Multi-faceted support for MOOC in programming

ABSTRACT Many massive open online courses (MOOC) have been tremendously popular, causing a stir in academic institutions. The most successful courses have reached tens of thousands of participants. In our MOOC on introductory programming, we aimed to improve distinctive challenges that concern most of the open online courses: allowing and requiring the participants to be more active in their online learning ("flipped-classroom"), demanding them to go deeper than typical CS1 course, and added incentives for participant retention by treating the course as a formal entrance exam to CS/IT degree. Our Extreme Apprenticeship (XA) method for programming education appeared to be successful in an online environment as well

Investigating Automated Student Modeling in a Java MOOC

With the advent of ubiquitous web, programming is no longer a sole prerogative of computer science schools. Scripting languages are taught to wider audiences and programming has become a flag post of any technology related program. As more and more students are exposed to coding, it is no longer a trade of the select few. As a result, students who would not opt for a coding class a decade ago are in a position of having to learn a rather difficult subject. The problem of assisting students in learning programming has been explored in several intelligent tutoring systems. The key component of such systems is a student model that keeps track of student progress. In turn, the foundation of a student model is a domain model – a vocabulary of skills (or concepts) that structures the representation of student knowledge. Building domain models for programming is known as a complicated task. In this paper we explore automated approaches for extracting domain models for learning programming languages and modeling student knowledge in the process of solving programming exercises. We evaluate the validity of this approach using large volume of student code submission data from a MOOC on introductory Java programming

Learner experiences of a blended course incorporating a MOOC on Haskell functional programming

There is an increasing move in higher education to blend university courses to include a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). This article reports on the learner experiences of such a course, which incorporated a purposely designed MOOC as part of the blend, to teach Haskell functional programming. A survey revealed that students most valued the programming exercises, quizzes and instructional videos, while the follow-up focus group highlighted the flexibility of the MOOC, usefulness of the videos, drop-in sessions and programming exercises. The overall mix of activities was regarded as particularly useful. While discussions were not rated as highly in the survey, students in the focus group commented on their value, particularly for getting support from external learners. The perceived lack of face-to-face contact was the biggest issue; however, this reflected a lack of awareness of lab sessions which could have been better signposted. There was perceived to be a gap between the MOOC and the rest of the course in terms of level of difficulty and authenticity of learning tasks. These issues were positively addressed in subsequent runs of the course. The outcomes of this study are relevant to educators seeking to incorporate MOOCs into blended courses

MOOCs: a systematic study of the published literature 2008-2012

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a recent addition to the range of online learning options. Since 2008, MOOCs have been run by a variety of public and elite universities, especially in North America. Many academics have taken interest in MOOCs recognising the potential to deliver education around the globe on an unprecedented scale; some of these academics are taking a research-oriented perspective and academic papers describing their research are starting to appear in the traditional media of peer reviewed publications. This paper presents a systematic review of the published MOOC literature (2008-2012): Forty-five peer reviewed papers are identified through journals, database searches, searching the Web, and chaining from known sources to form the base for this review. We believe this is the first effort to systematically review literature relating to MOOCs, a fairly recent but massively popular phenomenon with a global reach. The review categorises the literature into eight different areas of interest, introductory, concept, case studies, educational theory, technology, participant focussed, provider focussed, and other, while also providing quantitative analysis of publications according to publication type, year of publication, and contributors. Future research directions guided by gaps in the literature are explored

Value-Based Delivery Of Education: Moocs As Messengers

Value-based delivery of healthcare has been discussed in the literature for almost a decade.  The concept focuses on the patient and defines value as the improvement of patient outcomes divided by healthcare costs.  Further refinements, called the Triple Aim model, focus on improving patient outcomes, reducing treatment costs, and improving patient satisfaction.  Inspired by the MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) movement in education, which should be seen as a wake-up message for educators, this paper attempts to reframe MOOCs, and related educational initiatives, within a Value-Based Delivery of Education (VBDE) model.  The VBDE model focuses on the student learner and defines value as the improvement of learning outcomes, reduction of educational costs, and improvement of student stakeholder satisfaction.   VBDE model elements are operationally defined, quantified, and used to identify and assess key components of MOOC and MOOC-related initiatives.  Implications for the successful delivery of value-based education in the future are discussed as part one of a two-paper series on the topic

