scholarly journals Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): Participant Activity, Demographics, and Satisfaction

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Shrader ◽  
Maryalice Wu ◽  
Dawn Owens-Nicholson ◽  
Kathleen Santa Ana
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
University Of Illinois ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽  
The University

This paper examines activity patterns, participant demographics, and levels of satisfaction in multiple MOOC offerings at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from August 2012—December 2013. Using the following guiding questions: “Who are MOOC participants, how do they participate, and were they able to get what they wanted out of the course?” we have uncovered unique patterns of engagement that correlate with certain demographic characteristics. Our analysis employed both qualitative and quantitative methods, and serves as a model for further studies seeking to uncover the significance of participant activity within MOOCs.

Generating Lifelong-Learning Communities and Branding with Massive Open Online Courses

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosana Montes ◽  
Miguel Gea ◽  
Roberto Bergaz ◽  
Belén Rojas
Keyword(s):  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Learning From Others ◽  
The University

The arrival of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has stimulated teachers and universities to change in some ways the teaching methodologies. The success of these massive courses is based on involving students to acquire knowledge and skills in a wider community by learning from others and using active learning practices. MOOC providers also help universities to support the mission of transferring knowledge to society in any kind of area, supporting lifelong learning and adopting some kind of internationalization strategy. This is an ongoing trend where 17 of top 30 universities in the world's adopted MOOC courses. Open learning is a strategic and valuable trend in knowledge society. Opportunities appear in the Anglo and Latin American market, while problems associated with the high drop-out rate, the sustainability, and the feasibility of skill certification should be addressed. In this paper we analyze the properties of a MOOC as a learning community by taking data from a pilot of three MOOC courses performed at AbiertaUGR, the MOOC platform of the University of Granada.

scholarly journals A double-loop evaluation process for MOOC design and its pilot application in the university domain

2017 ◽  
pp. 433-448
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Double Loop ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Know How ◽  
The University ◽  
The Way

The diffusion of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is significantly changing the way people learn and update their knowledge and competencies. Although the benefits characterizing MOOCs, which leverage on free and open access to know-how and digitized materials, there are some challenges which call for improving and enhancing the existing methods and approaches for MOOCs design. By combining theory and practice, this paper presents a process of MOOCs design based on a double-loop phase of evaluation. Specifically, the paper provides evidences on how to take advantage of the learners’ and teachers’ feedback to redesign or rethink the course’s architecture, and especially the storyboard and blueprint. A pilot application of the proposed approach has been made to design a course dealing with entrepreneurship domain, and in particular with crowdfunding. The results of the application are presented to validate the approach and provide teachers and course’s designers with some recommendations.

scholarly journals Identifying and Characterizing Students Suspected of Academic Dishonesty in SPOCs for Credit through Learning Analytics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Jaramillo-Morillo ◽  
José A. Ruipérez-Valiente ◽  
Mario F. Solarte Sarasty ◽  
Gustavo A. Ramírez-González
Keyword(s):  
Academic Dishonesty ◽  
Learning Analytics ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Market Value ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
Academic Recognition ◽  
The University

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been transitioning slowly from being completely open and without clear recognition in universities or industry, to private settings through the emergence of Small and Massive Private Online Courses (SPOCs and MPOCs). Courses in these new formats are often for credit and have clear market value through the acquisition of competencies and skills. However, the endemic issue of academic dishonesty remains lingering and generating untrustworthiness regarding what students did to complete these courses. In this case study, we focus on SPOCs with academic recognition developed at the University of Cauca in Colombia and hosted in their Open edX instance called Selene Unicauca. We have developed a learning analytics algorithm to detect dishonest students based on submission time and exam responses providing as output a number of indicators that can be easily used to identify students. Our results in two SPOCs suggest that 17% of the students that interacted enough with the courses have performed academic dishonest actions, and that 100% of the students that were dishonest passed the courses, compared to 62% for the rest of students. Contrary to what other studies have found, in this study, dishonest students were similarly or even more active with the courseware than the rest, and we hypothesize that these might be working groups taking the course seriously and solving exams together to achieve a higher grade. With MOOC-based degrees and SPOCs for credit becoming the norm in distance learning, we believe that if this issue is not tackled properly, it might endanger the future of the reliability and value of online learning credentials.

scholarly journals An Analysis of the Profiles and the Opinion of Students Enrolled on xMOOCs at the University of Málaga

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 6910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio Ruiz-Palmero ◽  
Daniel López-Álvarez ◽  
Enrique Sánchez-Rivas ◽  
José Sánchez-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Level Of Satisfaction ◽  
The Subject ◽  
High Level ◽  
The University

The study aims to learn more about the profiles of students who attended several Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) at the University of Málaga (Málaga, Spain) and their opinion about them. The results of this study are based on a survey conducted by the students who completed the courses. The number of men and women as a whole is similar, although significant differences can be observed depending on the subject matter of the courses, which is also the case with the age of the students. The data revealed that 80% have university studies and 60% were working. The students in the sample learned about MOOCs mainly from other people (friends, social media, etc.) and showed a high level of satisfaction with them. It is significant that 99.4% would take another MOOC or that 97.9% would recommend it to a friend, colleague, or family member.

scholarly journals TEACHING AN ADVANCED ENGINEERING MOOC: LESSONS LEARNED

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Harris ◽  
William Heikoop ◽  
Allison Van Beek ◽  
James S. Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Online Courses ◽  
Wind Waves ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
The Public ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Internet Connection ◽  
The World ◽  
The University

