Massive Open Online Courses Platform Research Articles

Digital neocolonialism and massive open online courses (MOOCs): colonial pasts and neoliberal futures

ABSTRACTThrough evaluating dominant MOOC platforms created by Western universities, I argue that MOOCs on such platforms tend to embed Western-centric epistemologies and propagate this without questioning their global relevance. Consequently, such MOOCs can be detrimental when educating diverse and complex participants as they erode local and indigenous knowledge systems. Arguing that the digital divide is an exacerbation of historical inequalities, I draw parallels between colonial education, specifically across Sub-Saharan Africa, and ‘digital neocolonialism’ through Western MOOC platforms. I analyse similarities in ideology, assumptions, and methods of control. Highlighting evolving forms of coloniality, I include contemporary problems created by neoliberal techno-capitalist agendas, such as the commodification of education. Balance is needed between the opportunities offered through MOOCs and the harms they cause through overshadowing marginalised knowledges and framing disruptive technologies as the saviour. While recommending solutions for inclusion of marginalised voices, further problems such as adverse incorporation are raised.

Learning Through Massive Open Online Courses Platforms Based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process

The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) concept has apprehended the interest of most of the actors in higher education. MOOC platforms are considered a crucial source of information for both learners and professors by offering hundreds of courses around the world. However, this technology has faced many challenges, particularly their low completion rates. The present article proposes the architecture of a framework using a Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process algorithm (Fuzzy-AHP) to determine the triangular weight of the courses from the most widespread MOOCS in the literature. Weights of the courses are calculated by fuzzy numbers in line with the learning profile. The outcome of the proposed framework is to improve teaching effectiveness, facilitate learning among learners, encourage long life learning and maximize motivation as well as reducing the dropout rates.

The effects of perceived usefulness, confirmation and satisfaction on continuance intention in using massive open online course (MOOC)

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) has been playing an important role in the latest e-learning initiative and has obtained a widespread popularity in many universities. However, the low course completion rates of students have become an outstanding issue that should not be neglected. Based on the Expectation-Confirmation Model (ECM), this study examines the effects of students’ perceived usefulness, confirmation and satisfaction on MOOC continuance intention. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to validate the proposed model and hypotheses. Participants were 368 undergraduate students enrolled in a MOOC platform. The study’s result revealed that confirmation has significant effects on students’ perceived usefulness and satisfaction. Perceived usefulness and satisfaction have significant effects on students’ continuance intention while perceived usefulness has no significant effects on students’ satisfaction. This study will help to outspread our understanding of what influence students to continue using MOOC.

ROLE OF MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES IN INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM.

Abstract : Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have emerged as one of the most potential tool to support quality education and provide training to huge domain of audience worldwide. It reaches to mass of learners, scholars, scientists, professors, teachers and different stakeholders related to education. Promulgate knowledge is available on an efficient digital platform, apart from interlinking a huge network of students. In this paper, features of MOOC courses have been analyzed. Competitiveness of MOOC platforms is studied and quality of content and instructional design issues has been discussed. Some key issues related to MOOCs considering Higher Education system and its utilization by potential education market of India have been discussed. The author has also tried to suggest several possible way outs to implement in virtual learning environment pertaining to an Indian perspective. This article will give a necessary overview of what MOOCs are, how they execute, and some of their advantages and limitations. Keywords : distance education, MOOC Platform, massive open online courses, MOOCs, digital education.

