scholarly journals Instructors’ Experience of Designing MOOCs in Higher Education: Considerations and Challenges

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meina Zhu ◽  
Curtis J Bonk ◽  
Annisa R Sari
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Host Institution ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Course Length ◽  
Support Resource ◽  
Time Limitations

As massive open online courses (MOOCs) increase, the large scale and heterogeneity of MOOC participants bring myriad significant design challenges. This mixed methods study explores 143 MOOC instructors’ considerations and challenges in designing MOOCs; 12 of whom were interviewed and had their courses analyzed. The survey, interview, and course review data revealed a variety of considerations and challenges in MOOC design in terms of pedagogy, resources, and logistics. Pedagogical considerations included learning objectives, assessment methods, course length, course content, flexibility, and collaborative learning support. Resource considerations included the affordance of MOOC platforms, support from the host institution and the platform, and the available intellectual and hardware resources. Logistical considerations included the amount of time instructors spent designing the MOOC. The obstacles included pedagogical challenges (engaging students, increasing student interaction, and limited assessment methods), resource challenge (i.e., limitations associated with the affordances of the platform), and logistical challenge (time limitations for designing and developing MOOCs). To address these challenges, the instructors often relied on reviewing other MOOCs. They also sought help from colleagues, their universities, and supporters of the platforms.

EXPRESS: Effects of Payment on User Engagement in Online Courses

2021 ◽  
pp. 002224372110163
Author(s):  
Ali Goli ◽  
Pradeep K. Chintagunta ◽  
S. Sriram
Keyword(s):  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Sunk Cost Effect ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Cost Effect

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have the potential to democratize education by improving access. Although retention and completion rates for non-paying users have not been promising, these statistics are much brighter for users who pay to receive a certificate upon completing the course. We investigate whether paying for the certificate option can increase engagement with course content. In particular, we consider two such effects: (a) the certificate effect, which is the boost in motivation to stay engaged in order to receive the certificate; and (b) the sunk-cost effect, which arises solely because the user paid for the course. We use data from over 70 courses offered on the Coursera platform and study the engagement of individual participants at different milestones within each course. The panel nature of the data enables us to include controls for intrinsic differences between non-paying and paying users in terms of their desire to stay engaged. We find evidence that the certificate and sunk-cost effects increase user engagement by approximately 8%-9%, and 17%-20%, respectively. However, whereas the sunk-cost effect is transient and lasts only for a few weeks after payment, the certificate effect lasts until the participant reaches the grade required to be eligible to receive the certificate. We discuss the implications of our findings for how platforms and content creators may want to design course milestones and schedule the payment of course fees. Given that greater engagement tends to improve learning outcomes, our study serves as an important first step in understanding the role of prices and payment in enabling MOOCs to realize their full potential.

scholarly journals Design and Implementation of an IDE for Learning Programming Languages Using a Gamification Service

2017 ◽  
pp. 295-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Carlos Paiva ◽  
José Paulo Leal ◽  
Ricardo Alexandre Peixoto de Queirós
Keyword(s):  
Programming Languages ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Development Environment ◽  
Integrated Development ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Single Sign On ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Architecture And Design ◽  
Learning Programming

This chapter presents the architecture and design of Enki, an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for learning programming languages on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). This environment can be used as a tool by a Learning Management System (LMS) and a typical LMS such as Moodle can launch it using the Learning Tool Interoperability (LTI) API. Student authentication tokens are passed via LTI, thus integrating Enki in the single sign-on domain of the academic institution. The proposed tool has a web user interface similar to those of reference IDEs, where the learner has access to different integrated tools, from viewing tutorial videos, to solving programming exercises that are automatically evaluated. Enki uses several gamification strategies to engage learners, including generic gamifications services provided by Odin and the sequencing of educational resources. The course content (videos, PDFs, programming exercises) is progressively disclosed to the learner as he successfully completes exercises. This is similar to what happens in a game, where new levels are unlocked as the previous are completed, thus contributing to the sense of achievement.

scholarly journals Initial trends in enrolment and completion of massive open online courses

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katy Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Online Courses ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Good Deal ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Course Length

<p>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>

Understanding learner participation at scale: How and why

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 236-252
Author(s):  
Samaa Haniya ◽  
Luc Paquette
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Learner Participation ◽  
Massive Open Online Course ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
E Learning

Understanding learner participation is essential to any learning environment to enhance teaching and learning, especially in large scale digital spaces, such as massive open online courses. However, there is a lack of research to fully capture the dynamic nature of massive open online courses and the different ways learners participate in these emerging massive e-learning ecologies. To fill in the research gap, this paper attempted to investigate the relationship between how learners choose to participate in a massive open online course, their initial motivation for learning, and the barriers they faced throughout the course. This was achieved through a combination of data-driven clustering approaches—to identify patterns of learner participation—and qualitative analysis of survey data—to better understand the learners’ motivation and the barriers they faced during the course. Through this study we show how, within the context of a Coursera massive open online course offered by the University of Illinois, learners with varied patterns of participation (Advanced, Balanced, Early, Limited, and Delayed Participation) reported similar motivations and barriers, but described differences in how their participation was impacted by those factors. These findings are significant to gain insights about learners’ needs which in turn serve as the basis to innovate more adaptive and personalized learning experiences and thus advance learning in these large scale environments.

