Quality in MOOCs: Surveying the Terrain

The purpose of this review is to identify quality measures and to highlight some of the tensions surrounding notions of quality, as well as the need for new ways of thinking about and approaching quality in MOOCs. It draws on the literature on both MOOCs and quality in education more generally in order to provide a framework for thinking about quality and the different variables and questions that must be considered when conceptualising quality in MOOCs. The review adopts a relativist approach, positioning quality as a measure for a specific purpose. The review draws upon Biggs’s (1993) 3P model to explore notions and dimensions of quality in relation to MOOCs — presage, process and product variables — which correspond to an input–environment–output model. The review brings together literature examining how quality should be interpreted and assessed in MOOCs at a more general and theoretical level, as well as empirical research studies that explore how these ideas about quality can be operationalised, including the measures and instruments that can be employed. What emerges from the literature are the complexities involved in interpreting and measuring quality in MOOCs and the importance of both context and perspective to discussions of quality

Comparison of Online and Onsite Students’ Learning Outcomes and Experiences in a Massively Open Online Course in China

This paper compares the achievements and learning experiences of onsite and online students participating in a Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) in China. Altogether 192 Chinese students learned face-to-face, and another 311 Chinese learners participated online. In regard to learning performance, onsite learners had a lower attrition rate than the online students. However, for learners who had completed all their learning assignments, no significant difference was detected between the onsite and online participants’ average assignment scores, and they were equally likely to win two of the learning awards. As to their learning experiences, there was also no significant difference between the online and onsite students’ ratings of technology quality and usability, instructional content, and the design of learning assessment. Students also reported the challenges that they had encountered and provided suggestions to improve their learning experiences. At the end of the paper, lessons learned from running the MOOC are discussed. Findings from this first empirical study on a Chinese MOOC informs researchers and practitioners interested in introducing MOOCs to Chinese students

MOOC adaptation and translation to improve equity in participation

There is an urgent need to improve elementary and secondary school classroom practices across India and the scale of this challenge is argued to demand new approaches to teacher professional learning.  Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) represent one such approach and which, in the context of this study, is considered to provide a means by which to transcend traditional training processes and disrupt conventional pedagogic practices. This paper offers a critical review of a large-scale MOOC deployed in English, and then in Hindi, to support targeted sustainable capacity building within an education development initiative (TESS-India) across seven states in India.  The study draws on multiple sources of participant data to identify and examine features which stimulated a buzz around the MOOCs, leading to over 40,000 registrations and a completion rate of approximately 50% for each of the two MOOCs

How learners’ interactions sustain engagement: a MOOC case study

In 2015, 35 million learners participated online in 4,200 MOOCs organised by over 500 universities. Learning designers orchestrate MOOC content to engage learners at scale and retain interest by carefully mixing videos, lectures, readings, quizzes, and discussions. Universally, far fewer people actually participate in MOOCs than originally sign up with a steady attrition as courses progress. Studies have correlated social engagement to completion rates. The FutureLearn MOOC platform specifically provides opportunities to share opinions and to reflect by posting comments, replying, or following discussion threads. This paper investigates learners’ social behaviours in MOOCs and the impact of engagement on course completion. A preliminary study suggested that dropout rates will be lower when learners engage in repeated and frequent social interactions. We subsequently reviewed the literature of prediction models and applied social network analysis techniques to characterise participants’ online interactions examining implications for participant achievements. We analysed discussions in an eight week FutureLearn MOOC, with 9855 enrolled learners. Findings indicate that if learners starts following someone, the probability of their finishing the course is increased; if learners also interact with those they follow, they are highly likely to complete, both important factors to add to the prediction of completion model

The Panhellenic Project: assessing learning engagement using Web 2.0 technologies

High attrition rates have been a consistent occurrence among online learners, creating the challenge of how to design online instruction for the type of learning that encourages student engagement. With new technologies constantly evolving, the question becomes how educators can use these new web-based applications to engage students and possibly resolve the problem of high attrition among online learners? The purpose of this study was to assess the level of learning engagement through student participation in The Panhellenic Project, an instructional design model that integrated constructivist learning principles with Web 2.0 technologies. Additionally, the usefulness of structured orientations to the Web 2.0 technologies and the effectiveness of these technologies was also investigated. Using a mixed-methods case study design, The Panhellenic Project was framed around a collaborative group activity where undergraduate students worked in teams with the task of creating a three-dimensional virtual ancient Greek Parthenon and one ancient Olympic game event within the Second Life virtual world. A project wiki was established for student-participants to research sports history as well as share knowledge, information and resources. An informational blog with project resource information was developed as a Second Life learning reference. Multiple sources were used to capture data including the Survey of Student Engagement, pre- and post-project questionnaires, and electronic discourse analysis of wiki posts and Second Life chat transcripts. Research finding showed that the majority of the student-participants were engaged in The Panhellenic Project and that learning had occurred over the length of project implementation. The structured orientation and training sessions were perceived as effective in connecting theoretical and practical knowledge, though not effective for teaching students to use the Second Life virtual world. Overall, the level of difficulty experienced in learning the application influenced student-participant perceptions about the effectiveness of the Web 2.0 technologies used in this study. Further, analysis of the data revealed that the participants consistently demonstrated constructivist learning activities through interaction with other learners, collaborative teamwork and the sharing of multiple perspectives as they completed The Panhellenic Project

Increasing MOOC completion rates through social interactions: a recommendation system

International audienceE-learning research shows students who interact with their peers are less likely to drop out from a course, but is this applicable to MOOCs? This paper examines MOOC attrition issues and how encouraging social interactions can address them: using data from 4 sessions of the GdP MOOC, a popular Project Management MOOC, we confirm that students displaying a high level of social interaction succeed more than those who don't. We successively explore two approaches fostering social interactions: 1) in MOOC GdP5, we give access to private group forums, testing various group types and sizes, 2) in MOOC GdP6, we implement a recommendation system, suggesting relevant chat contacts using demographic and progression criteria. This papers presents our preliminary findings