Massive Open Online Courses Platform Research Articles

Stimulate Engagement and Motivation in MOOCs Using an Ontologies Based Multi-Agents System

Today, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have the potential to enable free online education on an enormous scale. However, a concern often raised about MOOCs is the consistently high dropout rate of MOOC learners. Although many thousands of learners enroll on these courses, a very small proportion actually complete the course. This work is at the heart of this issue. It is interested in contributing on multi-agents systems and ontologies to describe the learning preferences and adapt educational resources to learner profile in MOOCs platforms. The primary aim of this work is to exploit the potential of multi-agents systems and ontologies to improve learners‟ engagement and motivation in MOOCs platforms and therefore reduce the drop-out rates. As part of the contribution of this work, the paper proposes a model of Multi-Agent System (MAS), based on ontologies for adapting the learning resources proposed to a learner in a MOOCs platform according to his learning preferences. To model an adequate online course, the determination of learner‟s preferences is done through the analysis of learner behavior relying on his indicator MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator). The proposed model integrates the main functionalities of an intelligent tutoring system: profiling, updating of the profile, selection, adaptation and presentation of adequate resources. The architecture of the proposed system is composed on two main agents, four ontologies and a set of modules implemented.

Exploring the factors affecting MOOC retention: A survey study

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) hold the potential to open up educational opportunities to a global audience. However, evidence suggests that only a small proportion of MOOC participants go on to complete their courses and relatively little is understood about the MOOC design and implementation factors that influence retention. This paper reports a survey study of 379 participants enrolled at university in Cairo who were encouraged to take a MOOC of their own choice as part of their development. 122 participants (32.2%) went onto to complete an entire course. There were no significant differences in completion rates by gender, level of study (undergraduate or postgraduate) or MOOC platform. A post-MOOC survey of students' perceptions found that MOOC Course Content was a significant predictor of MOOC retention, with the relationship mediated by the effect of content on the Perceived Effectiveness of the course. Interaction with the instructor of the MOOC was also found to be significant predictor of MOOC retention. Overall these constructs explained 79% of the variance in MOOC retention.

Elderly Learners and Massive Open Online Courses: A Review.

BackgroundMassive open online courses (MOOCs) have become commonplace in the e-learning landscape. Thousands of elderly learners are participating in courses offered by various institutions on a multitude of platforms in many different languages. However, there is very little research into understanding elderly learners in MOOCs.ObjectiveWe aim to show that a considerable proportion of elderly learners are participating in MOOCs and that there is a lack of research in this area. We hope this assertion of the wide gap in research on elderly learners in MOOCs will pave the way for more research in this area.MethodsPre-course survey data for 10 University of Reading courses on the FutureLearn platform were analyzed to show the level of participation of elderly learners in MOOCs. Two MOOC aggregator sites (Class Central and MOOC List) were consulted to gather data on MOOC offerings that include topics relating to aging. In parallel, a selected set of MOOC platform catalogues, along with a recently published review on health and medicine-related MOOCs, were searched to find courses relating to aging. A systematic literature search was then employed to identify research articles on elderly learners in MOOCs.ResultsThe 10 courses reviewed had a considerable proportion of elderly learners participating in them. For the over-66 age group, this varied from 0.5% (on the course “Managing people”) to 16.3% (on the course “Our changing climate”), while for the over-56 age group it ranged from 3.0% (on “A beginners guide to writing in English”) to 39.5% (on “Heart health”). Only six MOOCs were found to include topics related to aging: three were on the Coursera platform, two on the FutureLearn platform, and one on the Open2Study platform. Just three scholarly articles relating to MOOCs and elderly learners were retrieved from the literature search.ConclusionsThis review presents evidence to suggest that elderly learners are already participating in MOOCs. Despite this, there has been very little research into their engagement with MOOCs. Similarly, there has been little research into exploiting the scope of MOOCs for delivering topics that would be of interest to elderly learners. We believe there is potential to use MOOCs as a way of tackling the issue of loneliness among older adults by engaging them as either resource personnel or learners.

Study on Designing a Curriculum Suitable for MOOC Platforms Starting Out the Romanian Students’ Expectations

The educational environment switched the place of the classical classroom into the online environment. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) appears to be the easiest way to improve the knowledge and/or the skills as people are able to access the information they are interested in at an academic level. The purpose of the present paper is to identify the degree of attractiveness of such classes hosted by MOOCs (Massive Online Open Classes) platforms in order to design a sample-module of this kind. The main added value and originality of the present work rises from the design of the first Romanian class to be hosted on MOOC platforms. Usually, when designing the content of a class, the starting point is the market need or the previous experience in academic environment related to that topic. In present paper, the UPB (University “POLITEHNICA” of Bucharest) students’ expectations were the starting point for designing such class.

