Design and Operationalization of Connectivist Activities: an Approach through Business Process Management

International audienceThe work presented in this paper focuses on massive open online course (MOOC) environments, and more specifically on the activity of designing and implementing pedagogical scenarios for a connectivist MOOC (cMOOC). This paper presents a research work, which aims to propose a model and tool to support the design of connectivist MOOC scenarios. The major contribution of this work is a visual authoring tool that is intended for the design and deployment of cMOOC-oriented scenarios. The tool is based on the BPMN notation that we have extended to suit our objectives. The tool was evaluated primarily from the point of view of utility and usability. The findings confirm that the tool can be used to design connectivist pedagogical scenarios and can provide all the necessary elements to operationalize such courses

A review on massive e-learning (MOOC) design, delivery and assessment

MOOCs or Massive Online Open Courses based on Open Educational Resources (OER) might be one of the most versatile ways to offer access to quality education, especially for those residing in far or disadvantaged areas. This article analyzes the state of the art on MOOCs, exploring open research questions and setting interesting topics and goals for further research. Finally, it proposes a framework that includes the use of software agents with the aim to improve and personalize management, delivery, efficiency and evaluation of massive online courses on an individual level basis.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Models, Process and Tool to Assist Cooperative Scenarization of Distant Learning Modules

International audienceThis paper deals with cooperative pedagogical scenarization. It presents a work carried out after an experience aiming at creating online training courses for an university degree. In the experience, lecturers had no experience in designing full online courses, and needed the support of pedagogical engineers to adapt their courses to suit online learner's requirements. The paper presents several models allowing pedagogical engineers to specify scenarios and also the process to be carried out in order to design these scenarios with lecturers. These models have been integrated in an online platform allowing pedagogical engineers to assist lecturers all along the design process to export the produced scenarios on the Moodle platform

MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses)

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online courses available to anyone who can sign up. MOOCs provide an affordable and flexible way to learn new skills, advance in careers, and provide quality educational experiences to a certain extent. Millions of people around the world use MOOCs for learning and their reasons are various, including career development, career change, college preparation, supplementary learning, lifelong learning, corporate e-Learning and training, and so on

How to design for persistence and retention in MOOCs?

Design of educational interventions is typically carried out following a design cycle involving phases of investigation, conceptualization, prototyping, implementation, execution and evaluation. This cycle can be applied at different levels of granularity e.g. learning activity, module, course or programme. In this paper we consider an aspect of learner behavior that can be critical to the success of many MOOCs i.e. their persistence to study, and the related theme of learner retention. We reflect on the impact that consideration of these can have on design decisions at different stages in the design cycle with the aim of en-hancing MOOC design in relation to learner persistence and retention, with particular attention to the European context

D2.1 Analysis of existing MOOC platforms and services

The main objective of this task is to analyze features and services of MOOC platforms that are used in ECO and, secondly, in other commonly used MOOC platforms. This task takes into account the functionality that is required by the different pilots from two viewpoints: technological and pedagogical aspects. Firstly, to ensure this objective, this task performed a state-of-the-art review, mainly research papers and all annotated scientific literature. Secondly, we elaborate a Competitive Analysis Checklist for MOOC platforms. An approach based on technological and pedagogical items is suggested to define specific dimensions for this task. This Checklist will be a useful tool for evaluating MOOC platforms. Thirdly, five of the ECO platforms have been evaluated by using the authoring and delivery environment to check for the availability of features that are essential for the implementation of the pedagogical model as described in D2.1. It became clear that these platforms are not very suitable for the pedagogical model. Finally, a Guide for the Effective Creation of MOOCs has been drawn up indicating to assist course designers to compare the functionality, features, pedagogical and instructional advantages so they can choose the most suitable one for their areas of interest and needs.Part of the work carried out has been funded with support from the European Commission, under the ICT Policy Support Programme, as part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) in the ECO project under grant agreement n° 21127

MOOCKnowledge: Establishing a large-scale data-collection about participants of European Open Online Courses

While MOOCS have emerged as a new form of open online education around the world,there are still no cross- provider and large-scale data collections that provides reliable information about demographic details of the population of MOOC participants on the one hand, and their motivation, intentions, social context, lifelong learning profile and impact on study success and career development on the other hand. The MOOCKnowledge project is an initiative to establish a large-scale data-collection about participants of European MOOCs. In this paper we describe the motivation behind the project and discuss the research focus. We explain the structure of the survey instrument, report about the data collection process and provide an outlook on potential future developments of the project.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

FINANCING AND MODELLING TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

This thesis is a collection of contributions on the technology adoption in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In particular, it focuses on how funding schemes and business models impact when a new technology is available. With the intent of providing a picture of how technology comes in the activity HEIs, the analysis starts off with a descriptive introduction about distance education with a special focus on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), then three articles will be presented. The first paper points out a substantial heterogeneity among the funding systems: the governments reaction to the economic crisis appears to be one of the principal divisive factors. Some governments have increased funds for higher education, introducing targeted funding, allocated on a competitive basis, to meet the national targets; others have been cutting budgets; the second paper shows that the activation of MOOC platforms generates also the beginning of a new university business model with strong economic implications; the third paper finds that universities with less resources are more prone to innovate and marketization of HE will drive a depth innovation process.This thesis is a collection of contributions on the technology adoption in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In particular, it focuses on how funding schemes and business models impact when a new technology is available. With the intent of providing a picture of how technology comes in the activity HEIs, the analysis starts off with a descriptive introduction about distance education with a special focus on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), then three articles will be presented. The first paper points out a substantial heterogeneity among the funding systems: the governments reaction to the economic crisis appears to be one of the principal divisive factors. Some governments have increased funds for higher education, introducing targeted funding, allocated on a competitive basis, to meet the national targets; others have been cutting budgets; the second paper shows that the activation of MOOC platforms generates also the beginning of a new university business model with strong economic implications; the third paper finds that universities with less resources are more prone to innovate and marketization of HE will drive a depth innovation process