THE USAGE OF MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSE (MOOC) IN TEACHING AND LEARNING AMONG STUDENTS

Purpose of Study: Technology-based education methods have an interest in ensuring Malaysia's position in the global rankings. Furthermore, the government intends to raise the level of online learning globally. Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is a platform that allows the government’s intention to be successfully achieved. This study aims to identify students’ level of knowledge on the importance of the use of MOOC and on the application of MOOC in teaching and learning. It also intends to identify the students’ level of acceptance of MOOC and the level of its effectiveness in teaching and learning. A total of 247 users of MOOC from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) were sampled in this study.
 Methodology: The data were collected using a set of questionnaire and were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSSv 21).
 Results: Results showed that the level of knowledge, usage, acceptance, and effectiveness was high among the students. From the findings, some suggestions were made to future researchers and the parties involved in university management.
 Implications/Applications: The finding noted a high level of the students’ knowledge about the importance of MOOC in teaching and learning, the students’ use of the application of the MOOC in teaching and learning, as well as their acceptance on the use of MOOC. This indicates that the use of teaching and learning in blended learning through the MOOC platform can be received by the students.

Predicting Learning Outcomes with MOOC Clickstreams

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have gradually become a dominant trend in education. Since 2014, the Ministry of Education in Taiwan has been promoting MOOC programs, with successful results. The ability of students to work at their own pace, however, is associated with low MOOC completion rates and has recently become a focus. The development of a mechanism to effectively improve course completion rates continues to be of great interest to both teachers and researchers. This study established a series of learning behaviors using the video clickstream records of students, through a MOOC platform, to identify seven types of cognitive participation models of learners. We subsequently built practical machine learning models by using K-nearest neighbor (KNN), support vector machines (SVM), and artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms to predict students’ learning outcomes via their learning behaviors. The ANN machine learning method had the highest prediction accuracy. Based on the prediction results, we saw a correlation between video viewing behavior and learning outcomes. This could allow teachers to help students needing extra support successfully pass the course. To further improve our method, we classified the course videos based on their content. There were three video categories: theoretical, experimental, and analytic. Different prediction models were built for each of these three video types and their combinations. We performed the accuracy verification; our experimental results showed that we could use only theoretical and experimental video data, instead of all three types of data, to generate prediction models without significant differences in prediction accuracy. In addition to data reduction in model generation, this could help teachers evaluate the effectiveness of course videos.

Towards Personalization to support Learners’ Motivation on Gamified MOOC Platform

Online learning expands along with the development of information technology. One model of online education that widely used because it is open and massive today is the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). However, the problems that arise at the MOOC are related to the high drop out rate caused by the lack of motivation of users to complete the course. Various approaches are taken to deal with this, one of which is by utilising elements of the game through gamification and personalisation to understand the factors needed by learners in the learning environment. This research proposes a personalised design through self-determination. The results of the study have implemented on a new Gamified MOOC platform that pays attention to learner personalisation regarding competency, autonomy and relatedness.

Analysis and Design of Course Website for Software Testing Based on SPOC

Technologies of the architecture on SSH(Struts-Spring-Hibernate), database interface access, and web data mining are used to analyse and design of a lightweight course website for software testing which is based on SPOC(Small Private Online Course) for blended teaching on campus. Functions of learning topics releasing on the course, organizing and coordinating learners’ discussion to promote the learning process can be achieved through the website for teachers, and the website can also provide learners with selecting some social learning tools(BBS, QQ, WeChat) to complete online communication for the course learning. Finally, further work is expected in the paper. Firstly, the targeted and distinctive mobile learning resources and smart education mode should be constructed which is based on SPOC. Secondly, the visualized, diversified third-party platforms and tools in the course website should be integrated effectively which are enable learners to complete the process of online exercising or examining for some types of subjective testing items. Thirdly, how to ensure the reliability, toughness, running performance, safety, stability for the course website which is formed by cutting out some non-essential functions from existed MOOC(Massive Open Online Course) platforms, and improve the functions of multiple data statistics with web data mining technology and motivational observation for the website development.