<em>Examining the Potential of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs</em>)

IntroductionThe past decade has seen an increased presence of online educational platforms as a widespread mode for mass education evidenced by the growing popularity of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Unsurprisingly, The New York Times deemed 2012 the year of the MOOC. These online platforms have enlivened a national conversation on innovation and a debate on their effectiveness in achieving the United States' postsecondary education goals. This article examines the extent to which historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) can participate in this conversation by reviewing the extant literature on distance learning technologies at HBCUs and the available data on technological infrastructure at HBCUs using the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Rather than solely joining the bandwagon, these authors suggest that HBCU leaders are in a suitable position to serve as advocates to bridge the persistent (racial) digital divide in the nation; a necessary first step if one is to envision MOOCs as a suitable supplement for education.As an emerging phenomenon in higher education, MOOCs persist without a stable definition (Baggaley, 2013). For this article, the authors define MOOCs as online courses offered through mediated agreements, and hosted in partnerships with companies such as Coursera (coursera.org), Udacity (udacity.com), edX (edX.org), NovoEd formerly Venture Labs (novoed.com or venture-lab.org), and Udemy (udemy.com; Billington & Fronmueller, 2013). MOOCs, unlike other forms of online education, are free, and aim to enroll thousands of students. Additionally, unlike the traditional models of online education, MOOCs engage with the flipped classroom model where instructors opt to act more like a tutor walking among the students rather than a sage on the stage performing a monologue (Voss, 2013, p. 23).Therefore, the question is asked, what is the capacity of HBCUs to integrate MOOCs into their learning models? Also, will MOOCs serve as an enhancement to HBCU campuses, their missions, and their students? In this article, these questions are answered by focusing on two key issues undergirding the assumption of MOOCs potential to innovate the future of higher education. First, the authors forefront the lack of adequate extant data (mis)used to claim that MOOCs can be effective throughout the varied institutional contexts of higher education. Secondly, attention is drawn to the national digital divide that hinders the potential for MOOCs to effectively succeed. Using these two propositions, the aim is to temper the knee-jerk disposition to believe that MOOCs can serve as a panacea for higher education's challenges.MethodologyThe basis of this article is a comprehensive literature review pertaining to HBCUs and MOOCs, supplemented with national data. A systematic approach is used to crafting a literature review. This approach is important as this is the first article to examine the topics of MOOCs within the HBCU context. This study is laying the foundation for future research. The literature review is divided into three sections that provide a landscape and delve deeper into the needs and concerns of key constituents on HBCU campuses. Section one focuses on the literature pertaining to MOOCs overall, the rise of technology on college campuses, including the HBCU context. Section two pertains to these general topics but examines the role and needs of faculty with this context. Finally, section three of the literature review considers the student and his or her learning and role in the potential adoption of MOOCs on HBCU campuses. In addition to a focus specifically on HBCUs, the authors also consider the overarching digital divide in the United States as well as the lack of data to make good decisions about the adoption of MOOCs at HBCUs. This comprehensive literature review leads to a set of recommendations for HBCUs to consider when thinking about adopting MOOCs as a part of their curricula or partnering with MOOC platforms. …

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) Their Impact on the Full Quality in Higher Education Institutions "Rwaq: Saudi educational platform for MOOC”

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) Their Impact on the Full Quality in Higher Education Institutions "Rwaq: Saudi educational platform for MOOC” Dr. Souhem Badi, Dr. Manal Elsayed Ahmed Ali Abstract Educational University Institutions have an extraordinary timely opportunity to improve the quality of education in diverse countries, to absorb the additional numbers of students and reduce the cost in the educational process without the need for high financial investments. This can now be achieved by attending the worldwide movement of Openness, which is taken up, in its various forms, by many universities in different places all over the world; among which the presentation of educational programs directly on the Internet. This growth has its impact strength in changing traditional education process that is carried out face-toface to modern education programs; which has become one of the rapid growths in computing because of its effectiveness. Educational University Institutions consider knowledge and learning is everyone’s right and to achieve better standards in learning, it has been put up one of the new types of e-learning embodied in Massive Open Online Courses”(MOOC) to anyone seeking information and learning with the collaboration of the best and the most experienced teachers in this field using the latest technologies. The MOOC, thus, is a new method that enables thousands of students of learning at distance for free in the best universities of the world a new method that enables thousands of students of learning at distance for free in the best universities of the world, through the enormous potential offered by the Internet. We have that future trends are for education over the Internet , and the ability of this type of Electronic -learning to bring about the desired change in the minds to keep pace with the developments of the times, there are Arab platforms for education from home or from anywhere through the Internet are that become now available for Arab youth, strives to compensate for the problems of education in Arab universities, though these platforms or experiences in the beginning and in progress but they gave till now, confirms that these are experiences of being worthy of highlighting them. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jlis.v4n1a6

