This document summarizes a systematic analysis of 183 empirical research papers on MOOCs published between 2013-2015. The analysis examined the geographic distribution of research, publication outlets, citations, data collection/analysis methods, and research strands. Key findings include: Most research was conducted in the US and published in certain journals/conferences; studies of student topics and MOOC design were most common; quantitative methods like surveys dominated; and there was a lack of instructor-focused and qualitative research. The authors call for more diverse methodological approaches to understanding MOOCs.
This details a successful data-driven redesign of Math 215, an online statistics concepts course at Franklin University. The redesigned course incorporated new interactive educational multimedia. This new design resulted in improved student retention, better student performance, and better satisfaction with the course.
2nd Regional Symposium on Open Educational Resources:
Beyond Advocacy, Research and Policy
24 – 27 June 2014
Sub-theme 2: Impact
How Do Hong Kong Teachers Like to Use Open Textbooks?
Kin Sun Yuen, Kam Cheong Li
This details a successful data-driven redesign of Math 215, an online statistics concepts course at Franklin University. The redesigned course incorporated new interactive educational multimedia. This new design resulted in improved student retention, better student performance, and better satisfaction with the course.
2nd Regional Symposium on Open Educational Resources:
Beyond Advocacy, Research and Policy
24 – 27 June 2014
Sub-theme 2: Impact
How Do Hong Kong Teachers Like to Use Open Textbooks?
Kin Sun Yuen, Kam Cheong Li
Students and Faculty – Do They Agree on What Makes an Effective Online Classr...D2L Barry
Students and Faculty – Do They Agree on What Makes an Effective Online Classroom? Kayla Westra -Minnesota West CTC. Presentation at the Brightspace Minnesota Connection at Normandale Community College on April 14, 2016.
Students’ De-motivation in Handling Group Tasks: A Qualitative Study on the ...Mostafijur Rahman
This is the Bachelor Thesis presentation on materials utilizations in the secondary level classroom.
The thesis was for achieving BA Hons in English (Applied Linguistics).
How are students engaging with lecture recordings as a study resource?RichardM_Walker
This presentation reports on a 4-year study of lecture capture at the University of York (UK), focusing on the student learning experience of accessing and using recordings of lectures to support out-of- class learning. The presentation summarises the headline findings and discusses what this all means for institutional support to students and academic staff in teaching and learning activities.
Smart Phones & Tablets as a Research Tools - Arbutus Middle School Rich McCue
Can SmartPhones and Tablets be more than just distractions, but actually help with homework and research? This session will look at different strategies and applications that can help turn your SmartPhone or Tablet into a serious research tools.
12 Years of Student Technology Ownership Surveys: Trends & Today’s Opportunit...Rich McCue
For the past 12 years the University of Victoria Law Faculty & Louisiana State Law Center have surveyed incoming students on their personal technology ownership and usage in order to better understand the technology devices students are bringing with them to law school and how we can leverage those devices to provide a richer learning experience for students. In 2004 student data was gathered on laptop ownership and internet access. Questions were added over time, and we now collect data on the ownership and/or usage of: laptops, cell phones, tablets, email, collaborative document editing, desktop video, note taking, file backup, printing, and social-media. Current project goals include:
- Discover technologies students were bringing with them to school and their use.
- Explore ways to use personal technology for research and engaging instruction.
- Identify means to provide equitable access to technologies for students who cannot afford to purchase it for themselves.
By the end of the session participants will have a clear view of the technologies law students bring with them to school, as well as some potential ways those tools can be leveraged to provide more engaging instruction and better services to students.
Students and Faculty – Do They Agree on What Makes an Effective Online Classr...D2L Barry
Students and Faculty – Do They Agree on What Makes an Effective Online Classroom? Kayla Westra -Minnesota West CTC. Presentation at the Brightspace Minnesota Connection at Normandale Community College on April 14, 2016.
Students’ De-motivation in Handling Group Tasks: A Qualitative Study on the ...Mostafijur Rahman
This is the Bachelor Thesis presentation on materials utilizations in the secondary level classroom.
The thesis was for achieving BA Hons in English (Applied Linguistics).
How are students engaging with lecture recordings as a study resource?RichardM_Walker
This presentation reports on a 4-year study of lecture capture at the University of York (UK), focusing on the student learning experience of accessing and using recordings of lectures to support out-of- class learning. The presentation summarises the headline findings and discusses what this all means for institutional support to students and academic staff in teaching and learning activities.
Smart Phones & Tablets as a Research Tools - Arbutus Middle School Rich McCue
Can SmartPhones and Tablets be more than just distractions, but actually help with homework and research? This session will look at different strategies and applications that can help turn your SmartPhone or Tablet into a serious research tools.
12 Years of Student Technology Ownership Surveys: Trends & Today’s Opportunit...Rich McCue
For the past 12 years the University of Victoria Law Faculty & Louisiana State Law Center have surveyed incoming students on their personal technology ownership and usage in order to better understand the technology devices students are bringing with them to law school and how we can leverage those devices to provide a richer learning experience for students. In 2004 student data was gathered on laptop ownership and internet access. Questions were added over time, and we now collect data on the ownership and/or usage of: laptops, cell phones, tablets, email, collaborative document editing, desktop video, note taking, file backup, printing, and social-media. Current project goals include:
- Discover technologies students were bringing with them to school and their use.
- Explore ways to use personal technology for research and engaging instruction.
- Identify means to provide equitable access to technologies for students who cannot afford to purchase it for themselves.
By the end of the session participants will have a clear view of the technologies law students bring with them to school, as well as some potential ways those tools can be leveraged to provide more engaging instruction and better services to students.
MOOCs, 1 to 1 Laptop Programs, Flipped Classrooms & iPad Programs - is Educat...Rich McCue
For many technically savvy educators, myself included, the excitement and newness of a recently developed educational technologies are hard to resist. Whether it be true or not, there is usually an expectation that the new technology will perform better than the old. For example, newly released computers and smartphones are invariably faster and more capable than their predecessors. Can the same be said for new educational technologies? The short answer is no. New educational technologies alone do lead to higher student test scores, in the same way that this year’s more capable smartphone does not typically make better voice calls than a previous year’s model even though they may possess new features and functionality.
http://richmccue.com/2014/02/28/new-educational-technology-old-pedagogy-no-significant-difference/
Implementing successful ed tech projects don't forget the pedagogyRich McCue
Are new educational technologies more effective in helping students achieve learning objectives than the old technology they replace? How IT professionals implement educational technologies, and how instructors use the technology can mean the difference between no impact on student achievement, and higher grades with more engaged students.
