Marold Wosnitza

What Drives a Successful MOOC? An Empirical Examination of Criteria to Assure Design Quality of MOOCs

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have gained a lot of attention in the last years as a new technology enhanced learning (TEL) approach in higher education. MOOCs provide more educational opportunities to a massive number of learners to attend free online courses around the globe. Discussions around MOOCs have been focusing on the potential, social, institutional, technological, relevance, and marketing issues and less on the quality design of MOOC environments. Several studies have reported a high drop-out rate in average of 95% of course participants and other pedagogical problems concerning assessment and feedback. Thus, the quality of MOOCs design is worth additional investigation. Although several studies identified a large set of criteria to the successful design of TEL systems in general, not all of them can be used in the MOOC context, due to some unique features of MOOCs. This study is a first step towards identifying specific criteria that need to be considered when designing and implementing MOOCs. The results of this empirical study are based on a large survey targeting learners as well as professors, both with MOOC experience. As a result, we identified and rated 74 indicators classified into our two main dimensions of pedagogical and technological criteria distributed over six categories. From these, the learning analytics and assessment categories were found to be the key features for effective MOOCs.

Social Affordances and Students' Engagement in Cross-National Online Learning: An Exploratory Study.

The potential of online learning for enhancing international education is substantial, yet few studies have explored the conditions under which students feel motivated and engage productively in cross-national online interchange. This article examines the significance of social affordances, specifically social presence, on university students’ initial and final appraisals of a cross-national online learning experience that was embedded in their course of study on intercultural learning and education. Content analysis of their engagement in asynchronous and synchronous activities showed a substantial amount of social interchange and meaningful learning but limited evidence of social negotiation of meaning. The study highlights the range of issues faced by designers of cross-national online learning projects.

A Cluster Analysis of MOOC Stakeholder Perspectives

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are providing opportunities for thousands of learners to participate in free higher education courses online. MOOCs have unique features that make them an effective Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) approach. Institutions are offering a growing variety of MOOCs. Nevertheless, there are several crucial challenges that should be considered in the development of MOOCs, e.g., the drop-out rate of over 95% of course participants. One of the potential reasons for that is the complexity and diversity of MOOC participants. This diversity is not only related to the cultural and demographic profile, but also considers the diverse motives and perspectives when enrolled in MOOCs. This paper aims to cluster and analyze the different objectives of MOOC stakeholders to build a deeper and better understanding of their behaviors. Our main finding was a set of eight clusters, i.e., blended learning, flexibility, high quality content, instructional design and learning methodologies, lifelong learning, network learning, openness, and student-centered learning. This cluster schema creates a meaningful picture for the MOOC community.ResumenLos cursos en línea masivos y abiertos (Massive Open Online Courses, MOOC) proporcionan oportunidades ilimitadas para la participación de miles de estudiantes en cursos de enseñanza superior en línea. Los MOOC tienen características únicas que los convierten en un método efectivo del aprendizaje electrónico, en concreto el aprendizaje mejorado por tecnología (Technology-Enhanced Learning, TEL). Numerosas instituciones ofrecen una creciente variedad de MOOC. Sin embargo, existen múltiples retos que deben ser considerados al desarrollar MOOC, por ejemplo, la tasa de abandono de participantes en los cursos es del 95%. Una de las posibles razones para ello es la complejidad y la diversidad de los participantes en los MOOC. Está diversidad no está solamente relacionada con el perfil demográfico y cultural, sino también con los diversos motivos y perspectivas que los usuarios tienen al inscribirse en MOOC. La intención de este artículo es agrupar en dústeres los objetivos de los participantes en MOOC y analizarlos para lograr una mayor comprensión de sus comportamientos. El principal resultado es el descubrimiento de ocho clústeres: aprendizaje mezclado (blended learning), flexibilidad (flexibility), contenido de alta calidad (high quality content), diseño instruccional y metodologías de aprendizaje (instructional design and learning methodologies), aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida (lifelong learning), aprendizaje en red (network learning), apertura (openness) y aprendizaje centrado en el estudiante (student-centered learning). Este esquema de agrupamiento en clústeres crea una visión significativa para la comunidad de participantes en MOOC.

