Learners’ experiences in cMOOCs (2008-2016)

This research began in 2008 (the year of the first MOOC) with the aim of increasing understanding of the diversity and complexity of participants’ learning experiences in connectivist, massive, open, online learning environments (cMOOCs). Through their ‘massiveness’ and openness these MOOCs have the potential to influence traditional conventions of teaching and learning in Higher Education institutions by placing learners in new, uncertain and unpredictable environments. I have published 21 peer-reviewed works that have been cited by many other researchers in the field. These works contribute to an understanding of the theory and practice of MOOC pedagogy, individual participants’ learning experiences in MOOCs and the roles of teachers in facilitating these experiences. This has led to the development of a multi-dimensional framework (known as ‘Footprints of Emergence’), which takes a holistic approach to reflecting on and evaluating open learning. This unique framework, has been used in the UK, Europe, the USA and Canada to explore the design of open learning environments and to elicit and make explicit tacit understandings of individual learning experiences, positioning such experiences on a spectrum between prescribed and emergent learning. My work has been collaborative, open and emergent. The research has drawn on social learning theory and connectivism to conduct empirical research into MOOCs. The research findings highlight the diversity of participants in MOOCs and their vulnerability to imbalances of power relations, which can lead to isolation and exclusion, particularly in the absence of sound ethical teaching and learning practices. This is significant because MOOCs can be experienced as liminal spaces in which participants can have transformational learning experiences. I propose that a new perspective on the balance between structure and agency to support these transformational experiences is required. The Footprints of Emergence framework is suggested as a useful tool for determining what an appropriate balance might be. This research has implications for the methods used for investigating learning experiences in cMOOCs, the design of these MOOCs and the changing roles of teachers, learners and researchers in these environments. The research suggests that innovative methods and frameworks are needed for cMOOC research, that the design of cMOOCs should take greater account of the complexity of open environments, that new responsibilities are required of teachers and that a fresh perspective is needed on the ethics of teaching and learning in MOOCs

Seeking Connectivist freedom and Instructivist safety in a MOOC

Many MOOCs rely on instructivist pedagogies, in which teaching follows a top-down transmission model. Whether they follow a behaviourist, cognitivist or constructivist path, teachers guide or dictate activities as well as provide information that learners use in learning. In most cases, learners are not treated as sources of knowledge but as recipients or, at best, constructors of it. This is a waste of the vast pools of skills and knowledge that inevitably exist in any large collection of learners and is diametrically opposed to the principles behind earlier but now less commonplace connectivist MOOCs (cMoocs). Such cMOOCs, at least in principle, benefit from scale – they gain value the more people there are engaged in them because, though they coalesce around shared events and resources that resemble the instructivist patterns of publication, learners generate and design their own learning paths, discussing, debating, sharing their learning in rich networks and clusters of networks. As part of a strategy to explore different approaches to MOOC delivery, we developed a site using the Elgg social media framework in order to attempt to gain benefits of social sharing to support learning. Participating in the Digital Age, a six-week Australian MOOC (PDA MOOC), self-referentially was concerned with learning to be a digital citizen while using participatory tools to do so. In this paper we report on the theoretical foundations of the design, its technical implementation, and the benefits and disadvantages of the approach when the course was run

A New Ecology for Learning : An Online Ethnographic Study of Learners’ Participation and Experience in Connectivist MOOCs

