Decoding and designing massive open online courses (MOOCs)

Purpose This study aims to investigate the attributes of the online programme that are considered and compute their relative importance in the purchase decision. This study aims to identify the most lucrative bundling of these attributes and their levels that can be used by online education companies to craft their product design strategy to attract customers with the most attractive offering. Design/methodology/approach This research paper endeavours to identify the attributes of online education, which customers consider for making a purchase decision. Exploratory factor analysis followed by confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify the key attributes of online education programmes. This paper uses the conjoint analysis technique to identify the most preferred bundling of attributes, which online education companies can package to attract customers. Findings Based on various attributes and their respective levels, it is evident the most lucrative design for attracting customers to buy online education programmes is to provide certification from a reputed international university, which requires an investment to the tune of 3,000–5,000. The duration of four weeks with asynchronous pedagogy and access to course material vial uniform resource locator (URL) is a preferred feature. Access via a mobile application is more preferred over Web access. A phone application is known to be optimised, and most people are using mobile phones to access the internet. Online certification or degrees that are considered as valid employment qualifications were most preferred over other reasons. Originality/value There is a dearth of studies on massive open online courses (MOOCs) from a product design perspective. There is a gap in the context of the features to be included in the MOOCs package so that the customer can find more value in it, and the companies can benefit by expanding their customer base. The research question which this study endeavours to explore is what attributes consumers of MOOCs consider when making a purchase decision. This study will also find the relative importance of these attributes.

Project-based learning in human–computer interaction: a service‐dominant logic approach

Purpose This study aims to propose a service-dominant logic (S-DL)-informed framework for teaching innovation in the context of human–computer interaction (HCI) education involving large industrial projects. Design/methodology/approach This study combines S-DL from the field of marketing with experiential and constructivist learning to enable value co-creation as the primary method of connecting diverse actors within the service ecology. The approach aligns with the current conceptualization of central university activities as a triad of research, education and innovation. Findings The teaching framework based on the S-DL enabled ongoing improvements to the course (a project-based, bachelor’s-level HCI course in the computer science department), easier management of stakeholders and learning experiences through students’ participation in real-life projects. The framework also helped to provide an understanding of how value co-creation works and brought a new dimension to HCI education. Practical implications The proposed framework and the authors’ experience described herein, along with examples of projects, can be helpful to educators designing and improving project-based HCI courses. It can also be useful for partner companies and organizations to realize the potential benefits of collaboration with universities. Decision-makers in industry and academia can benefit from these findings when discussing approaches to addressing sustainability issues. Originality/value While HCI has successfully contributed to innovation, HCI education has made only moderate efforts to include innovation as part of the curriculum. The proposed framework considers multiple service ecosystem actors and covers a broader set of co-created values for the involved partners and society than just learning benefits.

Offline vs online problem-based learning: a case study of student engagement and learning outcomes

Purpose Furthermore, the purpose of this study is to compare the student engagement and the learning outcomes in offline and online PBL in the aforementioned course. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption in various sectors, including education. Since it was first announced in mid-March 2020 in Indonesia, teaching and learning activities have been carried out online. In this study, a comparison of the offline (Spring 2019, prior to the pandemic) and online (Spring 2021, during the pandemic) problem-based learning (PBL) method in the sustainable chemical industry course is investigated. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative analysis was conducted by measuring the students’ engagement, course-learning outcomes (CLOs) and student learning outcomes (SLOs). Difference tests of engagement score, CLOs and SLOs were investigated by using the t-test or Mann–Whitney U-test. Furthermore, the perceived students’ stressors were measured. Findings It is found that the students’ engagement in offline and online PBL gives similar scores with no significant difference. This is possible because of the PBL structure that demands students to be actively engaged in gaining knowledge, collaboratively working in teams and interacting with other students and lecturers. Although similarly engaged, the CLOs and SLOs of online PBL are significantly lower than offline PBL, except for SLO related to oral and written communication skills and affective aspect. The decrease in CLOs and SLOs could be influenced by students’ academic, psychological and health-related stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic time. Originality/value This study provides a recommendation to apply online PBL during the COVID-19 pandemic time and beyond, although some efforts to improve CLOs and SLOs are needed.