The State of MOOCs from 2008 to 2014: A Critical Analysis and Future Visions

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are providing limitless opportunities for thousands of learners to participate in free higher education courses online. Indeed, MOOCs have drastically changed the way we learn as well as how we teach. MOOCs have unique features that make it an effective Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) approach in higher education and beyond. The number of academic research around MOOCs has grown rapidly in the last few years. The purpose of this paper is to compile and analyze the state of MOOC research that has been conducted from 2008–2014. A template analysis was used to map the conducted studies on MOOCs into seven dimensions, namely concept, design, learning theories, case studies, business model, targets groups, and assessment. This classification schema aims at providing a comprehensive overview for readers who are interested in MOOCs to foster a common understanding of key concepts in this emerging field. The paper further identifies critical challenges that have yet to be addressed and suggests opportunities for future work in the area of MOOCs that will support communication between researchers as they seek to address these challenges.

The Impact of Rubric-Based Peer Assessment on Feedback Quality in Blended MOOCs

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have gained popularity in the past few years as a new form of open learning. Unlike assessment in classroom settings, the methodology to assess learning in open environments such as MOOCs represents a big challenge from the pedagogical perspective. Thus, there is a need to think about scalable assessment methods for accrediting and recognizing learning in MOOCs in an efficient and effective way. Peer Assessment is increasingly discussed in the recent MOOC literature as a potential solution to address this challenge. The problem remains, however, how to ensure the quality of the peer assessment feedback. In this paper, we investigate the potential of rubric-based peer assessment to make the assessment process in blended MOOCs (bMOOCs) more effective in terms of transparency, validity, and reliability. Moreover, we explore which peer assessment model fits best in a bMOOC context.

Inquiry and groups: student interactions in cooperative inquiry-based science

ABSTRACT Science education research has recommended cooperative inquiry based science in the primary science context for more than two decades but after more than 20 years, student achievement in science has not substantially improved. This study, through direct observation and analysis, investigated content-related student interactions in an authentic inquiry based primary science class setting. Thirty-one upper primary students were videotaped working in cooperative inquiry based science activities. Cooperative talk and negotiation of the science content was analysed to identify any high-level group interactions. The data show that while all groups have incidences of high-level content-related group interactions, the frequency and duration of these interactions were limited. No specific pattern of preceding events was identified and no episodes of high-level content-related group interactions were immediately preceded by the teacher’s interactions with the groups. This in situ study demonstrated that even without any kind of scaffolding, specific skills in knowing how to implement cooperative inquiry based science, high-level content-related group interactions did occur very briefly. Support for teachers to develop their knowledge and skills in facilitating cooperative inquiry based science learning is warranted to ensure that high-level content-related group interactions and the associated conceptual learning are not left to chance in science classrooms.

Análisis de clúster de perspectivas de participantes en MOOC

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are providing opportunities for thousands of learners to participate in free higher education courses online. MOOCs have unique features that make them an effective Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) approach. Institutions are offering a growing variety of MOOCs. Nevertheless, there are several crucial challenges that should be considered in the development of MOOCs, e.g., the drop-out rate of over 95% of course participants. One of the potential reasons for that is the complexity and diversity of MOOC participants. This diversity is not only related to the cultural and demographic profile, but also considers the diverse motives and perspectives when enrolled in MOOCs. This paper aims to cluster and analyze the different objectives of MOOC stakeholders to build a deeper and better understanding of their behaviors. Our main finding was a set of eight clusters, i.e., blended learning, flexibility, high quality content, instructional design and learning methodologies, lifelong learning, network learning, openness, and student-centered learning. This cluster schema creates a meaningful picture for the MOOC community.ResumenLos cursos en línea masivos y abiertos (Massive Open Online Courses, MOOC) proporcionan oportunidades ilimitadas para la participación de miles de estudiantes en cursos de enseñanza superior en línea. Los MOOC tienen características únicas que los convierten en un método efectivo del aprendizaje electrónico, en concreto el aprendizaje mejorado por tecnología (Technology-Enhanced Learning, TEL). Numerosas instituciones ofrecen una creciente variedad de MOOC. Sin embargo, existen múltiples retos que deben ser considerados al desarrollar MOOC, por ejemplo, la tasa de abandono de participantes en los cursos es del 95%. Una de las posibles razones para ello es la complejidad y la diversidad de los participantes en los MOOC. Está diversidad no está solamente relacionada con el perfil demográfico y cultural, sino también con los diversos motivos y perspectivas que los usuarios tienen al inscribirse en MOOC. La intención de este artículo es agrupar en dústeres los objetivos de los participantes en MOOC y analizarlos para lograr una mayor comprensión de sus comportamientos. El principal resultado es el descubrimiento de ocho clústeres: aprendizaje mezclado (blended learning), flexibilidad (flexibility), contenido de alta calidad (high quality content), diseño instruccional y metodologías de aprendizaje (instructional design and learning methodologies), aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida (lifelong learning), aprendizaje en red (network learning), apertura (openness) y aprendizaje centrado en el estudiante (student-centered learning). Este esquema de agrupamiento en clústeres crea una visión significativa para la comunidad de participantes en MOOC.

