pay attention to developing strategies and be proactive to cope with any future emergencies whilst maintaining high standards of teaching and learning. This includes devising strategies to prepare faculty competencies to teach in a virtual learning environment, to revamp the assessment strategies and teaching methods.

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