Exploring students digital activities and performances through their activities logged in learning management system using educational data mining approach

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the students’ digital activities and their academic performance through two stages. In the first stage, students’ digital activities were studied and clustered based on the attributes of their activity log of learning management system (LMS) data set. In the second stage, the significance of the relationship between these profiles and the associated academic performance was tested statistically. Design/methodology/approach The LMS delivers E-learning courses and keeps track of the students’ activities. Investigating these students’ digital activities became a real challenge. The diversity of students’ involvement in the learning process was proven through the LMS which characterize students’ specific profiles. The Educational Data Mining (EDM) approach was used to discover students’ learning profiles and associated academic performances, where the activity log file exemplified their activities hosted in the LMS. The sample study data is from an undergraduate e-course hosted on the platform of Blackboard LMS offered at a Saudi University during the first semester of the 2019–2020 academic year. The chosen undergraduate course had 25 sections, and the students attending came from science, technology, engineering and math background. Findings Results show three clusters based on the digital activities of the students. The correlation test shows the statistical significance and proves the effect of the student’s profile on his academic performance. The data analysis shows that students with different profiles can still get similar academic performance using LMS. Originality/value This empirical study emphasizes the importance of the EDM approach using clustering techniques which can help the instructor understand how students use the provided LMS content to learn and then can deliver them the best educational experience.

Educational use of free and open source software (FOSS): international development and its implications for higher education

Purpose Free and open-source software (FOSS) has been used worldwide because of the advantages of user control, cost-saving, flexibility, openness, freedom, more security and better stability. The purpose of this study is to explore the status quo of educational application of FOSS and the trends from international perspectives and its implications for higher education in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach The method of cluster analysis was used in this study. The Web of Science database was used as the data source and all relevant literature for the year 2010–2020 on the theme of “FOSS” was collected for analysis. The information visualization software CiteSpace was used for citation visualization analysis, revealing the research results of FOSS worldwide, including hot spots and development trends. Findings This paper found that FOSS has become an important research area and is playing an important role in the reform and development of education. Meanwhile, the development and application of FOSS have regional imbalances and strong differentiation, including the educational sector. The paper also found that although FOSS has entered the stage of interdisciplinary development, the research and development of FOSS in the field of education is insufficient, which poses a huge challenge to decision-makers, teachers and students. Originality/value Implications for higher education in Hong Kong including: attach importance to and vigorously promote FOSS research and practice to benefit more teachers and students; teachers and students need to be trained for acquiring the awareness and skills of FOSS applications and formulate different strategies; the government should provide greater support to formulate and implement a short and middle-term development plan to facilitate the application of FOSS; and Hong Kong higher education institutions may strengthen exchanges and cooperation with counterparts around the world to jointly promote the development of FOSS. It is hoped that the findings will provide a reference for the study and application of FOSS in higher education in Hong Kong.

Considering visual cueing and practice type for software training’s optimisation: a study of domain experts

Purpose Software training is a new trend in software applications. A key problem with software training is that video tutorials are developed without considering the target audience. Although video tutorials are popular, little attention is given to their design features. This study aims to investigate how two multimedia research principles, visual cueing (VC) and practice type, influence task performance, mental effort and motivation. Design/methodology/approach Three video tutorials on non-linear editing were viewed by 118 Computer Science undergraduate students with high information communication technology experience. To analyse the relationships between the research variables, a 2 (non-VC versus VC) × 2 (post-video viewing practice versus stepwise viewing-based practice (SVBP) mixed factorial design was used. Findings The results indicated that neither VC nor SVBP influenced task performance; however, both practice type conditions led to higher levels of motivation. Research limitations/implications The incorporation of VC and practice type in complex software training is less likely to be beneficial for domain experts. Future studies should record eye tracking data to capture learners’ behaviours whilst learning a software application. Moreover, practice targeted with immediate feedback should be incorporated as it enhances scaffolding. Practical implications Neither practice type was considered effective by experts. A practice strategy with user-controlled pausing (i.e. markers) could enhance retention by allowing users to practice tasks after locating the most relevant parts of the video tutorial. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by investigating two guidelines: VC and practice type in the context of complex software training targeting domain experts.