Consistently inconsistent: teachers’ beliefs about help seeking and giving when students work in groups

While extensive research on student help-seeking and teachers’ help-giving behaviour in teacher-centred classroom and self-directed learning environments is available, little is known regarding teachers’ beliefs and behaviour about help seeking or their role when students work in groups. This study investigated primary (elementary) school teachers’ self-reported help-giving behaviour when teaching science in small group settings. Specifically, examined were the strategies teachers typically encourage in a group learning setting, their self-reported responses to specific student requests for help and their self-described role in a group learning situation. Results indicated that half of the teachers encouraged students to seek help from other groups or the teacher, while the rest discouraged help seeking from inter-group and from the teacher, preferring that their students keep to their own groups. The reasons reported for both strategies were manifold and ranged from the development of self-directedness, collaboration and problem-solving skills to issues of classroom management. However, what the teachers encouraged was not what they consequently reported they typically do. All of the teachers, regardless of whether they encouraged or discouraged help seeking, reported that they would not deny any request for help. These findings imply that teachers may not be as mindful about how they communicate help-seeking expectations in a group learning context, which has implications for both teachers and teacher educators.

Anàlisi de clúster de perspectives de participants en MOOC

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are providing opportunities for thousands of learners to participate in free higher education courses online. MOOCs have unique features that make them an effective Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) approach. Institutions are offering a growing variety of MOOCs. Nevertheless, there are several crucial challenges that should be considered in the development of MOOCs, e.g., the drop-out rate of over 95% of course participants. One of the potential reasons for that is the complexity and diversity of MOOC participants. This diversity is not only related to the cultural and demographic profile, but also considers the diverse motives and perspectives when enrolled in MOOCs. This paper aims to cluster and analyze the different objectives of MOOC stakeholders to build a deeper and better understanding of their behaviors. Our main finding was a set of eight clusters, i.e., blended learning, flexibility, high quality content, instructional design and learning methodologies, lifelong learning, network learning, openness, and student-centered learning. This cluster schema creates a meaningful picture for the MOOC community.ResumenLos cursos en línea masivos y abiertos (Massive Open Online Courses, MOOC) proporcionan oportunidades ilimitadas para la participación de miles de estudiantes en cursos de enseñanza superior en línea. Los MOOC tienen características únicas que los convierten en un método efectivo del aprendizaje electrónico, en concreto el aprendizaje mejorado por tecnología (Technology-Enhanced Learning, TEL). Numerosas instituciones ofrecen una creciente variedad de MOOC. Sin embargo, existen múltiples retos que deben ser considerados al desarrollar MOOC, por ejemplo, la tasa de abandono de participantes en los cursos es del 95%. Una de las posibles razones para ello es la complejidad y la diversidad de los participantes en los MOOC. Está diversidad no está solamente relacionada con el perfil demográfico y cultural, sino también con los diversos motivos y perspectivas que los usuarios tienen al inscribirse en MOOC. La intención de este artículo es agrupar en dústeres los objetivos de los participantes en MOOC y analizarlos para lograr una mayor comprensión de sus comportamientos. El principal resultado es el descubrimiento de ocho clústeres: aprendizaje mezclado (blended learning), flexibilidad (flexibility), contenido de alta calidad (high quality content), diseño instruccional y metodologías de aprendizaje (instructional design and learning methodologies), aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida (lifelong learning), aprendizaje en red (network learning), apertura (openness) y aprendizaje centrado en el estudiante (student-centered learning). Este esquema de agrupamiento en clústeres crea una visión significativa para la comunidad de participantes en MOOC.

Universities as a Place of Self-Regulated Vocational Education and Training

When in 1919 Max Weber presented his ideas of “Science as a Vocation” to an audience of students, science – at least in the European context – had a totally different societal meaning and was even a somewhat more difficult starting point for graduates than it is at the beginning of the twenty-first century.