A First Briefing on MOOCs

This memo is addressed to members of our university (and maybe others) who want to know whether they need to know about MOOCs, and what the first things they would need to know are. MOOCS were the academic buzzword of 2012.1 But what is a MOOC. Do we care? Should we? In this short memo we begin with a list of questions, in no particular order, that we have either asked or been asked. The discussion that follows will contain the answers to these, and other, questions, although there may not be a separate section for each question

EU–originated MOOCs, with focus on multi- and single-institution platforms

No abstract available

Die Zukunft des akademischen Lernens : zur Rolle der Hochschulbibliotheken in digital basierten Lernumgebungen

Innerhalb der letzten Dekade wurde die akademische Bildungslandschaft durch die Verbreitung neuartig und neuartig erscheinender digitaler Lehr- und Lernangebote verstärkt beeinflusst und modifiziert. Plattformen wie iTunes U und das Format MOOCs sind inzwischen über die akademischen Grenzen hinaus populär und regen durch ihren prinzipiell offenen und freien Zugang die Diskussion um die digitale Bildungsrevolution an. Für Hochschulbibliotheken, das Bindeglied zwischen Forschung und Lehre, ergeben sich hinsichtlich der Verbreitung der MOOCs in der Lehre mögliche neue Einsatzperspektiven. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden durch die Darstellung der virtuellen Potenziale und Risiken einer Beteiligung an der Produktion von MOOCs vier Handlungsperspektiven für Bibliothekare entwickelt. Auf der Grundlage einer Darstellung des Aufbaus von MOOCs wird eine Analyse des bibliothekarischen Kompetenzrepertoires, ausgedehnt auf die kollaborative Produktion von MOOCs und MOOCsähnlicher Kurse, unter Berücksichtigung der aktuellen thematisch relevanten Literatur vorgenommen. Das sich daraus ergebende vielfältige Bild rückt den Bibliothekar als zentrale Figur in der MOOCs-Produktion in den Vordergrund

The attachments of ‘autonomous’ vehicles

The ideal of the self-driving car replaces an error-prone human with an infallible, artificially intelligent driver. This narrative of autonomy promises liberation from the downsides of automobility, even if that means taking control away from autonomous, free-moving individuals. We look behind this narrative to understand the attachments that so-called ‘autonomous’ vehicles (AVs) are likely to have to the world. Drawing on 50 interviews with AV developers, researchers and other stakeholders, we explore the social and technological attachments that stakeholders see inside the vehicle, on the road and with the wider world. These range from software and hardware to the behaviours of other road users and the material, social and economic infrastructure that supports driving and self-driving. We describe how innovators understand, engage with or seek to escape from these attachments in three categories: ‘brute force’, which sees attachments as problems to be solved with more data, ‘solve the world one place at a time’, which sees attachments as limits on the technology’s reach and ‘reduce the complexity of the space’, which sees attachments as solutions to the problems encountered by technology developers. Understanding attachments provides a powerful way to anticipate various possible constitutions for the technology

“You Have Blood On Your Lips” — Experiencing and Articulating Animal-Related Violence in Veganism

This article outlines critical research perspectives on the human-animal relationship. It uses exemplary analyses of empirical data collected through qualitative interviews with vegans to shed light on how they perceive certain ways of treating animals as violent practices. The analysis in this article focuses on the functions and effects of language, not only in terms of its role in maintaining existing carnivorous structures and practices, but also in terms of dynamic processes and potentials for change. This approach presupposes a notion of structural and symbolic violence. Specifically, this study examines how the vegan research partners perceive, experience, and articulate carnivorous dietary and consumption practices as violence against so-called farm animals. The analysis shows that images are highly significant, namely in the context of figurative language, when talking about images and with regard to one’s own iconic imaginaries. The (linguistically co-determined) construction of closeness to and distance from the animal product offers important insights into the socio-cultural and psycho-social dimensions of an animal-related “vegan” understanding of violence and harm

Predicting Student Success in a Self-Paced Mathematics MOOC

abstract: While predicting completion in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has been an active area of research in recent years, predicting completion in self-paced MOOCS, the fastest growing segment of open online courses, has largely been ignored. Using learning analytics and educational data mining techniques, this study examined data generated by over 4,600 individuals working in a self-paced, open enrollment college algebra MOOC over a period of eight months. Although just 4% of these students completed the course, models were developed that could predict correctly nearly 80% of the time which students would complete the course and which would not, based on each student’s first day of work in the online course. Logistic regression was used as the primary tool to predict completion and focused on variables associated with self-regulated learning (SRL) and demographic variables available from survey information gathered as students begin edX courses (the MOOC platform employed). The strongest SRL predictor was the amount of time students spent in the course on their first day. The number of math skills obtained the first day and the pace at which these skills were gained were also predictors, although pace was negatively correlated with completion. Prediction models using only SRL data obtained on the first day in the course correctly predicted course completion 70% of the time, whereas models based on first-day SRL and demographic data made correct predictions 79% of the time.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Educational Technology 201

A First Briefing on MOOCs

This memo is addressed to members of our university (and maybe others) who want to know whether they need to know about MOOCs, and what the first things they would need to know are. MOOCS were the academic buzzword of 2012.1 But what is a MOOC. Do we care? Should we? In this short memo we begin with a list of questions, in no particular order, that we have either asked or been asked. The discussion that follows will contain the answers to these, and other, questions, although there may not be a separate section for each question

The use of ESP, MOOCs and the occupational world in the field of system engineering

The development of English communicative skills has become in one of the most critical requirements in the system engineering learners, for its competitive occupational market.  It has affected countries which their native language is not English. Thus, they have seen the need to provide the learners English for specific purposes to get foreign languages skills in a specific domain.   Engineering education is much more complicated than the other careers because it is technical, that's why students need to enhance their Professional English skills due to the fact their training involves the use of English continuously such as in the building of software, electrical device, online applications and so on.  A new e-learning approach named MOOCs has disseminated the Higher Education context, due to the fact they enable the enrollment of a mass of learners in open online courses. Regarding the findings in this research for learning ESP efficient, the use of MOOCs would empower the development of communicative skills around the world. Also, the critical issue to use a MOOC is that engineering content is part of MOOCs, as well as any other educational tools in the technological worldwide.  In methodological aspects, both ESP and MOOCs focus on Content-based instructions and Communicative Language Teaching with the assistance of task-based activities and network-based through authentic resources. As CBI and CLT base on the acquisition of a foreign language while the students are learning the content and style of a specific subject. However, this massive open online course is a luxurious investment

EU–originated MOOCs, with focus on multi- and single-institution platforms

No abstract available