97 research outputs found
Contextualizing the co-creation of artefacts within the nested social structure of a collaborative MOOC
MOOCs have traditionally been seen as providing an individual learning experience, however there is an increasing trend towards enabling social learning in MOOCs. To make online learning at scale more social and collaborative, some MOOCs have introduced cohorts. The interaction between a smaller number of learners, within a cohort, facilitates a richer exchange of experiences and ideas as compared to the effect of âdrinking from the fire hoseâ felt in MOOCs without cohorts. Traditionally, these cohorts have been formed randomly. In this paper, we examine the MOOC âInquiry and Technology for Teachersâ, where we formed cohorts based on student demographics relevant to our course design. Furthermore, these cohorts (which we called Special Interest Groups, SIGs) contained a nested social structure of small teams that worked together on co-creating a final artifact. The different social planes (whole course, SIGs, teams, and individuals) were linked together by pedagogical scripts that orchestrated the movement of ideas and artifacts vertically and horizontally. In this contribution, we analyzed the interaction between these social planes to contextualize the co-creation of artefacts
Semantically Meaningful Cohorts Enable Specialized Knowledge Sharing in a Collaborative MOOC
This study presents an analysis of a MOOC on inquiry and technology for in-service teachers, which was designed to scaffold multi- ple disciplinary knowledge communities through common weekly themes, and course-long collaboration scripts happening at different social planes. Using our course design to inform the design of the analysis, we examine how the discourse in each semantically meaningful cohort (Special Inter- est Groups, SIGs) is indexed to the weekly themes, and develops these themes in areas informed by the discipline, and by the group dynamics. We show that SIG membership influences individual contributions, and that more cohesive disciplinary SIGs are correlated with higher quality student work
The student-produced electronic portfolio in craft education
The authors studied primary school studentsâ experiences of using an electronic portfolio in their craft education over four years. A stimulated recall interview was applied to collect user experiences and qualitative content analysis to analyse the collected data. The results indicate that the electronic portfolio was experienced as a multipurpose tool to support learning. It makes the learning process visible and in that way helps focus on and improves the quality of learning. © ISLS.Peer reviewe
Analytics-based approach to the study of learning networks in digital education settings
Investigating howgroups communicate, build knowledge and expertise, reach consensus or collaboratively
solve complex problems, became one of the main foci of contemporary research in learning and
social sciences. Emerging models of communication and empowerment of networks as a form of social
organization further reshaped practice and pedagogy of online education, bringing research on learning
networks into the mainstream of educational and social science research. In such conditions, massive
open online courses (MOOCs) emerged as one of the promising approaches to facilitating learning
in networked settings and shifting education towards more open and lifelong learning. Nevertheless,
this most recent educational turn highlights the importance of understanding social and technological
(i.e., material) factors as mutually interdependent, challenging the existing forms of pedagogy and
practice of assessment for learning in online environments.
On the other hand, the main focus of the contemporary research on networked learning is primarily
oriented towards retrospective analysis of learning networks and informing design of future
tasks and recommendations for learning. Although providing invaluable insights for understanding
learning in networked settings, the nature of commonly applied approaches does not necessarily allow
for providing means for understanding learning as it unfolds. In that sense, learning analytics, as
a multidisciplinary research field, presents a complementary research strand to the contemporary research
on learning networks. Providing theory-driven and analytics-based methods that would allow
for comprehensive assessment of complex learning skills, learning analytics positions itself either as
the end point or a part of the pedagogy of learning in networked settings.
The thesis contributes to the development of learning analytics-based research in studying learning
networks that emerge fromthe context of learning with MOOCs. Being rooted in the well-established
evidence-centered design assessment framework, the thesis develops a conceptual analytics-based
model that provides means for understanding learning networks from both individual and network
levels. The proposed model provides a theory-driven conceptualization of the main constructs, along
with their mutual relationships, necessary for studying learning networks. Specifically, to provide
comprehensive understanding of learning networks, it is necessary to account for structure of learner
interactions, discourse generated in the learning process, and dynamics of structural and discourse
properties. These three elements â structure, discourse, and dynamics â should be observed as mutually
dependent, taking into account learnersâ personal interests, motivation, behavior, and contextual
factors that determine the environment in which a specific learning network develops. The thesis also
offers an operationalization of the constructs identified in the model with the aim at providing learning analytics-methods for the implementation of assessment for learning. In so doing, I offered a redefinition
of the existing educational framework that defines learner engagement in order to account
for specific aspects of learning networks emerging from learning with MOOCs. Finally, throughout
the empirical work presented in five peer-reviewed studies, the thesis provides an evaluation of the
proposed model and introduces novel learning analytics methods that provide different perspectives
for understanding learning networks. The empirical work also provides significant theoretical and
methodological contributions for research and practice in the context of learning networks emerging
from learning with MOOCs
European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN). Conference Proceedings
Erasmus+ Programme of the European UnionThe powerful combination of the information age and the consequent disruption caused by these unstable environments provides the impetus to look afresh and identify new models and approaches for education (e.g. OERs, MOOCs, PLEs, Learning Analytics etc.). For learners this has taken a fantastic leap into aggregating, curating and co-curating and co-producing outside the boundaries of formal learning environments â the networked learner is sharing voluntarily and for free, spontaneously with billions of people.Supported by Erasmus+ Programme of the European Unioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Enhancing Free-text Interactions in a Communication Skills Learning Environment
Learning environments frequently use gamification to enhance user interactions.Virtual characters with whom players engage in simulated conversations often employ prescripted dialogues; however, free user inputs enable deeper immersion and higher-order cognition. In our learning environment, experts developed a scripted scenario as a sequence of potential actions, and we explore possibilities for enhancing interactions by enabling users to type free inputs that are matched to the pre-scripted statements using Natural Language Processing techniques. In this paper, we introduce a clustering mechanism that provides recommendations for fine-tuning the pre-scripted answers in order to better match user inputs
Design revolutions: IASDR 2019 Conference Proceedings. Volume 4: Learning, Technology, Thinking
In September 2019 Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University was honoured to host the bi-annual conference of the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR) under the unifying theme of DESIGN REVOLUTIONS. This was the first time the conference had been held in the UK. Through key research themes across nine conference tracks â Change, Learning, Living, Making, People, Technology, Thinking, Value and Voices â the conference opened up compelling, meaningful and radical dialogue of the role of design in addressing societal and organisational challenges. This Volume 4 includes papers from Learning, Technology and Thinking tracks of the conference
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