Quality Assessment for E-learning: a Benchmarking Approach (Third edition)

The primary purpose of this manual is to provide a set of benchmarks, quality criteria and notes for guidance against which e-learning programmes and their support systems may be judged. The manual should therefore be seen primarily as a reference tool for the assessment or review of e-learning programmes and the systems which support them. However, the manual should also prove to be useful to staff in institutions concerned with the design, development, teaching, assessment and support of e-learning programmes. It is hoped that course developers, teachers and other stakeholders will see the manual as a useful development and/or improvement tool for incorporation in their own institutional systems of monitoring, evaluation and enhancement

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

Challenges implementing the SimProgramming approach in online software engineering education for promoting self and co-regulation of learning

High academic failure rates in computer programming are significant transitioning from initial to advanced stages. In online higher education, challenges are greater since students’ autonomy requires greater skills for self-regulation and co-regulation of learning. The SimProgramming approach develops these skills and is being adapted to e-learning for this transitioning phase. In this paper, we describe the dynamics and outcomes of student participation and task development in a first iteration of the adapted e-SimProgramming approach, which took place during a 2nd year-2nd semester course for the Informatics Engineering program at Universidade Aberta in the 2018/2019 academic year. We identified pedagogical and technical challenges, requiring changes for subsequent attempts of adopting SimProgramming for online education contexts: target audience and teaching context aspects; self and co-regulation of learning dimensions of e-learning courses; pedagogical design recommendations; and requirements for software tools for learning management.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Self-Regulated Learning in a Pandemic: Implementing the SEE Framework in an Online Teaching Environment

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is a cyclical process that motivates students and facilitates achievement in a variety of domains (Wang, 2013). It entails several processes, such as planning, setting goals, using learning strategies, self-monitoring, reflecting, and holding adaptive motivational beliefs. Moreover, SRL can be developed through interventions and classroom practices. However, there is a shortage of trained interventionists. Teachers can also use a variety of classroom practices to develop students’ SRL skills. A framework of practices, known as the Settings, Events, and Exchanges (SEE) framework, was developed to organize these classroom practices for teachers (Callan et al., 2020). The practices in this framework include (a) the creation of a setting that is conducive to SRL, (b) student-teacher exchanges that facilitate the development of SRL, and (c) events that allow students the chance to reflect on their learning. Specifically, teachers can foster effective learning settings by developing supportive student-teacher relationships, implementing routines and clear participation structures, providing collaborative learning opportunities, and encouraging the use of adaptive help-seeking strategies. Exchanges that support SRL include the use of explicit instructions, modeling, SRL feedback, prompts, and connections made between the use of SRL strategies and academic success. Finally, events that can facilitate SRL include multiple opportunities to succeed, long-term learning opportunities, tasks that are both at an appropriate challenge level as well as supportive of student autonomy, self-assessment, peer co-learning, and the use of SRL worksheets (Callan et al., 2020). The SEE framework was developed to support SRL development in traditional, in person classrooms. In light of the fact that online learning elicits a greater need for SRL, the purpose of this presentation is to examine which SEE framework practices do and do not have empirical support within online learning environments. Doing so provides practical support for teachers and identifies research gaps for researchers

Experts on e-learning: insights gained from listening to the student voice!

The Student Experience of e-Learning Laboratory (SEEL) project at the University of Greenwich was designed to explore and then implement a number of approaches to investigate learners’ experiences of using technology to support their learning. In this paper members of the SEEL team present initial findings from a University-wide survey of nearly a 1000 students. A selection of 90 ‘cameos’, drawn from the survey data, offer further insights into personal perceptions of e-learning and illustrate the diversity of students experiences. The cameos provide a more coherent picture of individual student experience based on the totality of each person’s responses to the questionnaire. Finally, extracts from follow-up case studies, based on interviews with a small number of students, allow us to ‘hear’ the student voice more clearly. Issues arising from an analysis of the data include student preferences for communication and social networking tools, views on the ‘smartness’ of their tutors’ uses of technology and perceptions of the value of e-learning. A primary finding and the focus of this paper, is that students effectively arrive at their own individualised selection, configuration and use of technologies and software that meets their perceived needs. This ‘personalisation’ does not imply that such configurations are the most efficient, nor does it automatically suggest that effective learning is occurring. SEEL reminds us that learners are individuals, who approach learning both with and without technology in their own distinctive ways. Hearing, understanding and responding to the student voice is fundamental in maximising learning effectiveness. Institutions should consider actively developing the capacity of academic staff to advise students on the usefulness of particular online tools and resources in support of learning and consider the potential benefits of building on what students already use in their everyday lives. Given the widespread perception that students tend to be ‘digital natives’ and academic staff ‘digital immigrants’ (Prensky, 2001), this could represent a considerable cultural challenge