While some educational technology projects aim to lower costs and others to increase access to education, this session will explore the intersection of educational technology and pedagogy (teaching methods). We will look at the relative effectiveness of educational technology implementations as varied as: Digital Textbooks, Clickers, Streaming Video Lectures, Mobile Learning, Virtual Labs, Collaboration Suites, and Learning Management Systems (LMS). Session participants will leave with a better understanding of how to assess the value of educational technology / pedagogy pairings. They will also have a better understanding of what key features make for successful EdTech projects.
Robert Faludi, collaborative strategy leader, Digi Internationalmakezine
The 1-1/2 day event kicks off with a VC panel, "Pitch Your Prototype," and "Getting Started, case studies of maker pros with early stage products. The Innovation Showcase follows, a unique opportunity to casually engage with over two dozen makers who have their cutting-edge products and devices on display. Creating an almost magical atmosphere where hardware innovation and creative genius generates spirited ideation, the Innovation Showcase is not to be missed.
Wednesday was an all-star lineup with over 30 speakers representing leading entrepreneurs and thought leaders at the forefront of the maker movement. Investors, industrial designers, product development teams - anyone looking for insight into the early stage companies with the potential to change the global business landscape - should attend.
Zak homuth at Hardware Innovation Summit 2013makezine
The 1-1/2 day event kicks off with a VC panel, "Pitch Your Prototype," and "Getting Started, case studies of maker pros with early stage products. The Innovation Showcase follows, a unique opportunity to casually engage with over two dozen makers who have their cutting-edge products and devices on display. Creating an almost magical atmosphere where hardware innovation and creative genius generates spirited ideation, the Innovation Showcase is not to be missed.
Wednesday was an all-star lineup with over 30 speakers representing leading entrepreneurs and thought leaders at the forefront of the maker movement. Investors, industrial designers, product development teams - anyone looking for insight into the early stage companies with the potential to change the global business landscape - should attend.
2 motorlu lazımlıklı hasta karyolası kumandalı yapısı sayesinde kolayca sırt ve ayak bölgesel hareketlerini gerçekleştirebileceğiniz aynı zamanda sürgülü tuvalet özelliği ile hastanızı yatağından kaldırmadan ihtiyacını giderebileceğiniz bir modeldir. 4 parçalı ortopedik lazımlıklı hasta yatağı ile satın alabilirsiniz.
Ahşap başlıkları ve tabanca korkulukları ile şık bir görünüme sahip 2 motorlu lazımlıklı hasta karyolası 2 adet 4500 N gücündeki dualatör motorlar sayesinde sırt ve ayak kısmı hareketlerini bir kumanda vasıtası ile gerçekleştirmenize olanak sağlar.Yatak tablası üzerinde hastanın kaba kısmına denk gelecek şekilde dizayn edilmiş bir delik bulunmaktadır.Kızak sistemi üzerinde kolayca hareket edebilen bir sürgü bulunmaktadır.
Bu sürgü her iki taraftan çıkarılabilir ve takılabilir.2 si frenli 4 adet tekerlek ile oda içerisinde kolayca hareket ettirilebilir.Sistem üzerinde bulunan pimli kilit mekanizmasına sahip alüminyum tabanca korkulukları sayesinde hastanızın yataktan düşme tehlikesi ortadan kalkar.Karyola ile birlikte satın alabileceğiniz 4 parçalı lazımlıklı hasta yatağı, hastanın tuvaleti geldiğinde kolayca çıkartabileceğiniz ve tuvalet ihtiyacı bittikten sonra yerine kolaylıkla takabileceğiniz sünger parçasına sahiptir.Sırt kısmını 0 dereceden 85 dereceye kadar ayak kısmını ise 0 dereceden 35 dereceye kadar kolaylıkla kaldırıp indirebileceğiniz kumandalı bir tuvaletli hasta karyolası modelidir.Yataktan hiçbir şekilde kalkmaması gereken hastalar ve tuvalate götürülemeyecek kadar ağır kilolu hastalar için ideal bir modeldir.2 yıl garantili olan 2 motorlu elektrikli lazımlıklı hasta karyolası kumanda ile hareket kabiliyeti sağlanan 4500 N gücündeki dual aktüatör motor olabildiğince sessiz çalışmakta ve 150 kg. kadar tüm hastalar için kullanılabilmektedir.Yatak platformu profil atkılar üzerine saç malzemeden imal edilmiş olup 4 parça sağlam tablalardan oluşmaktadır.Ürün sadece anlaşmalı kargo firmalarımızca gönderilir. İsteğinize bağlı olarak kargo dahil veya kargo hariç olarak 2 motorlu ahşap başlık ve korkuluklara sahip elektrikli hasta karyolası modelini satın alabilirsiniz.Ayak kısmında bulunan rastomat sayesinde manuel olarak yükseklik ayarı yapılabilir ayak bölgesini ters V pozisyonuna getirebilirsiniz.
2 Motorlu Lazımlıklı Hasta Karyolası (Ahşap Başlık - Tabanca Korkuluk) MS1634 başta olmak üzere tüm lazımlıklı hasta yatağı modelleri hakkında bilgi almak için (0232) 484 55 66 ve (0553) 567 27 57 nolu çağrı merkezimizden 7/24 bizlere ulaşabilirsiniz. Müşteri temsilcilerimiz sizi en uygun ürünler ve çözümler hakkında bilgilendireceklerdir.
Smart Phones & Tablets: Distractions or Homework Tools for Students?Rich McCue
Can SmartPhones and Tablets be more than just distractions, but actually help with homework ? This session will look at different strategies to reduce social media distractions, and applications that can help turn SmartPhone or Tablet into a serious homework tools. Talk is intended for non-technical users.
