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Towards ‘MOOCs with a Purpose’: Crowdsourcing and Analysing Scalable Design Solutions with MOOC Learners
Abstract
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.
... El cambio en el planteamiento de los MOOC, que se infiere de lo expuesto hasta este momento, abre las puertas a nuevos enfoques de diseño, como el crowdsourcing defendido por Van Rosmalen et al. (2017), y que apuesta por un diálogo colaborativo y abierto donde tanto estudiantes como docentes tengan la oportunidad de aportar su conocimiento y compartirlo. Estrategias que podrían ser adecuadas para, a través de esta inteligencia colectiva, evolucionar hacia espacios de trabajo innovadores y más complejos donde cada estudiante, en función de sus expectativas o intereses, pueda participar de manera activa. ...
INTRODUCCIÓN. El creciente interés por el aprendizaje abierto y a distancia de los últimos años ha hecho que estudiantes de todo el mundo puedan acceder y aprender a través de cursos gratuitos en línea ofrecidos por conocidas universidades. Sin embargo, a pesar de los potenciales beneficios de los MOOC, sus tasas de abandono son muy elevadas y su calidad general es cuestionable, y actualmente está siendo objeto de un intenso debate. El objetivo de este estudio es conocer la opinión de los estudiantes una vez finalizados los MOOC y detectar mejoras que permitan incrementar la calidad de los cursos. MÉTODO. A partir del análisis de diferentes herramientas para medir la calidad de los sistemas de información, como el modelo de DeLone y McLean, se diseñó una encuesta con 16 preguntas cerradas por medio de una escala Likert de 5 puntos y una pregunta abierta. Se obtuvieron 309 respuestas de estudiantes y se utilizó una metodología de análisis mixto a partir de un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) para interpretar los datos cuantitativos y el análisis de contenido como método cualitativo. RESULTADOS. La evaluación resalta la importancia de los factores que inciden directamente en la percepción del estudiante sobre la calidad del servicio prestado y la calidad de la información proporcionada. El análisis cualitativo reveló la importancia que los estudiantes otorgan al contenido práctico. DISCUSIÓN. Estos resultados corroboran las conclusiones de gran parte de los trabajos anteriores en los que se determina la necesidad de desarrollar y difundir modelos metodológicos más activos basados en la práctica y el desarrollo profesional. Además, es necesario reforzar la eficacia y la calidad de la información, proporcionando recursos adicionales y ofreciendo actividades prácticas en las que se expongan ejemplos de aplicación de los contenidos.
... teachers, course designers, students) a detailed description of their course design. Our findings can inspire teachers, course designers and students to analyse and improve the educational scalability of their courses and/or to analyse others as a source of inspiration (Van Rosmalen, Kasch, Kalz, Firssova, & Brouns, 2017). Given the increasing student numbers and the growing importance of digital technologies in campus education, currently further augmented by Covid-19 epidemic, this study is highly relevant for the provision of MOOCs as well as online or blended education as part of campus education. ...
This study aims to reveal insights into the educational design of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in particular on their educational scalability: How do MOOCs provide interaction and formative feedback to high student numbers without being highly depending on the capacity of the teacher? We have applied a design analysis instrument that was specifically developed for large-scale online courses to analyse fifty MOOCs in a qualitative way. The goal of the analysis was to detect scalable best practices of formative feedback and interaction and focused on when, how and from whom students received formative feedback. To get more insight into the scalable best practices we also investigated on which complexity level they were provided. The analysis indicated scalable best practices on various complexity levels and across different learning activities. This shows that scalable formative feedback and interaction can be provided in MOOCs through different formats such quizzes, peer-feedback and simulations. The majority of the MOOCs in our sample provide student-content interaction during knowledge transfer activities ('knows'). A selection of design examples is discussed as potentially best practices for educational scalability, not only for MOOCs but also for online education in general. While the study shows examples of scalable design choices in (open) online education, it also indicates a need for more elaborate interactions and feedback in MOOCs in order to improve their educational value and quality.
Graph comparing the total number of comments made across all presentations of the University of Warwick’s five existing MOOCs.
SaHW: Shakespeare and His World.
TMiF: The Mind is Flat: The Shocking Shallowness of Human Psychology.
BD: Big Data: Measuring and Predicting Human Behaviour.
BiM: Babies in Mind: Why the Parent’s Mind Matters.
LaMH: Literature and Mental Health: Reading for Wellbeing.
Graph showing average number of comments per learner for each presentation of the University of Warwick’s five existing MOOCs.
SaHW: Shakespeare and His World.
TMiF: The Mind is Flat: The Shocking Shallowness of Human Psychology.
BD: Big Data: Measuring and Predicting Human Behaviour.
BiM: Babies in Mind: Why the Parent’s Mind Matters.
LaMH: Literature and Mental Health: Reading for Wellbeing.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are an increasingly important phenomenon in the world of technology-enhanced learning. This development opens many opportunities for interdisciplinary interaction, not only for the purpose of researching MOOCs themselves, but for integrating them into various research settings. In this publication, we address the question of how MOOCs can be used as instruments in scientific research. Our suggestions are illustrated on the example of the "Dr. Internet" project, which allowed us to gain practical experience in this area.