A strategic response to MOOCs: How one European university is approaching the challenge

<p class="normal">This paper briefly outlines some of the macro level claims, counter-claims and unresolved debates surrounding the rapid growth of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Higher Education. It then reports insights, experiences and perceptions of those charged with developing a strategic institutional response to the challenges and opportunities presented by the MOOC movement framed within a wider European context. A description of the key drivers, strategic deliberations and major decision points at Dublin City University (DCU) is provided along with brief analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of a range of MOOC options set against an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving technology-enhanced learning terrain. In reflecting on this micro level experience, informed by lessons from the burgeoning literature on MOOCs, the paper aims to demonstrate the value of aligning key decisions with well-defined institutional drivers, which are used to help compare and contrast the affordances of different MOOC platforms. Finally, a number of strategic questions are presented that may help guide future decisions about the adoption of MOOCs by other institutions. </p>

PeakVizor: Visual Analytics of Peaks in Video Clickstreams from Massive Open Online Courses.

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) aim to facilitate open-access and massive-participation education. These courses have attracted millions of learners recently. At present, most MOOC platforms record the web log data of learner interactions with course videos. Such large amounts of multivariate data pose a new challenge in terms of analyzing online learning behaviors. Previous studies have mainly focused on the aggregate behaviors of learners from a summative view; however, few attempts have been made to conduct a detailed analysis of such behaviors. To determine complex learning patterns in MOOC video interactions, this paper introduces a comprehensive visualization system called PeakVizor. This system enables course instructors and education experts to analyze the "peaks" or the video segments that generate numerous clickstreams. The system features three views at different levels: the overview with glyphs to display valuable statistics regarding the peaks detected; the flow view to present spatio-temporal information regarding the peaks; and the correlation view to show the correlation between different learner groups and the peaks. Case studies and interviews conducted with domain experts have demonstrated the usefulness and effectiveness of PeakVizor, and new findings about learning behaviors in MOOC platforms have been reported.

Comparing MOOC Adoption Strategies in Europe: Results from the HOME Project Survey

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 36pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Much of the literature and the academic discussion about the impact of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) in institutional strategic planning has been centred on the US context. However, data shows that although the US are responsible for the largest MOOC platforms and the most successful course provision, it is the European region which accounts for the highest percentage of global MOOC participation. Differently from the US Higher Education system framework, however, in Europe public policy and in particular the European Commission is now driving MOOC institutional uptake.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 36pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Given the very different institutional, political and cultural contexts, it is interesting to analyse how in these two different regions Higher Education institutions are responding to the challenges of the MOOC phenomena and are integrating it in their own strategic planning.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 36pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The current research presents the first attempt to conduct a benchmarking study of institutional MOOC strategies in Europe and the US. It's based on a survey launched by the EU-funded project HOME and compares results with a similar survey launched in the US. Results show that are significant differences in how US and European institutions understand the impact of massive forms of open education and also how they perceive the efficiency of digital education and online learning.</span></span></p>

Massive Open Online Courses and Economic Sustainability

Abstract Millions of users around the world have registered on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered by hundreds of universities (and other organizations) worldwide. Creating and offering these courses costs thousands of pounds. However, at present, revenue generated by MOOCs is not sufficient to offset these costs. The sustainability of MOOCs is a pressing concern as they incur not only upfront creation costs but also maintenance costs to keep content relevant, as well as on-going facilitation support costs while a course is running and re-running. At present, charging a fee for certification seems to be a popular business model adopted by leading platform providers. In this position paper, the authors explore possible business models for courses, along with their advantages and disadvantages, by conducting a literature study and applying personal insights gained from attending various MOOC discussion fora. Some business models discussed here are: the Freemium model, sponsorships, initiatives and grants, donations, merchandise, the sale of supplementary material, selective advertising, data-sharing, follow-on events, and revenue from referrals. This paper looks at the sustainability of MOOCS as opposed to the sustainability of MOOC platforms, while observing the tight link between them.