Seat eXchanger: The Mobile, Open Source, Web App that Facilitates Flexible Mu...Rich McCue
A significant problem facing Multi-Access courses with a limited number of face-to-face and online seats, is accommodating students who want or need to move between modalities without imposing an onerous administrative burden on instructors. One possible solution is the Seat eXchanger mobile web app under development in the TIE Lab at the University of Victoria. The Seat eXchanger app allows students to reserve and exchange of “seats,” depending on availability, and move seamlessly between modalities. At the beginning of the semester students indicate their primary mode of participation in the course, and then as needed or desired during the semester, they can use the web app to reserve a “seat” in a different modality for a session. For example if a student whose primary modality is face-to-face, wants to attend via remote video, they use the web app to reserve a virtual seat, which frees up their face-to-face “seat” in for someone else to use. The project roadmap includes:
- Release of source code under an Open Source license to allow others to contribute code and documentation back to the project.
- Integration with Moodle for authentication and seamless access for students.
- Waitlist functionality for students to add themselves to a waitlist if no seats are available in their desired modality for a session.
During this session, we will briefly demonstrate typical use cases for the software from the administrator and user perspectives, and then engage participants in a discussion about future functionality, features, and opportunities to contribute to the project.
A Systematic Analysis And Synthesis of the Empirical MOOC Literature Publishe...George Veletsianos
A deluge of empirical research became available on MOOCs in 2013-2015 and this research is available in disparate sources. This paper addresses a number of gaps in the scholarly understanding of MOOCs and presents a comprehensive picture of the literature by examining the geographic distribution, publication outlets, citations, data collection and analysis methods, and research strands of empirical research focusing on MOOCs during this time period. Results demonstrate that: more than 80% of this literature is published by individuals whose home institutions are in North America and Europe; a select few papers are widely cited while nearly half of the papers are cited zero times; and researchers have favored a quantitative if not positivist approach to the conduct of MOOC research, preferring the collection of data via surveys and automated methods. While some interpretive research was conducted on MOOCs in this time period, it was often basic and only a handful of studies were informed by methods traditionally associated with qualitative research (e.g., interviews, observations, focus groups). Analysis shows that there is limited research reported on instructor-related topics, and that even though researchers have attempted to identify and classify learners into various groupings, very little research examines the experiences of learner subpopulations.
The Open Research Agenda (Milton Keynes)Robert Farrow
Slides presented at the CALRG Annual Conference 2016
(http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2975). The Open Research Agenda is an international consultation exercise on research priorities in open education.
Slides presented at Open Education 2016. The Open Research Agenda is an international consultation exercise on research priorities in open education which combines online surveys and focus group interactions. This presentation summarises thematic analysis of the data set and indicates future directions for research in the field of open education.
Slides presented at Open Education 2016. The Open Research Agenda is an international consultation exercise on research priorities in open education which combines online surveys and focus group interactions. This presentation summarises thematic analysis of the data set and indicates future directions for research in the field of open education.
Slides presented at the 5th International Meeting of OERu partners, including some contributions from the floor on research priorities in open education
Computers and Learning Research Group: Research methods in open education: I...Robert Farrow
This session will present an overview of the Global OER Graduate Network research methods handbook. The handbook is being developed by members of the network who are researchers in open education, and will serve as a useful starting point for anyone wishing to do research in education with a focus on OER, MOOCs or OEP.
To contextualise this approach, an accessible and brief description of the types of methods typically used in research into education and educational technology will be provided. Some of the contrasting philosophical, epistemological and ontological commitments of different research paradigms will be used to differentiate alternative methodologies. Theoretical perspectives will be outlined but not fully explored.
State-of-the-art approaches will be explored and their relevance for open education explained. The presentation will use examples of current doctoral research to highlight the use of different methods, and will convey insights into using different methods as shared by the researchers. This includes reflections on using different methods, and advice for conducting similar work.
Finally, the presentation will offer up for discussion a provisional model of open scholarship including open practices (agile project management; directly influencing practice; radical transparency; sharing research instruments; social media presence; networks); open science (open access; open data; open licensing); digital innovation (HCI; data science; open source technologies); and normative elements (challenging dominant narratives; promoting social justice; and reducing barriers to educational access).
Open Education Research: Methodology Insights from the Global OER Graduate Ne...Robert Farrow
This session will present an overview of the Global OER Graduate Network research methods handbook. The handbook, published in 2020, was developed by members of the network who are doctoral and post-doctoral researchers in open education, and serves as a useful starting point for anyone wishing to do research in education with a focus on OER, MOOCs or OEP.
An accessible and brief description of the types of methods typically used in research into education and educational technology will be provided. Some of the contrasting philosophical, epistemological and ontological commitments of different research paradigms will be used to differentiate alternative methodologies. Theoretical perspectives will be outlined (but not fully explored).
State-of-the-art approaches will be explored and their relevance for open education explained. The presentation will use examples of current doctoral research to highlight the use of different methods, and will convey insights into using different methods as shared by the researchers. This includes reflections on using different methods, and advice for conducting similar work.
Finally, the presentation will offer up for discussion a provisional model of open scholarship including open practices (agile project management; directly influencing practice; radical transparency; sharing research instruments; social media presence; networks); open science (open access; open data; open licensing); digital innovation (HCI; data science; open source technologies); and normative elements (challenging dominant narratives; promoting social justice; and reducing barriers to educational access).
Reference:
Farrow, R., Iniesto, F., Weller, M. & Pitt., R. (2020). The GO-GN Research Methods Handbook. Open Education Research Hub. The Open University, UK. CC-BY 4.0. http://go-gn.net/gogn_outputs/research-methods-handbook/
This presentation, given on 30/9/20 to OpenEdColloquium20 at Nelson Mandela University, South Africa, highlights the GO-GN Research Methods Handbook. The Handbook provides a guide to research methodology for researchers working in the field of open education.
