Acceptance of massive open online course as a supplementary learning tool in higher education

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is an innovative and viable alternative to complement the conventional classroom education. Since the development of this technology may entail huge investment and arduous effort, it is crucial to understand the factors that influence this technology acceptance before it is developed. Even though there have been existing research that studied the acceptance of MOOC, there are very limited literatures that discuss it in the context of Malaysia and the use of it as a supplementary learning tool. Therefore, the objective of this research is to identify, propose and evaluate a model for measuring the acceptance of this technology as a supplementary learning tool among undergraduate students in a university in Malaysia. A systematic literature review was done to identify and propose a MOOC acceptance model. A prototype was then developed based on Chemical Equilibrium chapter in Chemistry subject to satisfy target users’ needs. The prototype was assessed through usability evaluation and the acceptance model which was based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was evaluated among students who undertake Chemistry course in the same university. The quantitative data obtained from 111 students through a questionnaire (eight constructs and 39 items) was analysed using SPSS and SmartPLS 3.0. Findings showed positive perception of students towards the use of MOOC. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis showcased nine out of ten relationships were found to be significant. To gain better understanding of these statistical results, qualitative data was then collected via semi-structured group interview with five survey respondents. The data was analysed using deductive content analysis and the findings managed to confirm and expand the empirical study. The model proposed in this research as well as the MOOC acceptance findings provide relevant theoretical contribution to be further validated and explored by future researchers. On the other hand, the development process and the developed prototype incorporating the design criteria suggested by scholars offer practical contribution which can help developers in designing a MOOC that can be accepted by students

Trusting the Explainers: Teacher Validation of Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Course Design

Deep learning models for learning analytics have become increasingly popular over the last few years; however, these approaches are still not widely adopted in real-world settings, likely due to a lack of trust and transparency. In this paper, we tackle this issue by implementing explainable AI methods for black-box neural networks. This work focuses on the context of online and blended learning and the use case of student success prediction models. We use a pairwise study design, enabling us to investigate controlled differences between pairs of courses. Our analyses cover five course pairs that differ in one educationally relevant aspect and two popular instance-based explainable AI methods (LIME and SHAP). We quantitatively compare the distances between the explanations across courses and methods. We then validate the explanations of LIME and SHAP with 26 semi-structured interviews of university-level educators regarding which features they believe contribute most to student success, which explanations they trust most, and how they could transform these insights into actionable course design decisions. Our results show that quantitatively, explainers significantly disagree with each other about what is important, and qualitatively, experts themselves do not agree on which explanations are most trustworthy. All code, extended results, and the interview protocol are provided at https://github.com/epfl-ml4ed/trusting-explainers.Comment: Accepted as a full paper at LAK 2023: The 13th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference, March 13-17, 2023, Arlington, Texas, US

Elearning, Communication and Open-data: Massive Mobile, Ubiquitous and Open Learning

ABSTRACT: In MOOCs, learning analytics have to be addressed to the various types of learners that participate. This deliverable describes indicators that enable both teachers and learner to monitor the progress and performance as well as identify whether there are learners at risk of dropping out. How these indicators should be computed and displayed to end users by means of dashboards is also explained. Furthermore a proposal based on xAPI statements for storing relevant data and events is provided

ECO D2.5 Learning analytics requirements and metrics report

In MOOCs, learning analytics have to be addressed to the various types of learners that participate. This deliverable describes indicators that enable both teachers and learner to monitor the progress and performance as well as identify whether there are learners at risk of dropping out. How these indicators should be computed and displayed to end users by means of dashboards is also explained. Furthermore a proposal based on xAPI statements for storing relevant data and events is provided.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

Ensino/aprendizagem num novo contexto tecnológico: um estudo no âmbito do ensino superior