Empirical study on the important function of mobile interactive model for MOOC

This paper was studied on the important function of mobile interactive model for the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) under Chinese context. We did empirical study to find out which function should be considered when designing a mobile MOOC platform. The author conducted a questionnaire in Distance Education School of Zhejiang University from the perspective of the main online learning users. We used the method of factor analysis by SPSS16.0 to analyze the research results. Through simplifying the interactive function of each module and analyzing the research results, the important function of mobile interactive model for MOOC composed of 5 modules and 7 factors were put forward. Our works have certain reference to the study of platform development and development for MOOC. Keywords: Mobile learning, Interactive mode, Factor analysis, MOOC.

Visual Analytics for MOOC Data.

With the rise of massive open online courses (MOOCs), tens of millions of learners can now enroll in more than 1,000 courses via MOOC platforms such as Coursera and edX. As a result, a huge amount of data has been collected. Compared with traditional education records, the data from MOOCs has much finer granularity and also contains new pieces of information. It is the first time in history that such comprehensive data related to learning behavior has become available for analysis. What roles can visual analytics play in this MOOC movement? The authors survey the current practice and argue that MOOCs provide an opportunity for visualization researchers and that visual analytics systems for MOOCs can benefit a range of end users such as course instructors, education researchers, students, university administrators, and MOOC providers.

Caracterización de las cibercomunidades de aprendizaje (cCA)

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are a modality of distance education with a significant impact and extension, especially in the field of university institutions. Their principles, rooted in connectivism, allow free and open access to educational content, promoting universal education and lifelong learning. Their dissemination is based on courses hosted in online learning platforms. Mainly, access is performed from mobile devices. This descriptive research, which has involved the analysis of 22 national and international MOOCs, aims to determine their degree of ubiquitous and portable adaptability to mobile devices, highlighting smartphones, phablets and digital tablets under the criteria of visibility on screens of mobile devices, responsive capacity of the contents and existence of version as App or mobile application. The results show limitations in the mobile adaptation of the MOOC platforms that limit their visibility. It becomes necessary to redefine their initial design process, and therefore their contents according to the principles of Mobile Learning, in order to adapt these courses to real learning contexts of users in mobile situations.

Are There Metrics for MOOCS From Social Media?

Since “the year of the MOOC” in 2012, the effectiveness of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has been widely debated. Some argue that MOOCs are not an effective mode of instructional delivery because of low completion rates. In the interest of developing alternative indicators of performance this study draws from recent efforts to measure engagement in social media, as well as from research on indicators of student engagement in traditional college courses. Using data from 16 Coursera MOOCs offered by the University of Pennsylvania we calculate standardized access rates for lectures and assessments. While these indicators have clear limitations as measures of educational progress they offer a different, more nuanced understanding of the level and nature of users’ engagement with a MOOC. This paper shows that a very small share of users takes up available opportunities to access course content but notes that the standardized access rates compare favorably with those for social media sites and with response rates to large-scale direct mail marketing programs. For MOOC providers and platform managers, indicators like the ones developed in this study may be a useful first step in monitoring the extent to which different types and combinations of activities may be providing better opportunities for learning.

The Death of the Large Lecture Hall, the Rise of Peer-to-Peer Course Delivery?

This article reports the results of a pilot project conducted at the University of California–Irvine (UCI) involving the simultaneous online delivery of a course to both University of California undergraduates and enrollees on the Coursera Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform. Survey results from a robust sampling of UCI undergraduates offer strong disruptive-technology evidence that a new generation of students weaned on the Internet and social media may find well-delivered online courses to be an acceptable substitute for—or even preferable to—large lecture hall courses. The results also indicate a very strong student response to a peer-to-peer approach in which course content is delivered in a video lecture format by a fellow undergraduate (under instructor supervision). A strong positive response to the MOOC platforms offers the promise of economies of course delivery for colleges and universities seeking to implement cybereducation cost-effectively.

The economics of MOOCs: a sustainable future?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the present interest in the current and predicted business models of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC); the business models that are being used by MOOC platforms and MOOC providers; discussion of the key issues and challenges; predictions about the future MOOC business models from the perspectives of platforms, providers and consumers. Design/methodology/approach – Review of the current literature for business models and costs for MOOCs and including the business models of higher education and possible future of the higher education system. Findings – The findings of this paper show that most MOOCs are currently based upon a “freemium” model where content is provided freely and additional services are charged for; that there are already a range of different “flavours” of MOOC and that this range is likely to further develop over time with some clear winners emerging; and that completely free and open MOOCs are not likely to be the focus of growth in the future, rather MOOCs that are sustained through charges to customers. Practical implications – To inform the debate about likely future business models and to help greater understanding of possible business models for MOOCs to inform decision-making by managers at universities. Originality/value – To inform the debate about likely future business models and to help greater understanding of possible business models for MOOCs to inform decision-making by managers at universities.