Massive open online courses on biomedical informatics

This study aimed to identify the characteristics of massive open online courses (MOOCs) related to biomedical informatics offered in several plataforms. We conducted an observational study on specialized MOOCs platforms to find courses related to biomedical informatics, in 2018. Our search identified 67 MOOCs on biomedical informatics. The majority of MOOCs were offered by Coursera (71.6%, 48/67), English was the most common language (95.5%, 64/67). The United States developed the majority of courses (73.1%, 49/67), with the vast majority of MOOCs being offered by universities (94%, 63/67). The majority of MOOCs were in bioinformatics (56.7%, 38/67) and data science (47.7%, 32/67). In conclusion, the MOOCs on biomedical informatics were focused in bioinformatics and data science, and were offered in English by institutions in the developing world.

A gamification framework to enhance students’ intrinsic motivation on MOOC

Technological development supports the distribution of education to various parts of the world through online education. One of the learning media that supports the distribution of learning is the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). However, MOOC has a low number of students who complete the course. Therefore, this research proposes a gamification through studies and various approaches in the field of games, intrinsic motivation elements, social learning, and interactive learning environments to overcome the low motivation of students. The proposed framework has been evaluated through validation by experts. The results found that the framework fulfilled the rules and suitability of the instruments and game elements used to increase the intrinsic motivation of students in online learning. Although there are some changes in the function and type of game elements used. For further research, the framework will be used as a guideline to build the Gamified MOOC Platform.

Instructors’ Experience of Designing MOOCs in Higher Education: Considerations and Challenges

As massive open online courses (MOOCs) increase, the large scale and heterogeneity of MOOC participants bring myriad significant design challenges. This mixed methods study explores 143 MOOC instructors’ considerations and challenges in designing MOOCs; 12 of whom were interviewed and had their courses analyzed. The survey, interview, and course review data revealed a variety of considerations and challenges in MOOC design in terms of pedagogy, resources, and logistics. Pedagogical considerations included learning objectives, assessment methods, course length, course content, flexibility, and collaborative learning support. Resource considerations included the affordance of MOOC platforms, support from the host institution and the platform, and the available intellectual and hardware resources. Logistical considerations included the amount of time instructors spent designing the MOOC. The obstacles included pedagogical challenges (engaging students, increasing student interaction, and limited assessment methods), resource challenge (i.e., limitations associated with the affordances of the platform), and logistical challenge (time limitations for designing and developing MOOCs). To address these challenges, the instructors often relied on reviewing other MOOCs. They also sought help from colleagues, their universities, and supporters of the platforms.

MOOCS for teacher professional development: exploring teachers’ perceptions and achievements

PurposeThis paper aims to report on a study concerning a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), designed to support Greek-language teachers in secondary-education schools in implementing collaborative writing activities with Google Docs (GDs) in their classrooms. Data recorded from a post-survey were used to investigate teachers’ views and perceptions about MOOC design features, their personal achievements and the overall outcomes for their professional work and development.Design/methodology/approachThe design framework of the particular teacher professional development MOOC was determined by the connectivist principles and addressed three main dimensions of teachers’ active participation: a) individual engagement; b) peer interaction and mutual support; and c) collaborative creation of educational scenarios and artefacts. The analysis used a mixed method that combines data from teachers’ active engagement through the MOOC platform records and quantitative and qualitative data from their responses to a post-survey questionnaire.FindingsThe analysis of the research data provided supportive evidence that the design framework was effective towards promoting teachers’ active engagement, peer interaction and support and development of learning design abilities to integrate collaborative writing with GDs in their classrooms. The findings showed that the majority of participants conceptualized this MOOC as an efficient environment to enhance their pedagogical knowledge and classroom practices and to support continuous professional development.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study may be limited by the specific sample and the context of implementation. Future research is expected to critically analyse existing results in combination with qualitative data from detailed interviews of participants in this teacher professional development MOOC.Practical implicationsThe results provided supportive evidence that successful MOOCs for teacher professional development are determined by four key design features: a) connecting course content and teacher learning practices to the educational reality of the classroom; b) defining concrete learning objectives of the course; c) promoting teachers’ collaborative learning; and d) creating a learning community among peers.Originality/valueThis paper presents a systematic analysis of teachers’ engagement in a teacher professional development MOOC, designed to support collaborative and self-directed learning. The results are expected to be significant and valuable for wider educational contexts, as MOOCs for teacher professional development is a new, ambitious topic for both research and educational policies.