Research methods in open education: insights from the Global OER Graduate Ne...Robert Farrow
Presentation from the ALT Summer Summit 2020 describes the GO-GN Research Methods Handbook which supports researchers working in the field of open education
Presented by James Little (freelance and University of Sheffield) at The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK on 15 June 2017. This presentation formed part of the FutureLearn Academic Network section (FLAN Day) of the 38th Computers and Learning Research Group (CALRG) conference. For full details, see http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/3004
Open Education Research: Insights from the Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN)Robert Farrow
This presents an overview of the Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN) Research Methods Handbook. The aims of the GO-GN are:
- to raise the profile of research into open education,
- to offer support for those conducting PhD research in this area, and
- to develop openness as a process of research.
More than 100 doctoral and post-doctoral researchers form the core of the network with more than 200 experts, supervisors, mentors and interested parties forming a community of practice.
The Handbook was developed by members of the network who are researchers in open education, and serves as a useful starting point for anyone wishing to do research in education with a focus on OER, MOOCs or OEP.
To contextualise this approach, an accessible and brief description of the types of methods typically used in research into education and educational technology will be provided. Some of the contrasting philosophical, epistemological and ontological commitments of different research paradigms will be described. Theoretical perspectives will be outlined (though not fully explored).
The Handbook benefits from a range of illustrations (courtesy of Bryan Mathers) which are intended to make the Handbook more relatable and accessible. Reflections on the process of creating the visual journey will be shared.
Finally, the presentation will offer up for discussion a provisional model of open scholarship including open practices (agile project management; directly influencing practice; radical transparency; sharing research instruments; social media presence; networks); open science (open access; open data; open licensing); digital innovation (HCI; data science; open source technologies); and normative elements (challenging dominant narratives; promoting social justice; and reducing barriers to educational access).
Learning Outcomes:
- Delegates will benefit from an overview of research methods in open education
- Processes of open collaboration to produce a manuscript will be shared
- Supporting critical reflection on practice
OER in and as MOOCs: impact on Educators’ practices in African-developed high...ROER4D
Presentation for OER15, Cardiff, 14 April 2014. OER in and as MOOCs: impact on Educators’ practices in African-developed higher education courses.
This is a ROER4D Impact Study (sub-project 10.3). The impact studies are researching In what ways, and under what circumstances can OER adoption impact upon the increasing demand for accessible, relevant, high-quality, and affordable education in the Global South?
Terry Anderson is Director of Canadian Institute Distance Education Research (CIDER) at Athabasca University, Canada. Olaf Zawacki-Richter is Professor of Educational Technology at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg in Germany.
This shared presentation was delivered as part of the shared keynote speech at the 2014 EDEN Annual Conference in Zagreb.
http://www.eden-online.org
EMMA Summer School - Rebecca Ferguson - Learning design and learning analytic...EUmoocs
This hands-on workshop will work with learning design tools and with massive open online courses (MOOCs) on the FutureLearn platform to explore how learning design can be used to influence the choice and design of learning analytics. This workshop will be of interest to people who are involved in the design or presentation of online courses, and to those who want to find out more about learning design, learning analytics or MOOCs. Participants will find it helpful to have registered for FutureLearn and explored the platform for a short time in advance of the workshop.
This presentation was given during the EMMA Summer School, that took place in Ischia (Italy) on 4-11 July 2015.
More info on the website: http://project.europeanmoocs.eu/project/get-involved/summer-school/
Follow our MOOCs: http://platform.europeanmoocs.eu/MOOCs
Design and deliver your MOOC with EMMA: http://project.europeanmoocs.eu/project/get-involved/become-an-emma-mooc-provider/
Smartphones: Educational Distractions or Bicycles for Our Minds?Rich McCue
Can SmartPhones and Tablets be more than just distractions, but actually help with our homework? Today we will discuss different strategies to reduce social media distractions and applications that can help turn our SmartPhones or into serious homework tools or bicycles for our minds!
Do you know how much electricity you use in your home? Do you know how much energy your desktop computer or laptop uses? Will you save more electricity by turning off your computer at night or shortening your daily shower by five minutes? Discover some counter-intuitive facts about saving energy, money and the environment.
Best Practices for Creating & Leading Active-Learning Workshops in Academic M...Rich McCue
A how-to guide for creating and leading active learning workshops in academic makerspaces for non-educators. Step-by-step, with links to workshop materials that lead you through the process.
Exploring the Learning Outcomes of a Flipped Learning Methodology for Post-Se...Rich McCue
The concept of flipped learning has received significant attention in recent years. In a flipped learning methodology, students view instructional videos and complete related assignments before class, so that face-to-face time with the instructor can be spent applying the knowledge and skills they were introduced to in the pre-class assignments. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of a flipped learning method for teaching information literacy (IL) skills to undergraduate students compared to a traditional teaching method where the majority of face-to-face time is spent instructing. To evaluate this, a mixed methods research design was used, where results from qualitative interviews helped explain findings from test data, assignment completion data, and major paper rubric data. The IL tests resulted in a small but insignificant test score improvement for flipped participants. Interviewed flipped participants reported mainly positive feelings toward flipped learning, whereas all flipped ESL interviewees related strong positive feedback towards flipped learning.
Flipped Classrooms: A Powerful Teaching Tool, But Not a PanaceaRich McCue
Adopting a flipped classroom approach can free up valuable in-class time by using videos and exercises that students watch and complete as homework, or “pre-work." This allows teachers to more easily differentiate their instruction and allows students to learn at their own pace. Teachers can typically spend more one-on-one time with students who are struggling during class time, and allows for more student selected project based learning to engage students. This talk includes an overview of the flipped learning model, a demonstration of one approach to flipping a classroom, and discussion of where flipped learning works and does not work well—along with equity issues to keep in mind when implementing.
At UVic, we wanted to gain a better understanding of the technology devices students bring and use at campus, so we surveyed students to gather data on the ownership and/or usage of: laptops, cellphones, tablets, email, collaborative document editing, desktop video, note taking, file backup, printing, and social-media.
Our project goals included:
- Discover technologies students were bringing with them to school and their use.
- Explore ways to use personal technology for research and engaging instruction.
- Identify means to provide equitable access to technologies for students who cannot afford to purchase it for themselves.
By the end of the session, participants will have a clear view of the technologies UVic students bring with them to school, as well as some potential ways those tools can be leveraged to provide more engaging instruction and better services to students.