POSIBILIDADES DE DESARROLLO PROFESIONAL EN INFORMÁTICA EDUCATIVA USANDO COURSERA

Los cursos masivos en línea (MOOC, por sus siglas en inglés) han impactado notablemente en el contexto educativo mundial en los últimos 5 años. Para los profesionales que trabajan en el mundo de la Informática Educativa, este fenómeno tiene un doble interés. Por una parte, como sujetos del proceso educativo, el estudio de las experiencias y buenas prácticas acumuladas respecto a estos cursos en estos años, puede ser útil para mejorar su práctica educativa. Por otra parte, debido a la constante necesidad de superación, este tipo de cursos puede convertirse en una vía efectiva de estar en la avanzada de la práctica educativa mundial y de intercambiar con profesionales de la educación de otros países. A pesar de esto, no se cuenta con estudios que analicen las posibilidades reales que brindan los MOOC para el desarrollo profesional de especialistas en Informática Educativa. En este trabajo se analizan y clasifican los cursos disponibles en la renombrada plataforma de cursos Coursera, y se han identificado un grupo de ellos que pueden ser muy valiosos para la formación y desarrollo de profesionales en el mundo de la Informática Educativa. Igualmente, se detectan temas importantes que no están suficientemente cubiertos. Con el trabajo, se avanza un paso importante hacia el empleo efectivo de las posibilidades de este tipo de curso en la mejoría de las prácticas educativas mediadas por la informática

Student engagement in massive open online courses

Completion rates in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are disturbingly low. Existing analysis has focused on patterns of resource access and prediction of drop-out using learning analytics. In contrast, the effectiveness of teaching programs in traditional Higher Education (HE) settings internationally is increasingly assessed by surveys measuring student engagement. The conceptualisation of engagement used is much richer and more informative than the way the term is currently interpreted in the context of MOOCs. This paper considers MOOC participation, learning and drop-out in the context of this richer conceptualisation of student engagement. MOOC pedagogy and practice are examined and we evaluate how far HE engagement measures can be successfully used in the MOOC context. We identify the need for a MOOC engagement model and suggest recommendations for basic, initial steps which MOOC developers can make towards improving engagement

Massive Open Online Courses in Higher Education Institution. Example of the Course “Introduction to Programming”

Viimastel aastatel on vaba juurdepääsuga e-kursuste ehk MOOCide kaasamine kõrgharidusse järjest kasvav nähtus. Käesolevas bakalaureusetöös uuritakse, millised on erinevad võimalused arvutiteaduse alaste MOOCide käsitlemiseks kõrgkoolides. Selleks, et hinnata üliõpilaste kokkupuudet ja suhtumist MOOCidesse, viiakse antud töö raames läbi pilootküsitlus Tartu Ülikooli üliõpilaste seas. Töö teises pooles analüüsitakse kursust “Programmeerimise alused” ning vastava kursuse lõpuküsitlust, mille tulemusena pakutakse välja soovitusi, kuidas võiks kursust läbi viia järgnevatel õppeaastatel.In recent years, the involvement of massive open online courses in higher education is a growing phenomenon. The purpose of this Bachelor Thesis is to research, what are the different options to use computer science MOOCs in higher education institutions. In order to assess university students previous contact and attitude towards MOOCs, the author will carry out a survey among the students of the University of Tartu. On the second part, the course “Introduction to programming” and its end poll will be analysed. As a result, the author will provide suggestions, how to adjust the course for coming academic years