Social interaction in MOOCs: The mediating effects of immersive experience and psychological needs satisfaction

Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT), the study proposes a model to reveal the underlying mechanism by which social interaction shapes learning engagement. This study uses survey data from 318 massive open online courses (MOOCs) learners and structural equation modeling method to assess the proposed model. The results show that immersive experience and three psychological needs satisfaction (i.e., competence, relatedness, and autonomy needs) fully mediate the effect of interaction on MOOC learning engagement. Psychological needs satisfaction demonstrates different effectiveness on learning engagement. Specifically, competence need satisfaction is shown to be the strongest predictor of MOOC learning engagement, while autonomy need satisfaction has the weakest effectiveness. Further, the results demonstrate that peer learning group identification strengthens the effect of social interaction on psychological needs satisfaction. The study is among the first to specifically focus on exploring the mechanism how psychological needs satisfaction mediates the relationship between social interaction and learning engagement and has important managerial implications for MOOC platform design and operation in order to facilitate MOOC engagement.

Big data analytics for MOOC video watching behavior based on Spark

The purpose of this study is to measure the effectiveness of courses delivered using MOOCs in China Agricultural University. Video watching is considered to be the most important way to disseminate knowledge in Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Its mission is to understand the degree of students’ learning engagement and to provide suggestions for teachers to construct courses. This paper proposes the analysis methods of students’ video watching behavior in MOOCs platform and verifies it with the data of the cauX platform. Initially, a detailed statistical analysis of video watching data and behavior was performed. Later, data preprocessing algorithms based on Spark platform were developed and used to calculate the number of video watching behaviors in every hour and every minute. Then, the entropy weight method was used to calculate the weight of pause video, seek video and speed change video. Finally, we analyze and discuss the results of experiment. The results show that the proposed method based on Spark platform can quickly and accurately analyze the characteristics of video watching behavior.

Bridging MOOC Education and Information Sciences: Empirical Studies

In the rise of massive open online courses (MOOCs), massive data of online learning behaviors are generated, which are valuable for the research on distance education in the aspects of making courses more attractive, learning more effective, and platforms wiser. Two empirical studies, here, utilized basic technologies of information sciences to analyze the log data of viewing behavior provided by the MOOC platform iCourse, illustrating the potential values of scientometrics and network sciences in the assessment of course attractions and in the improvement of teaching quality. One study extended information entropy to describe the diminishing marginal utility of repeated viewing and the increasing information of viewing new videos and further showed the possible applications of scientometrics to course assessment by integrating the viewing time on course videos invested by learners and the number of videos viewed by learners. The other study derived a network to represent learning paths adopted by the crowds of learners, which sheds light on the applications of network navigation and link prediction to the MOOC education in the aspects of teaching optimization and learning navigation. This paper adumbrates not only the practicability but also the limitations of the provided methods.

A Study of Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds(SWAYAM)-A MOOC Platform of India

Now everybody from child to old have been transferred from the traditional to modern or analogue to digital, from non-technical to technical, from close education to open education, from industrial society to knowledge society. The Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) courses have great social influence in media and educational institution and they were highlighted these courses even funding allocated to develop these courses in the universities. It can be accessed by anyone anywhere as long as they have the Internet connection. SWAYAM is a program initiated by the Government of India and designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of educational policy, that is, access, equity and quality. Moreover, it tries to develop a bridge the digital revolution for the students who have remain behind by digital revolution and those who have not been able to join the mainstream of the digital knowledge economy. It covers all higher education, high school and skill sectors. It saw a great development in the higher education and become a new buzzword. From the teacher's point of view, it is also very important because in a new draft guidelines framed by the UGC relating to eligibility and qualification of a college teacher, the UGC or Ministry of Human Resources Development have given importance for the development of MOOC Courses too.

