This document discusses a study on the effects of large class sizes (massiveness) on student participation in social technologies. The study examined a MOOC implemented in a secondary education setting. Researchers found that students in the larger MOOC course with 82% enrollment (versus 18% in the control group) were significantly more engaged with the social and collaborative aspects of the course. Specifically, MOOC students read forum posts 3.88 times more and produced 3.56 times as many forum posts as students in the smaller control group course. The researchers concluded that MOOCs can foster more active participation and interaction among secondary students when implemented on a large scale.

1. The effects of massiveness on the
participation in social technologies:
a MOOC in secondary education
Daniel Amo Filvà
María José Casany Guerrero
Marc Alier Forment

2. Objective
• Research executed in a secondary education
scenario.
• The main aim was to study how the massiveness
affects participation and interaction in social and
web 2.0 technologies.

3. Social and Web 2.0
technologies
• The impact of the emergent use of Social and Web
2.0 technologies have converged in a paradigm
change.
• In this new paradigm the student represents the
center of the learning process.
• The teacher converges to a more dynamic role as
tutor, mediator, curator or knowledge facilitator.

4. MOOCs
• There could be find two kinds of MOOCs: cMOOCs
and xMOOCs.
• cMOOCs (connectivism) are student centered
courses without a teacher that assesses the
process of learning.
• xMOOCs (behaviourism) are teacher centered
courses. Some advances in constructivist technics
approaches are balancing the center between
teachers and students.

5. (c/x)MOOCs and Social
Technologies
• The use of virtual learning environments are
needed in order to conduct MOOCs.
• Social and web 2.0 technologies are the basis of
the communication between all the participants.

6. Social and Web 2.0 technologies
in Secondary Education
• Researches show beneficial effects in the
application of social technologies in secondary
education.
• The Ivy League MOOC Universities are progressing
in the creation of MOOCs for secondary education.

7. MOOCs in Secondary
Education
• Is not as easy as in university level to achieve high
grades of enrollments.
• A high enrollment is considered 300 students,
working hard to enroll at least 1.000 students in the
last quarter of 2014.

8. Sample & Method
• 12 tutors. 1 for each participant classroom.
• Significative sample of 309 students split in two
courses.
• One course with 18% students enrolled.
Considered the control group.
• One course with the 82% of the sample onrolled.
Considered the MOOC to study.

9. MOOC Structure and Flow
• 3 course week
• A forum for reflection in all of the weeks
• Visualization of videos in the first two weeks
• Active wiki and peer reflection in the last week

10. Results
• The MOOC students read 3,88 times the messages
read by those in the control group.
• The MOOC students produced 3,56 times the
posts by those in the control group.

11. Conclusions
!
• A MOOC in secondary education:
• Foster more active users.
• Give more opportunities for participation and
interaction engagement.
• Very social students leverage their social skills.