Julia Kasch

Towards ‘MOOCs with a Purpose’: Crowdsourcing and analysing scalable design solutions with MOOC learners

In this study we explored the use of a research assignment on instructional design of MOOCs by MOOC students. The use of a research assignment was expected to be of interest for both students and the designer. The assignment is based on a framework to analyse MOOC designs with the objective to identify best practices. It builds on four principles: constructive alignment, task complexity, interaction and formative feedback. The exploration indicates that students positively appreciate this kind of assignments. Moreover, the crowdsourcing alike approach showed to be a valuable way for MOOC designers to get awarded with data gathered by their participants. The participants, be it a small sample, were able to apply the framework to analyse MOOCs and identify best practices. We will discuss the framework and the results of its application. Finally, we will conclude with the experiences of the users.

Student Perception of Scalable Peer-Feedback Design in Massive Open Online Courses

There is scarcity of research on scalable peer-feedback design and student’s peer-feedback perceptions and therewith their use in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). To address this gap, this study explored the use of peer-feedback design with the purpose of getting insight into student perceptions as well as into providing design guidelines. The findings of this pilot study indicate that peer-feedback training with the focus on clarity, transparency and the possibility to practice beforehand increases students willingness to participate in future peer-feedback activities and training, increases their perceived usefulness, preparedness and general attitude regarding peer-feedback. The results of this pilot will be used as a basis for future large-scale experiments to compare different designs.