Шекспир и массовые открытые онлайн курсы (МООК)

The article provides an analytical overview of massive open online courses (MOOCs) devoted to William Shakespeare, as well as to England of his times or the historical England he described. We look at courses in either English or Russian which appeared on mainstream MOOC platforms (FutureLearn, edX, Coursera) in 2014–2015. The rising practice of Shakespearean MOOCs is a reflection of new dimensions of the Shakespearean sphere as a field of phenomena in the global culture, local cultures and subcultures which are in this or that way linked to the name and works of William Shakespeare.

MOOCS – A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH OR A TEMPORARY PHENOMENON

Abstract. The digital revolution has dramatically changed our everyday life. Using the Internet has evolved into a key technology that became an indispensable information source. The expansion of Internet usage beyond mere information storage to a learning and communication tool sets new standards for the development of educational concepts. Digital textbooks, multimedia tutorials, elearning offers using learning management systems and massive open online courses (MOOCs) demonstrate the development phases of new strategies for knowledge transfer. Initially starting in the USA MOOC platforms like Udacity, Coursera or edX had gained an enormous media attention caused by the huge number of participants. Initially this new teaching method was welcomed euphorically; the didactic preparation of courses is however viewed with scepticism, particularly in Europe. This paper will review the status of MOOCs, with a particular emphasis on Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, and Geomatics. A selection of these 'Geo-MOOCs' will be presented. The consideration of these free online learning resources will include a commentary on quality and perceived effectiveness. Finally it will be outlined if MOOCs are reasonable and promising in our fields.

Digging deeper into learners' experiences in MOOCs: Participation in social networks outside of MOOCs, notetaking and contexts surrounding content consumption

AbstractResearchers describe with increasing confidence what they observe participants doing in massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, our understanding of learner activities in open courses is limited by researchers' extensive dependence on log file analyses and clickstream data to make inferences about learner behaviors. Further, the field lacks an empirical understanding of how people experience MOOCs and why they engage in particular activities in the ways that they do. In this paper, we report three findings derived by interviewing 13 individuals about their experiences in MOOCs. We report on learner interactions in social networks outside of MOOC platforms, notetaking, and the contexts that surround content consumption. The examination and analysis of these practices contribute to a greater understanding of the MOOC phenomenon and to the limitations of clickstream‐based research methods. Based on these findings, we conclude by making pragmatic suggestions for pedagogical and technological refinements to enhance open teaching and learning.

Review: Corpus Linguistics: Method, Analysis and Interpretation (Massive Open Online Course). FutureLearn: Lancaster University

Corpus Linguistics: Method, Analysis and Interpretation is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), offered by Lancaster University and delivered on the free-to-access FutureLearn MOOC platform. The course is an eight-week theoretical and practical introduction to corpus linguistics (CL) methodology, for aspiring and practising corpus linguists and social scientists. It builds on, and significantly expands, a previous web-based practical CL course run by Lancaster University, but one which was primarily intended for participants on the Lancaster campus. This new course, accessible for free to anyone anywhere in the world who has Internet access, was first run in early 2014 with annual re-runs planned to begin every September. This review is of the second run of the course. Two tracks of content run in parallel: a core that involves preliminary lectures, ‘how-to’ videos and readings; and a supplementary track that focusses on ‘in-conversation’ videos with leading scholars, and advancedlevel audio recordings of lectures given at Lancaster University’s CL summer schools. The topics for each week are various and inter-connected. Beginning with an overview of CL methods, the course moves on weekby-week to look at corpus-based discourse analysis, how to build a corpus, an investigation of social issues with corpora, textbook and dictionary construction, language learning and learner corpora, and corpus-based investigations of swearing. As a result of this breadth of content, the course as a whole is an intriguing and engaging exploration of how language in society can be investigated through the construction and analysis of computer-based corpora. Common threads throughout the eight weeks are introductory video lectures focussed on a specific aspect of CL; the ‘how-to’ videos immerse the participant in some of the widely available corpora and analysis software; a range of practical activities, quizzes, and