Synchronous online flip learning with formative gamification quiz: instruction during COVID-19

Purpose This study aims to present research evidence on the relevance of online gamification flip learning as a pedagogical instruction in promoting learning engagement when college students are impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In this study, a gamified formative assessment was used to examine learner engagement and to evaluate the effectiveness of gamification within a synchronous online flipped instruction. Design/methodology/approach A multiphase mixed methods research design was used for this study. The evaluation relied on triangulated evidence gathered through questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews administered at an Indonesian college setting. Findings Based on the findings, gamified learning and formative assessments that adopt online flipped approaches have shown a positive bearing on learner engagement, despite the challenges learners face while harrowing through times of calamity. The results of this study provide prima facie support for the claim that the use of interactive gamified e-quizzes proves to be an innovative means of stimulating student engagement during the online class. Originality/value The results further suggest that a learning framework that incorporates both online flipped and gamification techniques provide the stimulus that is likely to forge an emotional connection that can inspire learner engagement, much needed when learners rally through calamitous events. This study has established evidential links between gamification and flipped classroom instructional delivery, particularly for online class settings. It is well-anticipated that gamification flip learning can continue to be implemented either in online, blended or face-to-face class instruction and particularly after the time of the pandemic.

The effectiveness of teaching virtual reality-based business ethics: is it really suitable for all learning styles?

Purpose Previous research examined the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in various fields including engineering (Alhalabi, 2016), the military (Webster, 2016), robotic surgery (Bric et al., 2016; Francis et al., 2020), firefighters (Çakiroglu and Gökoglu, 2019), negotiation training (Ding et al., 2020), health-care training (Chow et al., 2017) and ethics education (Sholihin et al., 2020). However, empirical research examining learning styles on the effectiveness of using VR is still scarce. VR has different characteristics from other learning media and high immersiveness in a VR environment can create a sense of presence that improves learning outcomes, except for students with certain learning styles who experience cognitive overload when exploring virtual environments (Hsu et al., 2017). Therefore, it is necessary to investigate to what extent learning styles can influence the effectiveness of VR-based learning on business ethics. This is because the effectiveness of business ethics education is indispensable along with the increasing cases of fraud and financial companies (PwC’s Global Economic Crime and Fraud, 2020). Design/methodology/approach Education must respond to the progress of information technology (IT) development by providing IT-based teaching methods to enhance the learning process. This is because the evolution of technology is changing student learning preferences from verbal to visual or even virtual (Proserpio and Gioia, 2007). VR is an IT-based learning media that creates a virtual environment which simulates the real world and provides concrete experiences, so students are able to actively explore their course material. VR technology is able to provide practical experiences without actually leaving home, so it is relevant for responding to the current situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings Compared to traditional learning, VR is a more flexible learning method as it has no limitations of time, distance and space (Yu et al., 2007). The main characteristic of VR is immersion, interaction and imagination (Zhang et al., 2017) that improve cognitive performance in engineering (Alhalabi, 2016), the military (Webster, 2016) and surgical robots (Bric et al., 2016). VR-based learning can improve students’ learning abilities compared to traditional teaching (Jena, 2016). VR has already proven effective in teaching business ethics (Sholihin et al., 2020) because VR has the ability to create a virtual world, without any impact from socially reprehensible acts. With VR, students are able to understand scenarios about ethical dilemmas that occur in business practices, observe the potential consequences and make decisions to solve concrete situations where ethical dilemmas require a response. VR allows students to simulate situations virtually and develop their long-term experience. This is crucial because there is the possibility that in the near future the society will live in a mixed world (virtual and physical space). Practical implications A virtual environment that is able to evoke a sense of presence refers to the intensity of emotional involvement. Sense of presence can actually improve the learning results, but if the user lacks the ability to explore game tasks it will cause a cognitive overload that has a negative impact on learning outcomes (Hsu et al., 2017; Huang et al., 2020). Learning style preferences cause differences in cognitive load during the learning process using VR (Hsu et al., 2017). In a VR-based learning environment, students are required to explore the virtual environment; therefore, without navigation, students with active experimental learning styles are superior to students with passive or observing learning styles (Chen et al., 2005). Therefore, it is necessary to understand the impact of adopting VR technology to improve student’s performance by considering different learning styles. Social implications In Indonesia, the shift from offline learning to e-learning has created new academic pressures for some students (Pajarianto et al., 2020). The main challenge for educators is how to improve student’s learning outcomes and overcome the problem of using e-learning technology. Originality/value In light of the scarcity of research on the effectiveness of VR for teaching business ethics during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study fills the gap by extending the study of Sholihin et al. (2020) in that the authors establish the connection between user perception of the use of VR and learning style in relation to the effectiveness of VR.