- Rich McCue, Marcus Greenshields, In-In Po
Do you know how much electricity you use in your personal office, cubicle or home? Do you know how much energy your desktop computer or laptop uses? Will you save more electricity by turning off your computer at night or shortening your daily shower by five minutes? Discover some counter-intuitive facts about saving energy, money and the environment.
SmartPhone & Tablets: Research Tools for Students? Rich McCue
Can SmartPhone and Tablets be more than just distractions, but actually help with homework and research? This session will look at different strategies and applications that can help turn your electronic devices into a serious academic tools.
Video Conferencing Via Robot: Needs and Implication of Access by Cyber ProxyRich McCue
A discussion of how Video Conference robots can enable and enrich Multi-Access learning in small classes and graduate seminars, and why that is desirable. Also highlighted are potential roadblocks to implementation, and the insights of a number of instructors already teaching Multi-Access classes with traditional video conference tools.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
Honest Reviews of Tim Han LMA Course Program.pptxtimhan337
Personal development courses are widely available today, with each one promising life-changing outcomes. Tim Han’s Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course has drawn a lot of interest. In addition to offering my frank assessment of Success Insider’s LMA Course, this piece examines the course’s effects via a variety of Tim Han LMA course reviews and Success Insider comments.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Introduction to AI for Nonprofits with Tapp NetworkTechSoup
Dive into the world of AI! Experts Jon Hill and Tareq Monaur will guide you through AI's role in enhancing nonprofit websites and basic marketing strategies, making it easy to understand and apply.
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
Safalta Digital marketing institute in Noida, provide complete applications that encompass a huge range of virtual advertising and marketing additives, which includes search engine optimization, virtual communication advertising, pay-per-click on marketing, content material advertising, internet analytics, and greater. These university courses are designed for students who possess a comprehensive understanding of virtual marketing strategies and attributes.Safalta Digital Marketing Institute in Noida is a first choice for young individuals or students who are looking to start their careers in the field of digital advertising. The institute gives specialized courses designed and certification.
for beginners, providing thorough training in areas such as SEO, digital communication marketing, and PPC training in Noida. After finishing the program, students receive the certifications recognised by top different universitie, setting a strong foundation for a successful career in digital marketing.
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
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Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
A Systematic Analysis And Synthesis of the Empirical MOOC Literature Published in 2013-2015
1. A Systematic Analysis And Synthesis of
the Empirical MOOC Literature
Published in 2013-2015
George Veletsianos - Canada Research Chair in Innovative Learning & Technology, Royal Roads University,
Peter Shepherdson - University of Zurich, Laura Pasquini - University of North Texas, & Rich McCue - UVic
The 9th Collaboration for Online Higher Education & Research (COHERE) Conference October 2015, Victoria & Halifax, Canada
2. Rich McCue
University of Victoria
George Veletsianos, Canada Research Chair in Innovative
Learning & Technology, Royal Roads University
Peter Shepherdson
University of Zurich
Laura Pasquini
University of North
Texas
3. • What is the state of MOOC
research (very briefly)?
• Where are there gaps & what gaps
can we fill?
• Research Methods.
• Did we find anything interesting?
Overview
4. Introduction
We wanted to address a number of gaps in the scholarly
understanding of MOOCs and present a comprehensive
picture of the MOOC literature by examining:
geographic distribution,
publication outlets,
citations,
data collection and analysis methods, and
research strands of empirical research focusing on MOOCs.
6. cMOOCs and xMOOCs?
● cMOOCs are described as being “based on principles of connectivism, openness, and participatory teaching” (Jacoby, 2014, p.
76), “through a dynamic network of connections afforded by online technology” (Ebben & Murphy, 2014, p. 333).
● xMOOCs resemble “traditional teacher-directed course[s], yet automated, massive, and online” (Kennedy, 2014, p. 8).
● Early MOOCs tended to follow the cMOOC model, whereas more recently the number of xMOOCs delivered has been growing
rapidly.
7. Expected impacts of MOOCs on education
The size and openness of MOOCs have the potential to
disrupt conventional thinking about the role, value, and cost
of higher education.
The discourse around MOOCs could diminish of the
authority and importance of the educational leader.
MOOCs may threaten the business models of universities.
8. Demographics of MOOC users
• Vast majority male, 20-40 yrs old.
• College degree or higher.
• More than 1/2 of learners from
outside the United States.
• Majority of participants are from
North America and Europe, with a
small minority being from Asia,
Southeast Asia, or Africa.
9. Challenges for MOOC’s
Completion rates in MOOCs are less than 10%. Why?
A lack of incentive, many courses free.
Insufficient prior knowledge (e.g., lack of math or language skills).
Failure to understand the content and having no one to turn to for help,
Lack of time due to having other priorities and commitments.
90%
10. Research Questions:
RQ1: How is MOOC research geographically distributed?
RQ2: Is MOOC research usually published in journal or
conference proceedings? In which journals and conference
proceedings is MOOC research currently being published?
RQ3: Which empirical MOOC studies are cited the most?
RQ4: What data collection methods and data analysis
methods are used in empirical studies of MOOCs?
RQ5: What are the research strands of empirical MOOC
research?
12. Literature discovery searches were conducted using the [NEXT] keywords “MOOC” or “Massive Open Online Course.” To be
included articles had to be:
(1) empirical,
(2) published in a peer-reviewed journal, in conference proceedings, or in Educause Review,
(3) published or was available online as in press between January 2013 and January 2015, and
(4) written in English.
All identified papers were examined by [NEXT] two researchers to ensure consensus that they fit the inclusion criteria.
Forwarding references: In [NEXT] Google scholar looked up the papers and the looked at papers that cited those papers to
discover new papers. Found 60 new papers.
Completeness Search: Examined references of 17 papers published in 2015 in our corpus to identify any papers that we missed.
They were more likely to reference literature published in 2013-2014 than the papers published in 2013 or 2014. 5 new papers
found.
[NEXT] The final number of published papers that constituted the corpus of this study was 183.
Data Collection
Search Keywords: “MOOC” or “Massive Open Online Course”
Published Papers: n=183
Authors: n=460
13. Limitations
1. Limited duration - 3
years.