Many publications and surveys refer to the high drop out rate in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which is around 90%, especially if we compare the number of students who register against those who finish. Working towards improving student engagement in MOOCs, we focus on providing specific research-based recommendations on formative assessment and feedback practices that can advance student activity. In this respect, we analysed some significant research papers on formative assessment and feedback methods applicable to face-to-face teaching environments that advance student engagement, and concluded with related requirements and conditions that can be applied also to MOOCs. We also analysed 4050 comments and reviews of the seven most active and highly rated MOOCs (6 Coursera ones and 1 from EdX) provided by the students who have mainly completed those courses via CourseTalk. Based on this content analysis, we have formulated fourteen recommendations that support also the requirements/conditions of our conceptual and theoretical framework analysis.
The results obtained give some light in a rather unexplored research area, which is the research on formative assessment and feedback practices specifically for stronger engagement in MOOCs.
This report sets out to help decision makers in higher education institutions gain a better understanding of the phenomenon of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) and trends towards greater openness in higher education and to think about the implications for their institutions. The phenomena of MOOCs are described, placing them in the wider context of open education, online learning and the changes that are currently taking place in higher education at a time of globalisation of education and constrained budgets. The report is written from a UK higher education perspective, but is largely informed by the developments in MOOCs from the USA and Canada. A literature review was undertaken focussing on the extensive reporting of MOOCs through scholarly blogs, press releases as well as openly available reports and research papers. This identified current debates about new course provision, the impact of changes in funding and the implications for greater openness in higher education. The theory of disruptive innovation is used to help form the questions of policy and strategy that higher education institutions need to address.
This article is a review of ideas, comments, and inquiries about massive open online courses (MOOCs) gathered from a wide variety of online journal and magazine articles, and web blogs. As a seasoned "traditional" online educator, as well as a student participant in several MOOCs, I also take the opportunity to share my personal insight from my own learning experiences, with the goal of illustrating some of the concerns unearthed in my research. One serious issue regarding MOOCs is that some learners can feel isolated and/or neglected, particularly when they perceive that other course participants and/or the professor are ignoring their contributions. Our era has witnessed "the McDonaldization of Education" (Lane & Kinser, 2012), in which one size fits all and information is delivered to student "customers" via systematically managed "factories" whose overseers frown upon any supposed waste of valuable resources or human effort. In the mass-appeal environment of a MOOC, it is quite possible that a student will receive no customized feedback from nominal experts in the field. Lack of meaningful interaction is likely a key factor driving high attrition numbers in the online education environment – numbers that are apparently even higher in the case of MOOCs. The ideas presented herein also formed part of a webinar that I created for Pennsylvania State University in March 2013.
Summary 'Constructive alignment' starts with the notion that the learner constructs his or her own learning through relevant learning activities. The teacher's job is to create a learning environment that supports the learning activities appropriate to achieving the desired learning outcomes. The key is that all components in the teaching system - the curriculum and its intended outcomes, the teaching methods used, the assessment tasks - are aligned to each other. All are tuned to learning activities addressed in the desired learning outcomes. The learner finds it difficult to escape without learning appropriately.
Consistency among the objectives, learning activities, and assessment exercises results in aligned courses, which give students
direction and clarity and yield increased learning. However, instructors may not check for course alignment. This article
describes a concrete way to determine course alignment by plotting the course components on a table using the cognitive process
levels from a revised taxonomy of learning objectives. Once instructors realize that courses are misaligned, they can make
adjustments. By giving students experience with varied types of knowledge, which is the other part of this taxonomy, they
also learn more. The types of knowledge include factual, conceptual, procedural, and meta-cognitive knowledge.
This article provides an overview of the use of new technologies for lifelong learning. While in the past learning technologies were mostly provided by educational institutions to support a specific lifetime or shorter learning episodes, nowadays more personal technologies are used for lifelong learning to support self-organized learning. Four important developments are introduced in this article, namely, open learner models and learning analytics, learning networks and networked learning, open educational resources and practices, and last but not least, mobile and contextualized learning. The state of the art in these research fields is summarized and the future potential and requirements for lifelong learning are highlighted.
No abstract available. (C) 1990 Association of American Medical Colleges
For the past several years the author has been reviewing instructional design theories in an attempt to identify prescriptive principles that are common to the various theries. This paper is a preliminary report of the principles that have been identified by this search. Five first principles are elaborated: (a) Learning is promoted when learners are engaged in solving real-world problems. (b) Learning is promoted when existing knowledge is activated as a foundation for new knowledge. (c) Learning is promoted when new knowledge is demonstrated to the learner. (d) Learning is promoted when new knowledge is applied by the learner. (e) Learning is promoted when new knowledge is integrated into the learner's world.
Representative instructional design theories are briefly examined to illustrate how they include these principles. These include: Star Legacy by the Vanderbilt Learning Technology Center, 4-Mat by McCarthy, instructional episodes by Andre, multiple approaches to understanding by Gardner, collaborative problem solving by Nelson, constructivist learning environments by Jonassen, and learning by doing by Schank.
It is concluded that, although they use a wide variety of terms, these theories and models do include fundamentally similar principles.
Recommendations on formative assessment and feedback practices for stronger engagement in MOOCs
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