A Quantitative Study Comparing Student Engagement and Student Achievement for Non-Traditional Graduate Students in Blended Synchronous or Asynchronous Online Learning

Enrollment in online learning has continued to grow; different types of learning environments are being utilized because of the flexibility they provide. Higher education instructors must understand how to effectively develop asynchronous and blended synchronous environments to maximize student engagement and achievement. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to investigate the possible cause-and-effect relationship between the learning environment and student engagement and achievement at a free-standing seminary. A convenience sample of 144 non-traditional seminary students between the ages of 35-and 70 years attending classes in two different learning modalities, blended synchronous and asynchronous online were utilized in this study. Participants completed Distance Education Learning Environment Survey (DELES) and the Online Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire (OSLQ) to measure student engagement and student achievement. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to investigate possible cause-and-effect relationship between the learning environment, student engagement, and student achievement. The results of the MANOVA were statistically significant for student achievement based on learning environment. There were no statistically significant differences between the type of learning environment and student engagement. Further research is recommended to determine if these results can be generalized to different types of institutions, both public and private, for traditional students

The Analysis of Learning Management System towards Students’ Cognitive Learning Outcome: A Systematic Literature Review

The purpose of this study was to determine the implementation of the moodle and edmodo learning management system (LMS) in education, to identify the specific features of the LMS that were utilized in the learning process, and to assess the impact of the LMS on student learning outcomes, drawing on cognitive learning theory. The research method is a systematic literature review (SLR) using the Scopus and Taylor & Francis databases, guided by the PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analyses) protocol, to analyze the data. The validity of the study was tested using the Gregory test with four expert examiners, namely an SLR expert, an LMS expert, and experts in cognitive learning outcomes. The results of the electronic database search focused on articles related to LMS implementation, LMS features, and student cognitive learning outcomes. This systematic literature review identified four key stages that serve as indicators of LMS implementation: 1) introduction, 2) registration, 3) learning materials, and 4) evaluation (assessment or feedback). The LMS features used in learning are grouped into four sections: communication features, course content features, course delivery features, and assignment features. The findings of the literature review indicate that the implementation of LMS and the features utilized in the learning process have an impact on various aspects of learning. These include learning satisfaction, engagement, learning experience, comfort, effectiveness, motivation, and the improvement of student learning outcomes

Regulation of Flipped Learning Activities in Programming: A Systematic Review

Flipped Learning can contribute significantly to learning, however there is an under-utilization of conceptual structures of design in the flipped classroom, with regard to the incorporation of pedagogical methods to promote the activities to be performed by students. The pedagogical design of flipped classrooms needs to provide a model that details how to facilitate activities before, during and after classes. It is important to analyze the moment before the classroom, which involves self-regulation, during the classroom which involves processes related to interaction and collaboration and after the classroom, related to reflective processes.  Developing and conducting a systematic review can contribute to an analysis of the current state of research on teacher facilitation in relation to student regulation in flipped learning related to teaching programming. The systematic review was carried out to identify all the research available on self-regulation and co-regulation by students during flipped learning in programming courses. The objective of this research is to identify and analyze relevant research related to the regulation and co-regulation of flipped learning activities in the teaching of programming, and to understand how the self-regulation and co-regulation of students has been approached to engage in activities before the classroom. class, collaboration and problem solving during classes and reflections after class. After a analysis of the articles listed by the systematic review, important gaps in the literature can be observed, such as the lack of approach to the three phases of flipped learning, regulation and co-regulation and all dimensions of regulation. Nor is there a theoretical framework based on processes and strategies of self and co-regulation for teaching computer programming. Thus, the present systematic review has significant relevance and highlights the need for studies that involve all elements of flipped learning in the teaching of programming