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) allow anyone in the public to learn from professors at universities across the world. An internet connection is the only requirement to participate in a MOOC. In engineering, the majority of MOOCs are targeted at self-learners, and consequently most courses are based on introductory undergraduate courses. The University of Toronto offered its first advanced engineering MOOC entitled, “Wind, Waves & Tides” based on a mixed fourth-year undergraduate and graduate level course. A total of 11,723 students registered in the course, and 617 students completed the course in its entirety. The following paper describes the experience of teaching a niche interest MOOC and the lessons learned throughout the endeavour.

scholarly journals MOOCs - perspektiver for UC-sektoren i Danmark

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne Wacher Kjærgaard ◽  
Lars Peter Bech Kjeldsen ◽  
Vibe Alopaeus Jelsbak ◽  
Thomas Bendsen
Keyword(s):  
Global Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
Financial Pressure ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Education Market ◽  
The University

I en tid, hvor økonomien er under pres i den danske uddannelsessektor, og hvor ønsket om rationalisering af undervisningen går hånd i hånd med et ønske om øget kvalitet gennem yderligere digitalisering, bliver spørgsmålet om inddragelse af MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) interessant. En MOOC er et gratis kursustilbud uden adgangsbegrænsning og uden begrænsning i deltagerantal. Litteraturen (Barbour, 2012; Kim, 2012) viser, at flere universiteter relativt hovedkulds, og måske mest af frygt for ikke at få en central placering i kapløbet om de internationale studerende, har kastet sig over denne uddannelses- og kursusform. Som et bidrag til en kvalificeret drøftelse af perspektiverne for MOOCs i UC-sektoren beskriver denne artikel fænomenet og diskuterer læringsmæssige perspektiver rettet mod det globale marked for uddannelse. Målet er gennem et litteratur-review og erfaringer fra deltagelse i et antal MOOCs at afdække, hvad det kræver at udbyde en MOOC, hvad andre har gjort, hvem der udbyder, hvem der deltager, og hvilke perspektiver der kunne være for de nordiske lande.Abstract in EnglishDue to an increasing financial pressure in the Danish educational sector and a demand for rationalization as well as higher quality through digitization, the question of whether or not to adopt MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) becomes interesting. A MOOC is a free, online course offered to all with no entry level demands and with no limitation on participant numbers. Studies (Barbour, 2012; Kim, 2012) show that several universities have plunged into this type of courses relatively headlong, perhaps mainly driven by fear of losing out in the competition for international students.  With the intention of contributing to an informed discussion of the university college perspectives of MOOCs, this article describes the phenomenon and discusses its peda-gogical perspectives in the context of the global education market. Through a literature review as well as hands-on participation in a number of MOOCs, the aim is to uncover what it takes to offer a MOOC, what others have done, who the providers are, who the participants are, and what perspectives MOOCs might hold in a Scandinavian context.

scholarly journals Continuing Assessment of Library Instruction to Undergraduates: A General Education Course Survey Research Project

2008 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 370-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Zoellner ◽  
Sue Samson ◽  
Samantha Hines
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Survey Research ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Library Instruction ◽  
Student Responses ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽  
Information Tools ◽  
The University

An assessment project was conducted by the Mansfield Library to evaluate the teaching and content of a research module embedded into a popular undergraduate course, Introduction to Public Speaking, part of the University of Montana's General Education Requirement. The project aimed to develop internal benchmarks and improve the curricula, as needed. Pre- and post-surveys were developed to assess student research confidence, perceptions of information tools, Web evaluation abilities, and assistance-seeking attitudes. Data from 426 student responses were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. The process, results, and analysis of the project are discussed.

scholarly journals To MOOC, or Not to MOOC, That is the Question

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (09) ◽  
pp. 46-47
Author(s):  
Mohamed Gad-el-Hak
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Undergraduate Education ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Lecture Hall ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
University Of Illinois ◽  
College Of Engineering ◽  
The University

This article presents view of two books on massive open online courses (MOOCs). The two books ride on a homologous theme: the revolutionary future of undergraduate education. A Whole New Engineer, by David E. Goldberg and Mark Somerville, describes the change in engineering education that is taking place at the newly minted Olin College of Engineering and the more established the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Another book, The End of College, Kevin Carey prognosticates the future of learning and the university of everywhere based upon emerging MOOCs. Rising tuition prices and a flagging global economy, combined with advances in information technology, are leading to a rapidly changing scene from traditional lecture-hall teaching to online education.

scholarly journals The London Geography Alliance: Re-connecting the school subject with the university discipline

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Standish ◽  
Duncan Hawley ◽  
Tessa Willy
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Secondary School Teachers ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Primary School Teachers ◽  
Subject Knowledge ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
University Lecturers ◽  
The University

The London Geography Alliance was established to provide a network of subject-based support to primary and secondary schools, by linking teachers and university lecturers. Workshops and fieldwork were conducted over a 17-month period to address different aspects of the geography curriculum. The effects of the project were evaluated using qualitative and quantitative methods. Primary school teachers improved their knowledge of geography and their confidence to identify and facilitate geographical learning. Secondary school teachers enhanced their subject knowledge, developed new ideas, schemes of work and resources for teaching, and improved their use of fieldwork techniques. The project showed how teaching in schools can be improved through making links to university disciplines.

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