Today’s students of higher education are considered digital natives. They have a wide array of technologies at their disposal that are used in their day-to-day lives in very different contexts; including recreation, work and academic. This scenario promotes a change of culture by the main actors associated with the Teaching/Learning process. This prompted the development of the present thesis which aims to evaluate the degree of use and acceptance of technologies supporting the Teaching/Learning process in Higher Education Institutions (HEI). The methodology used when conducting this study was based initially on a review of the specialized literature, identifying the three main technological generations supporting the Teaching/Learning process: Learning Management Systems (LMS), Web 2.0 technologies and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Subsequently, the technologies recognized as the most relevant within each of these generations have been the subject of (i) a systematic literature review, (ii) a content analysis elaborated on the platforms/technologies used in international Higher Education Institutions, and (iii) an empirical work conducted at a Portuguese Higher Education Institution. Concerning the latter, an understanding of the behavior of the two main players involved in the Teaching/Learning process (students and teachers) was particularly sought after. Therefore, studies were conducted on (i) the students’ use of the main technologies, (ii) the students’ acceptance of some of these technologies in the context of Teaching/Learning and (iii) the use and acceptance of the technologies by teachers. The results indicated that the Moodle platform is the LMS most used in Higher Education Institutions. In this context, the platform is mostly used as a content repository and a communication channel. As for Web 2.0, Video Sharing, Social Networks and Wikis were proven to be the technologies most used by students and teachers. The results also revealed that the technologies in question are well accepted by both parties, thus showing that their adoption could benefit the Teaching/Learning process in the new technological paradigm. Regarding the MOOCs, few teachers showed knowledge of the concept and no teachers who had created these type of courses were identified. This study resulted in the development of seven scientific works with peer review, being five scientific papers published or submitted to international scientific journals and two chapters published in international books. These scientific works constitute an integral part of this doctoral thesis.Atualmente, os estudantes do ensino superior são considerados nativos digitais, tendo à sua disposição um conjunto abrangente de tecnologias que utilizam no seu dia a dia nos mais diversos contextos, incluindo o de lazer, de trabalho e académico. Este cenário promove uma mudança de cultura por parte dos principais atores associados ao processo de Ensino/Aprendizagem, o que motivou o desenvolvimento da presente tese que tem por objetivo avaliar o grau de utilização e de aceitação das tecnologias de suporte ao processo Ensino/Aprendizagem nas Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES). A metodologia utilizada na condução deste estudo, baseou-se inicialmente numa revisão da literatura especializada, tendo-se identificado as três principais gerações tecnológicas de suporte ao processo Ensino/Aprendizagem, mais especificamente os Learning Management Systems (LSM), as tecnologias Web 2.0 e os Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Seguidamente, as tecnologias reconhecidas como as mais relevantes no âmbito de cada uma destas gerações foram alvo de revisão sistemática da literatura, de análise de conteúdo elaborada sobre as plataformas/tecnologias utilizadas em Instituições de Ensino Superior de referência a nível internacional, e de trabalhos empíricos conduzidos numa Instituição de Ensino Superior Portuguesa. Em particular, no que se refere a estes últimos, procurou-se perceber o comportamento relativo à adoção das tecnologias por parte dos dois principais intervenientes no processo Ensino/Aprendizagem, i.e., estudantes e professores. Desta forma, foram conduzidos estudos acerca (i) da utilização, por parte dos estudantes, das principais tecnologias, (ii) da aceitação, por parte dos estudantes, de algumas dessas tecnologias em contexto Ensino/Aprendizagem e (iii) da utilização e aceitação das tecnologias por parte dos professores. Os resultados apontaram para o facto de a plataforma Moodle representar o LMS mais utilizado no Ensino Superior sendo, no contexto do caso analisado, utilizado maioritariamente como repositório de conteúdos e canal de comunicação. No que se refere à Web 2.0, o Video Sharing, as Redes Sociais e as Wikis revelaram-se como as tecnologias mais utilizadas pelos estudantes e pelos professores. Os resultados revelaram, ainda, que as tecnologias em causa são bem aceites, tanto por parte dos estudantes como dos professores, evidenciando, assim, que a sua adoção poderá beneficiar o processo Ensino/Aprendizagem no paradigma tecnológico. Já no que diz respeito às MOOCs, poucos professores evidenciaram conhecer o conceito, não se tendo identificado professores que tivessem criado este tipo de cursos. Este estudo traduziu-se na elaboração de sete trabalhos científicos com revisão por pares, dos quais cinco artigos publicados/submetidos a revistas científicas internacionais e dois capítulos publicados de livros internacionais, que aqui se apresentam e constituem parte integrante desta tese de doutoramento.Programa Doutoral em Engenharia e Gestão Industria

A reception study of machine translated subtitles for MOOCs

As MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) grow rapidly around the world, the language barrier is becoming a serious issue. Removing this obstacle by creating translated subtitles is an indispensable part of developing MOOCs and improving accessibility. Given the large quantity of MOOCs available worldwide and the considerable demand for them, machine translation (MT) appears to offer an alternative or complementary translation solution, thus providing the motivation for this research. The main goal of this research is to test the impact machine translated subtitles have on Chinese viewers’ reception of MOOC content. More specifically, the author is interested in whether there is any difference between viewers’ reception of raw machine translated subtitles as opposed to fully post-edited machine translated subtitles and human translated subtitles. Reception is operationalized by adapting Gambier's (2007) model, which divides ‘reception’ into ‘the three Rs’: (i) response, (ii) reaction and (iii) repercussion. Response refers to the initial physical response of a viewer to an audio-visual stimulus, in this case the subtitle and the rest of the image. Reaction involves the cognitive follow-on from initial response, and is linked to how much effort is involved in processing the subtitling stimulus and what is understood by the viewer. Repercussion refers to attitudinal and sociocultural dimensions of AVT consumption. The research contains a pilot study and a main experiment. Mixed methods of eye-tracking, questionnaires, translation quality assessment and frequency analysis were adopted. Over 60 native Chinese speakers were recruited as participants for this research. They were divided into three groups, those who read subtitles created by raw MT, post-edited MT (PE) and human translation (HT). Results show that most participants had a positive attitude towards the subtitles regardless of their type. Participants who were offered PE subtitles scored the best overall on the selected reception metrics. Participants who were offered HT subtitles performed the worst in some of the selected reception metrics