2. Only English
language data.
3. Quality of research
not evaluated.
4. Some content
analyzed, but not all.
15. RQ1: How is MOOC research geographically distributed?
Country Corpus
USA 50.2%
UK Kingdom 10%
Australia 7.7%
China 5.4%
Spain 4.8%
Canada 4.5%
Germany 2.2%
Switzerland 1.3%
Netherlands 1.1%
Other (29 countries) 12.8%
Author Affiliations
16. RQ2a: Is MOOC research usually published in
journals or conference proceedings?
17. RQ2b: In which journals and conference
proceedings is MOOC research currently being
published?
Outlet name # of papers Type
International Review of Research in Open and
Distributed Learning (IRRODL) 18 Journal
Proceedings of the first ACM conference on Learning
@ scale (L@S '14) 11 Conference
Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT) 7 Journal
Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural
Language Processing (EMNLP) 5 Conference
Distance Education 5 Journal
NIPS Workshop on Data Driven Education 5 Conference
Proceedings of the 2014 ASCILITE Conference 4 Conference
EDUCAUSE Review 4 Journal
18. RQ3: Which empirical MOOC studies are cited
the most?
Paper # of citations
- Studying learning in the worldwide classroom research into edX’s
first MOOC.
124
- Deconstructing disengagement: Analyzing learner subpopulations in
massive open online courses.
117
- MOOCs and the funnel of participation. 83
- Tuned Models of Peer Assessment in MOOCs. 73
- Automated Feedback Generation for Introductory Programming
Assignments.
56
- Retention and Intention in Massive Open Online Courses: In Depth. 41
- “Turn on, Tune in, Drop out”: Anticipating student dropouts in
Massive Open Online Courses.
35
19. RQ4: What data collection methods & analysis
are used in empirical studies of MOOCs?
Analytic method Frequency (%) of
total papers
Descriptive statistics 93.4
Correlational 52.5
Basic qualitative study 38.8
Experimental and quasi-experimental 25.7
Grounded Theory 7.6
Natural Language processing 7.6
Social Network Analysis 6.6
Ethnography 4.4
Phenomenology 2.2
Discourse analysis 1.0
20. RQ5: What are the research strands of empirical
MOOC research?
● [NEXT] 83.6% of the papers focused on student-related areas.
● [NEXT] Nearly half (46.4%) of the papers identified in the literature search had some focus on
topics relating to the design, creation, and implementation of MOOCs themselves. This included
research pertaining to methods of assessment, the description of unique learning environments,
the creation of MOOCs on specific topics, and the evaluation of course success.
● [NEXT] Only 8.2% of papers focused on topics related to instructors and teaching. Papers within
this theme largely focused on academics’ awareness, perspectives of, and experiences with
MOOCs.
● [NEXT] 10.9% of the corpus contained content pertaining to the context and impact of MOOCs.
This included research into perceptions of MOOCs, their usefulness as an educational medium,
and their economic impact .
● [NEXT] Other.
84%
46%
8%
11%
22. Dependence on particular research methods may
restrict our understanding of MOOCs
Analysis suggests that researchers have favored a
quantitative, if not positivist approach to the conduct of
MOOC research.
23. Survey data and secondary data collected via automated
methods were also favored.
While some interpretive research was conducted in MOOCs
in this time period, it was often basic and only a handful of
studies were informed by methods traditionally associated
with qualitative research (e.g., interviews, observations,
focus groups).
24. Thus, even though results suggest that research on MOOCs focuses on student-related topics, learners’ voices are largely absent
in the literature.
Based on these results, we suggest that an expansion of the methodological approaches used in MOOC research is urgently
needed.
25. Paucity of research examining instructor-related
topics
Analysis shows that there is limited research reported on instructor-related topics. This is a rich area for future research.
Topics of interest in this area may include instructor motivations, experiences, and perceptions.
27. Understanding Learner Subpopulations
Little research examines the experiences of
different populations and how and why learning
experiences differ between groups.
Future research into this area for instance could
examine why some learners disengage, how
the learning experience of drop-ins differs from
the learning experience of those who are non-
engaged, and what interventions may scaffold
different types of learners.
28. The geography of MOOC research
Our geographical analysis of author affiliations showed that over half of the authors conducted their research in the USA.
Over 80% of authors were affiliated with institutions in North America or Europe.
29. Percentage of Research Published in USA
In contrast, according to a Scimago search of all citable documents published in 2013 across all disciplines only 19% came from
the USA, and it takes the top 20 countries (including at least seven countries from outside of North America and Europe) to account
for 80% of academic output.
As such, current MOOC research is simply not a reflection of geographical contributions to academic output in general.
0% 15% 30% 45% 60%
MOOC Resarch
All Other Research
30. Future Directions
We hope that this systematic analysis enables researchers to make better sense of the empirical literature on MOOCs and its
direction and limitations.
There are many possibilities for future research in this area. Future systematic reviews of the literature may focus on:
Synthesizing the knowledge on particular areas of interest, (completion and retention in MOOCs; learner motivations in
MOOCs).
Examining whether research methods used to understand MOOCs follow standard methods of inquiry.
Follow methods that take into advantage the digital nature of learning and teaching in this context.
31. Final Thoughts
Finally, we hope that our results highlight the need for a critical reflection on the part of researchers as to the methods they have
used to understand MOOCs to date and encourage a greater diversity in research methods.
