The Use of Avatars in Gender Segregated Online Learning within MOOCs in Saudi Arabia

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Raniah Samir Adham [r.s.a.adham@pgr.reading.ac.uk],
Karsten Oster Lundqvist [k.o.lundqvist@reading.ac.uk],
Pat Parslow [P.Parslow@reading.ac.uk],
School of Systems Engineering,
University of Reading,
United Kingdom
28-29/April/2016

2.  Abstract
 Significance of the study
 Literature review
 Research questions
 Methodology
 Initial Case study
 Future work (Main Case study)
 Conclusion
 References
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3.  This project will undertake and analyse a case study concerning the
experience of females teaching a MOOC course on ‘Rwaq’, the first Saudi
Arabian platform which was launched in September 2013.
 The literature on gender-segregation and Education technology is
reviewed. As an example, gender-segregated in Higher Education & online
learning in Saudi Arabia, Virtual Learning Environments, Avatar
technology in HE and finally the adoption of Avatar tool in MOOCs
platform in Saudi Arabia are examined.
 One of the objectives of the study is to develop a social interaction
environment with learners in online learning within MOOCs and to
examine if this Avatar tool could alleviate issues of gender-segregation for
female lecturers in online learning courses within MOOCs in Higher
Education in Saudi Arabia.
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4.  Due to cultural, social and religious restrictions e.g. gender-based
segregation in SA; teaching and learning opportunities for females are
limited.
 The majority of female academics don’t accept appearing physically in
online courses within MOOCs.
 The researcher will develop and evaluate an Avatar tool on MOOC course
and examine if this could alleviate gender-segregated issues.
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5.  Massive Open Online Course (MOOC):
MOOC
Massive: number
of students and
activities on such
courses
Open: software is
open source;
sources of
information &
registration is open
Online Course:
anyone can
access if they
have an Internet
connection
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6. 6
*In Saudi Arabia, the obligatory gender-segregation by
religious, social and cultural traditions has heavily impacted
on the achievement of women in the Higher Education
institutions, therefore we explore online learning as a way to
remove such barriers.

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8.  SWOT Analysis
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Strengths
1. Interactive videos
2. Freedom of expression to females
3. Better and free communication with
males
4. Enhance students’motivation
5. Wider cognitive presence
Weaknesses
1. Technical problems
2. Academic skills
3. Not effective with educational
experience
4. Administrative challenges
5. Not common in SA as education tool
Opportunities
1. New trends which makes online
learning easier and enjoyable
2. Dissolve cultural and social boundaries
3. Better social interaction
4. Lowering social anxiety for females
5. Remove gender boundaries In Saudi
Arabia
Threats
1. Students might become uncomfortable
dealing with Avatars
2. Willingness of female academics to be
an avatar or even to use it
3. Lack of incentive for the students
4. Lack of management or IT support
5. Not useful learning tool

9. 1- What is the impact of gender-segregation on female lecturers
practicing online teaching in the Saudi Arabian HE?
2- How do female lecturers cope with the issues in online
learning in HE?
3- How can the role of Avatars enhance learners’ and teachers’
motivation in online learning and MOOCs in Saudi Arabian HE?
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10. 10
 The research adopted a mixed-methods approach to provide appropriate
answers to all posed questions, and to draw on the strengths and minimise
the weaknesses of the research.
 This research is an exploratory case study, it focuses on adopting a new
Avatar tool in MOOCs and was chosen to aid the exploration of Avatar by
female tutors in teaching and learning, in order to alleviate social and
cultural issues in Saudi Arabian HE.
 We explore two case studies, the initial case study consists of semi-
structured interviews with 4 female academics who were teaching courses
on the ‘Rwaq’ MOOC platform.
 The main case study is a course on the ‘Rwaq’ platform which will be
developed using the Avatar tool that could allow female tutors to interact
socially with learners in MOOCs.

11.  The collected data were analysed from the 4 interviews into themes in relation to
the responses given by the participants. Overall, there were 4 teachers who were
given codes e.g. Teacher one T1, Teacher two T2 etc. The following table provides
some of the themes:
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Themes Sub-themes Interview Questions
1-Decision of face
appearance
- 1- As a cultural or religious issue I
Saudi, do you decide to show your face
in online course? Why?
2- Impact of Avatar on
teachers
Impact of
Avatar on
students
2- To what extent do you think replacing
the real teacher with the Avatar will give
benefits for female teachers and
students?

12.  Before starting with the MOOC course, I asked one question (Yes or
No) survey to a number of female academics at KAAU in Jeddah,
SA.
 To get their opinion on teaching a MOOC course (whether they
have no problem to leave their face uncovered or they are
reluctant?).
 The Result:
 67 responses
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13.  A simple course implementing the Avatar technology on ‘Rwaq’ platform
will be developed over a four week period using ‘Go-animate’ software.
 The aim is to discover the experiences of female lecturers towards the
Avatar technology as a new teaching method in MOOCs.
 To measure to what extent the cultural and social issues of gender-
segregated online learning of Saudi Arabian learners can be alleviated.
 At the end of the course, an electronic survey using ‘Google forms’ will be
sent by the instructor (the researcher) to participants, both male and female.
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14.  As there are often limitations and issues of gender-segregation
society in Saudi Arabian online learning and MOOCs, this study
aims to develop a socio-interactive communication environment;
adopting Avatar technology to represent female lecturers by
enhancing their presence, as well as encouraging interaction with
both male and female learners.
 The hypothesis is that the use of the Avatar technology on MOOCs
would increase female instructors’ participation and resolve the
issues that they could face in this regard.
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16. Questions???
 Raniah Adham
 r.s.a.adham@pgr.reading.ac.uk
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