scholarly journals Factors Associated with Student Enrollment, Completion, and Dropout of Massive Open Online Courses in the Sultanate of Oman

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 154-169
Author(s):  
Vinu Sherimon ◽  
P. C Sherimon ◽  
Leena Francis ◽  
Disha Devassy ◽  
Teresa K George
Keyword(s):  
Professional Growth ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Course Delivery ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Student Enrollment ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Course Content

This research aims to investigate the elements that influence learners' enrollment in, completion of and dropout from Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). MOOCs attract a vast number of participants, with enrollments growing at an unprecedented rate; however, only a small number of students who enroll, complete their study. In this research, data were collected from 79 participants using an online survey. Professional growth, flexible time, free of charge, and the opportunity to obtain certification were recognized as the four main factors that directly influenced student enrollment in MOOCs. The motivational variables revealed in this study that led to the effective completion of MOOCs included good-quality course videos, straightforward and clear tutor instructions, good course delivery, and useful instructor feedback, among others. The most prevalent reasons for dropout included failure to fulfil the deadline, the instructor's vocabulary, challenging assignments, and difficulty in grasping the course content. The findings of this study can provide educators and decision-makers with the information they need to better understand the factors that influence MOOC student enrollment, completion, and dropout rates, as well as relevant actions to improve the success rates of MOOC.

Faces or Fingers

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia D. Kilpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Community Building ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Content Mastery ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Synchronous Chat ◽  
Audio Video

The use of synchronous sessions in online teaching is rising. In many online courses, students attend webinars, live lectures, and other audio/video sessions built to enhance course content. As more classes move online, there is a need for research that shows the effectiveness of synchronous sessions in both content mastery and community building. This chapter compares student participation in synchronous sessions in an online TESOL methods course in an effort to build community among class members. The synchronous methods compared include video webinars through Blackboard Collaborate (face chats), events in a private Facebook group (finger chats), and synchronous instant messaging (finger chats). Discussion focuses on interaction and community building in the different modes of synchronous chat. The chapter concludes with some suggestions for best practices that can benefit teachers who are looking for ways to enhance participation and build community in synchronous sessions in online courses.

Adaptive Learning Technologies

AI Magazine ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-98
Author(s):  
Nicola Capuano ◽  
Santi Caballé
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Adaptive Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Adaptive Learning Systems

Adaptive learning refers to technologies that dynamically adjust to the level or type of course content based on an individual’s abilities or skill attainment, in ways that accelerate a learner’s performance with both automated and instructor interventions. This column explores adaptive learning, its close relationship to artificial intelligence, and points to several results from artificial intelligence that have been used to build effective adaptive learning systems. The pairing of massive open online courses and adaptive learning has revealed new technical and pedagogical challenges that are currently being explored in various research projects.

scholarly journals Massive open online course completion rates revisited: Assessment, length and attrition

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katy Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Online Courses ◽  
Course Completion ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Attrition Rates ◽  
Start Date ◽  
Massive Open Online Course ◽  
Course Length

<p>This analysis is based upon enrolment and completion data collected for a total of 221 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). It extends previously reported work (Jordan, 2014) with an expanded dataset; the original work is extended to include a multiple regression analysis of factors that affect completion rates and analysis of attrition rates during courses. Completion rates (defined as the percentage of enrolled students who completed the course) vary from 0.7% to 52.1%, with a median value of 12.6%. Since their inception, enrolments on MOOCs have fallen while completion rates have increased. Completion rates vary significantly according to course length (longer courses having lower completion rates), start date (more recent courses having higher percentage completion) and assessment type (courses using auto grading only having higher completion rates). For a sub-sample of courses where rates of active use and assessment submission across the course are available, the first and second weeks appear to be critical in achieving student engagement, after which the proportion of active students and those submitting assessments levels out, with less than 3% difference between them.</p>

scholarly journals Higher Education Lecturers’ Lived Experience of Going Public in MOOCs

Open Praxis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 287
Author(s):  
Ulf Olsson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Going Public ◽  
Good Opportunity ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Teaching In Higher Education

Academics in higher education are used to having their research publications reviewed and openly scrutinized. Teaching in higher education has traditionally been an individual academic’s activity that has taken place in a closed classroom. However, the introduction of open education, particularly massive open online courses (MOOCs) has challenged this. In MOOCs, lectures are recorded and made public for thousands of course participants to view. This study investigates, via semi-structured interviews, how 20 lecturers of 10 MOOCs at six Swedish Universities have experienced this. All have joined the projects voluntarily, but a few have done so with some ambivalence. For them, standing in front of the camera, publishing material and, to some extent, losing control of the course content was scary at the beginning of the projects. Overall, the lecturers overcame this and thought that it was a good opportunity to reach many students, as well as a way to keep up with the changing requirements for teaching in higher education.

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