32. Thank you!
Research available at: http://veletsianos/publications
This presentation:
http://slideshare.net/richmccue
Contact:
veletsianos@gmail.com
@veletsianos on twitter
@richmccue on twitter
Photo credit: Got Credit
33. Special Thanks to the Creators of the Creative
Commons Images used in this presentation:
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/47572798@N00/8397808475
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wet_winding_road.jpg
• https://pixabay.com/en/world-map-map-world-black-earth-297446/
• http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/26283
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press#/media/File:PrintMus_038.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2011_Library_of_Congress_USA_5466788868_card_catalog.jpg
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Rhll_wire_rope.jpg
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Urval_av_de_bocker_som_har_vunnit_Nordiska_radets_litteraturpris_unde
r_de_50_ar_som_priset_funnits_(3).jpg
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/mathplourde/8620174342/sizes/l/in/photostream/
• http://orig00.deviantart.net/34c5/f/2011/263/d/6/destruction_by_tbh_1138-d4af5vp.png
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/68751915@N05/6355351769
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/ECLA_of_Bard_Seminar,_2012.jpg
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/143186839
• https://pixabay.com/en/beer-quit-quitting-can-vintage-398742/
• https://pixabay.com/en/blueprint-ruler-architecture-964629/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/keithroper/8139626676
• http://www.picserver.org/images/highway/phrases/results.jpg
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Colossus.jpg
• http://www.apa.org/images/apastyle_logo.gif
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Student_in_Class_(3618969705).jpg
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Avrocar_schematic_(high_resolution).jpg
• http://teachers.net/teachers.jpg
• https://pixabay.com/p-90781/?no_redirect
• https://pixabay.com/en/people-sitting-chairs-in-front-690810/
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/1895-Dictionary-Phrenolog.png
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/safari_vacation/10362491406
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/16210667@N02/15617432129
• http://www.veletsianos.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/edtechmooc.jpg
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/intersectionconsulting/7537238368/
• https://pixabay.com/en/compass-antique-map-of-the-world-429772/
• http://asiimdesgraphic.deviantart.com/art/Mirror-Ball-Reflection-214407739
Editor's Notes
… I’m going be reviewing the highlights of our paper titled,
“A Systematic Analysis And Synthesis of the Empirical MOOC Literature Published in 2013-2015”
I’m presenting on behalf of our Research Team:
George Veletsianos
Peter Shepherdson
Laura Pasquini
Rich McCue
Overview:
What is the state of MOOC research (I’ll keep this part very brief)?
Where are there gaps & what gaps can we fill?
I’ll go over Research Methods.
Did we find anything interesting? ----> I won’t keep you in suspense, [NEXT] YES we did discover some interesting findings.
A deluge of empirical research became available on MOOCs between 2013-2015. The goal of our research was to address a number of gaps in the scholarly understanding of MOOCs and present a comprehensive picture of the MOOC literature by examining the:
[NEXT] geographic distribution,
[NEXT] publication outlets,
[NEXT] citations,
[NEXT] data collection and analysis methods, and
[NEXT] strands of empirical research focusing on MOOCs.
Review of the Literature
What difference is there between cMOOC’s and xMOOC’s:
cMOOCs are described as being “based on principles of connectivism, openness, and participatory teaching” (Jacoby, 2014, p. 76).
xMOOCs resemble “traditional teacher-directed course[s], yet automated, massive, and online” (Kennedy, 2014, p. 8).
Early MOOCs tended to follow the cMOOC model, whereas more recently the number of xMOOCs delivered has been growing rapidly.
What are some of the expected impacts of MOOC’s on Education?
[NEXT] The size and openness of MOOCs have the potential to disrupt conventional thinking about the role, value, and cost of higher education.
[NEXT] The discourse around MOOCs could diminish of the authority and importance of the educational leader.
[NEXT] MOOCs may threaten the business models of universities.
What are the general demographics of MOOC users?
The vast majority are male, between the ages of 20 and 40,
and have already earned a college degree or higher.
More than half of learners in MOOCs are from countries other than the United States.
A large majority of participants are from North America and Europe, with a small minority being from Asia, Southeast Asia, or Africa.
What is one of the major challenges for MOOC’s that you’ve probably heard about?
[NEXT] Completion rates in MOOCs are less than 10%.
And why is that? Some reasons we found in the literature are:
A lack of incentives; for example, many courses free.
Insufficient prior knowledge (e.g., lack of math or language skills).
Failure to understand the content and having no one to turn to for help,
Lack of time due to having other priorities and commitments.
Here are the research questions we addressed in our study, and I’ll go over each one with our associated findings in just a minute...
But first, Research Methods
Literature discovery searches were conducted using the [NEXT] keywords “MOOC” or “Massive Open Online Course.” To be included articles had to be: (1) empirical, (2) published in a peer-reviewed journal, in conference proceedings, or in Educause Review, (3) published or was available online as in press between January 2013 and January 2015, and (4) written in English.
All identified papers were examined by two researchers to ensure consensus that they fit the inclusion criteria.
In [NEXT] Google scholar we looked up each of the identified papers and then looked at all papers that cited the identified paper in order to discover new papers. We found 60 new papers and included them in our corpus.
In addition, we examined references of 17 papers published in 2015 to identify any papers that we might have missed.
They were more likely to reference literature published in 2013-2014 than the papers published in 2013 or 2014. 5 new papers found.
[NEXT] The final number of published papers that constituted the corpus of this study was 183 with [NEXT] 460 Authors.
This study clarifies the state of the literature published at a particular point in time, and there are three limitations arising from this research context.
First, this study draws upon less than three years of English Language data and its findings are only representative of the research on MOOCs at an early stage.
Second, the data analysis methods used do not allow us to judge the quality of the research reported. The papers included in our corpus are of mixed quality. For instance, our reporting on the use of grounded theory does not necessarily examine whether the authors used the method correctly, rigorously, or even uniformly.
Third, while our data reflect some of the content of the papers analyzed, they do not reflect a full evaluation of the contents of the papers.
Results
RQ1: How is MOOC research geographically distributed?
We determined the geographic distribution of research papers by looking at the home institution of the lead author on each paper, and then categorized the institution by country and region.
We did the same for each for each of the 460 authors.
The vast majority of authors came from North America and Europe, which between them accounted for over 82% of the author affiliations
[NEXT] More than half of the authors were affiliated with institutions from the USA. Top 9 countries represented 87% of the author affiliations. The other 13% of authors represented 29 other countries.
RQ2a: Is MOOC research usually published in journals or conference proceedings?
98 papers were published in peer-reviewed journals and 85 were published in conference proceedings.
RQ2b: In which journals and conference proceedings is MOOC research currently being published?
The top three are:
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning.
Proceedings of the first ACM conference on Learning @ scale.
Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT).
RQ3: Which empirical MOOC studies are cited the most?