MooKIT – A MOOC Platform for Developing Countries

IIT Kanpur (IITK) and Commonwealth of Learning (COL) have been working on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) since 2012. During this collaboration we developed a MOOC Management system and delivered close to 30 courses to about 200 000 users in over 100 countries. Our understanding of what features a MOOC Management System should have and how to engage the students in a course has also evolved. In this paper we describe our experiences and trace how some of our software features have evolved. One of the core features is the development and integration of an advanced analytics module. We also discuss how to reduce dropouts from an open online course, a common concern for all MOOCs.

Evaluating Instructional Design Quality of Iranian MOOCs Based on Merrill’s Principles of Instruction and Margaryan’s Principles

A great deal of attention has been paid to the experiences of learners and stakeholders in assessing the quality of massive open online courses (MOOCs), while participants' experiences in MOOCs and stakeholders are highly important factors in this process. Therefore, this study aims at evaluating instructional design quality of MOOCs based on Merrill’s first instructional principles and Margaryan principles. For this study, a method of evaluation research was used based on the expert standpoints. Statistical population consisted of 20 internally-developed platforms of MOOCs, which 40 courses (2 courses from each platform) were selected by using simple random sampling method. This study was carried out from February to July 2018. To do so, a check list of 28 questions was designed by researchers based on the prescriptive strategies of Merrill's first instructional principles (problem-oriented, activation, presentation, application, integration) and Margaryan’s principles (collective knowledge, collaboration, distinction, authentic sources and feedback). Accordingly, instructional quality evaluation of MOOCs courses was carried out by the educational technology specialists. Descriptive and inferential findings revealed that instructional design quality of MOOCs based on the points of specialists is under-evaluated and does not address Merrill’s first instructional principles as well as the ones of Margaryan. It is suggested that in addition to paying attention to the elements of the MOOCs platform and its facilities, the Merrill's and Margaryan’s principles should be used in designing the MOOCs content.

The Design and Implementation of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Ordinary Differential Equations (ODE)

Ordinary Differential Equations (ODE) is taken by students in the mathematics, science or engineering programs in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). This course was originally taught in the traditional way with the lecturer as the instructor. In 2014, this course evolved into the blended-learning mode i.e. a combination of classroom sessions and online sessions using the university learning management system. In 2017, a team of lecturers in the Tapah campus of UiTM decided to develop an instructional design of ODE using the MOOC platform. Students would then use the MOOC during the blended-learning hour. Five modules are offered in this MOOC. Lecture notes are presented using Prezi together with instructional videos and self-checking exercises. 55 students enrolled for the MOOC and were surveyed to gauge the initial impact of the MOOC as an instructional tool. More than 50% of the students said that the MOOC absolutely helped them to better understand the classroom sessions. Most of the students put in maximum effort in accessing the MOOC. The MOOC also helped to build up self-confidence of students in the course material. It is hoped that as the MOOC is further refined and improved, more students will benefit from the MOOC.

Open Education platforms: Theoretical ideas, digital operations and the figure of the open learner

Open Education (OE), a generic term for a collection of practices that seek to broaden the access to education through digital means, has gained increasing traction and popularity over the last years and from various corners, both globally and in European circles. Rather than taking the technologies OE makes use of at face value, this article analyzes the concrete operations that Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platforms perform, and more specifically the sorts of open learning and the type of open learner that are being shaped by these platforms. Understanding such platforms as active, socio-technical devices, the article first provides an overview of the conceptual milieu out of which these MOOC platforms originated. In a second part, contemporary MOOC platforms that have concretized out of this milieu are analyzed. Different types of operations that enact a very specific figure of the open learner (and types of open learning) are advanced: The open learner is increasingly being lured and made flexible, controlled and molded, communalized and responsibilized, and finally trained and empowered. The article ends with some outlines for possible future concretizations of OE and its MOOC platforms.