We determined citation frequency by In looking up each article in Google scholar and used the Google Scholar “Cited By” number.
I’ll let you read the study titles, but my favourite title on the list is: “Turn on, Tune in, Drop out”: Anticipating student dropouts in Massive Open Online Courses.
I suspect I like this title, because of the embarrassingly large number of MOOC’s I’ve signed up for, but by the time the start date rolled arounds, discovered I was too busy to add a course to my schedule.
Of the 183 papers identified, almost half (48%) were cited 0 times, and Seventy-two papers were cited one to ten times. Thirteen papers were cited 25 or more times.
RQ4: What data collection methods and data analysis methods are used in empirical studies of MOOCs?
This data was gathered by two researchers who analysed each article for data collection and analysis methods… (aside: which gave one researcher in particular an appreciation for well structured and formatted journal articles) ;-)
For starters 45% of the papers used one data collection method and 38% used two data collection methods.
Automated collection of secondary data (e.g., trace data from Learning Mgt Systems) was used 73% of the time.
The second most popular data collection method was questionnaires/surveys, which were used in 56% of papers.
The rest of the data collection methods were used much less frequently.
Automated methods of data collection were used as the sole data collection method in 27% of the corpus. Questionnaires and surveys were used as the sole data collection method 10% of the time.
RQ5: What are the research strands of empirical MOOC research?
This data was gathered by two researchers who analyzed each article for research strands.
[NEXT] 84% of the papers focused on student-related areas, including research on learner behaviors, motivation, performance, participation, preferences, and interaction.
Given the attention that MOOC completion rates have received in the mass media, it is perhaps unsurprising that numerous researchers have examined completion, retention, and learner subpopulations.
For instance, low completion rates (often less than 10% of registrants), vary substantially among learners with different intentions.
[NEXT] Nearly half, or 46% of the papers had some focus on topics relating to the design, creation, and implementation of MOOCs themselves.
This included research pertaining to methods of assessment, the description of unique learning environments, the creation of MOOCs on specific topics, and the evaluation of course success.
Common within this theme was research that investigated the utility of individual elements of MOOCs. For example, some researchers focused on the inclusion of tools for social interaction within online courses, while others investigated the use of specific types of media in instruction.
There was also a strong focus on means of assessing student work
[NEXT] Only 8% of papers focused on topics related to instructors and teaching.
Papers within this theme largely focused on academics’ awareness, perspectives of, and experiences with MOOCs.
[NEXT] 11% of the corpus contained content pertaining to the context and impact of MOOCs.
This included research into perceptions of MOOCs, their usefulness as an educational medium, and their economic impact.
Discussion & Conclusions
Our analysis suggests that researchers have strongly favored a quantitative, if not positivist approach to the conduct of MOOC research.
This dependence on these particular research methods may restrict our understanding of MOOCs
I personally suspect that part of the reason the quantitative research approach is used so frequently, is the relative ease of accessing clickstream data from MOOC environments, as opposed to the difficulties and expense involved in conducting many forms of qualitative research.
“Positivism is a philosophical theory stating that positive knowledge is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations. Thus, information derived from sensory experience, interpreted through reason and logic, forms the exclusive source of all authoritative knowledge.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism
Not surprisingly, survey data and secondary data collected via automated methods were also favored.
While some interpretive research was conducted in MOOCs in this time period, it was often basic and only a handful of studies were informed by methods traditionally associated with qualitative research (e.g., interviews, observations, focus groups).
Thus, even though our results suggest that research on MOOCs focuses on student-related topics, learners’ voices are largely absent in the literature.
These results provide empirical support to the claim published by Veletsianos, Collier, and Schneider that “the MOOC phenomenon experienced a surge of research using quantitative, clickstream and observational data” and suggest that what we know about MOOCs may be the result of the field’s overwhelming dependence on particular data collection and analysis methods.
Based on these results, we suggest that an expansion of the methodological approaches used in MOOC research is urgently needed.
Given that research into MOOCs is expected to inform learning in all environments and not just MOOCs, a broader methodological toolkit is imperative.
Analysis shows that there is limited research reported on instructor-related topics. This is a rich area for future research.
Topics of interest in this area may include: instructor motivations, experiences, and perceptions.
Researchers could examine how instructors experience the design and development of these courses, why they choose to teach MOOCs, and how they perceive their relationship with MOOC learners (and whether that relationship differs from traditional student-learner relationships).
Given that a number of MOOCs enlist the help of instructional assistants (e.g., Teaching Assistants and course “alumni”), research in this area could investigate the impact of instructional assistants on learning and support, as well as the experiences that instructional staff have in the delivery of the course.
Results show that a number of researchers have attempted to identify and classify learners into various groupings.
For instance, the literature suggests that MOOC learners can be described as completing, auditing, disengaging, sampling, and so on...
Little research examines the experiences of different populations and how and why learning experiences differ between groups.
One exception is Huang et al who examined the quality and impact of discussion forum posts made by high-volume contributors.
Future research into this area for instance could examine:
why some learners disengage,
how the learning experience of drop-ins differs from the learning experience of those who are non-engaged, and
what interventions may scaffold different types of learners.
Our geographical analysis of author affiliations showed that over half of the authors conducted their research in the USA.
Over 80% of authors were affiliated with institutions in North America or Europe.
In contrast, according to a “Scimago" search of all citable documents published in 2013 across all disciplines only 19% came from the USA, and it takes the top 20 countries (including at least seven countries from outside of North America and Europe) to account for 80% of academic output.
As such, current MOOC research is simply not a reflection of geographical contributions to academic output in general.
We hope that our systematic analysis enables researchers to make better sense of the empirical literature on MOOCs and its direction and limitations.
There are many possibilities for future research in this area. Future systematic reviews of the literature may focus on:
Synthesizing the knowledge on particular areas of interest, (e.g. completion and retention in MOOCs; learner motivations in MOOCs).
Examining whether research methods used to understand MOOCs follow standard methods of inquiry.
Use methods that take advantage of the digital nature of learning and teaching in this context.
Finally, we hope that our results highlight the need for a critical reflection on the part of researchers as to the methods they have used to understand MOOCs to date and encourage a greater diversity in research methods.