This dissertation focuses on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which have emerged and heralded as new online learning environments able to serve large numbers of students. Identifying two main types of MOOCs known as connectivist MOOCs (cMOOCs) and instructivist MOOCs (xMOOCs), emphasis is placed on the learning ecology of connectivist MOOCs and how the format, with all of its attention on learner-centered pedagogy and social media invite collaboration and networking. The thesis provides detailed analysis and description of learners’ experiences and perceptions of participation and their use of online tools and resources in the process of learning and networking. CMOOCs promote the ideals of re-structuring the spaces of learning from classrooms to open networked ecologies that enable learners to have greater control over their learning experiences, content, and use of technologies. The study builds on the theoretical foundations of networked learning and connectivism that undergird the affordances of technology in promoting connectedness among learners, resources, networks and communities. The investigations into personalized learning and ecological learning design shed light on the significant role of learners and acknowledge their autonomy in creating their learning environments. The study employed and developed “online ethnography” to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of learning in cMOOCs from the perspectives of learners themselves. Data were gathered from several MOOCs over a five-year period through participant observation, interviews, open-ended questions, surveys, and online artifacts. The findings demonstrate that cMOOCs are learner-centered ecologies in which learners participate in the flow and generation of knowledge by creating and sharing content through networked technologies such as blogs, wikis, Twitter, and Facebook. Developing a personal learning environment (PLE) in cMOOCs enhances learner autonomy and creates a space for them to aggregate, remix, repurpose content, reflect, and share their learning experiences. Additionally, the results indicate that participation in cMOOCs requires learners to assume active roles in a spirit of openness in forming their learning experiences and networking activities; to develop digital competence to manage the abundance of resources. Theoretical understandings and empirical evidence of the sub-studies helped delineate cMOOCs as an open networked learning ecology that positions a learner at the intersection of personalized and networked situations to foster processes of self-directed learning and connectedness in open online contexts. The study contributes to the knowledge and pedagogy of open networked learning and provides insights to help universities, course designers, MOOC providers, instructors, and participants improve online learning experiences.Tämä väitöstutkimus käsittelee merkittäviksi uudenlaisiksi verkko-oppimisen ympäristöiksi muodostuneita massiivisia avoimia verkkokursseja (massive open online courses, MOOCs). MOOC-ympäristöjen kaksi päätyyppiä ovat vuorovaikusta ja yhteydenpitoa painottavat kurssit (connectivist MOOCs, eli cMOOCs) ja opetusta painottavat kurssit (instructivist MOOCs eli xMOOCs). Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan, kuinka osallistujat hahmottavat ja jäsentävät cMOOCs-kurssien oppimisen ekologian. Tutki-mus tarjoaa yksityiskohtaisen analyysin ja kuvauksen oppijoiden osallistumisen kokemuksista ja havainnoista sekä heidän online-työkalujen ja resurssien käytöstä toimiessaan cMOOCs:ympäristössä. Siirtämällä oppimisen luokkahuoneista avoimiin verkostoituneisiin ekologioihin cMOOC-kurssit pyrkivät muuttamaan oppimisen tiloja mahdollistaen oppijoille suuremman vastuun oman oppimiskokemuksensa muodostumiseen. Ne tarjoavat myös oppijoille mahdollisuuden ottaa käyttöön laajan valikoiman teknologioita joiden avulla he valitsevat, luovat, jakavat sisältöä sekä tuottavat materiaalia tiedon virtaan. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen perusta on verkottuneessa oppimisessa sekä konnektivismissa, jotka korostavat teknologian käyttömahdollisuuksia oppijoiden, resurssien, verkostojen ja yhteisöjen välisen vuorovaikutuksen rakentamisessa. Keskeisiä ovat esimerkiksi henkilökohtaisen oppimisen (personalized learning) sekä ekologisen oppimisen (ecological learning) suunnittelu, jotka painottavat oppijoiden keskeistä roolia sekä tunnustavat heidän autonomiansa omien oppimisympäristöjensä luojina. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin ja samalla kehitettiin online-etnografiaa pragmaattisena tutkimusmetodina, jonka avulla voidaan paremmin ymmärtää oppimisen dynamiikkaa cMOOC-oppimisympäristöissä. Aineistoa kerättiin useilta verkkokursseilta osallistuvan havainnoinnin, haastattelujen, strukturoitujen ja avoimia kysymyksiä sisältävien kyselylomakkeiden sekä online-tuotosten avulla reilun viiden vuoden aikana. Tulokset osoittavat, että cMOOC-kurssit ovat oppijakeskeisiä ekologioita, joissa oppijat osallistuvat tiedon tuottamisen ketjuun luomalla ja jakamalla sisältöä verkottuneiden teknologioiden, kuten blogien, wiki-alustojen, Twitterin ja Facebookin avulla. Henkilökohtaisen oppimisympäristön (personal learning environment, PLE) kehittäminen cMOOC-kursseilla mahdollistaa oppijan autonomian sekä luo heille tilan, jossa voi koota, yhdistellä, uudelleen järjestellä ja suunnata sisältöä sekä reflektoida ja jakaa omia oppimiskokemuksia. Lisäksi tulokset osoittavat, että cMOOC oppimisympäristöihin osallistuminen edellyttää oppijoilta aktiivisen roolin omaksumista ja avoimuutta heidän oppimiskokemustensa ja verkostoitumista koskevien toimintojensa muodostamisessa. cMOOCs oppimisympäristöt edellyttävät oppijoilta myös digitaalisten kompetenssien kehittämistä, joilla tarjolla olevien resurssien runsautta on mahdollista hallita. Tutkimuksen tuottama teoreettinen ja empiirinen ymmärrys massiivisista avoimista verkkokursseista mahdollistaa viitekehyksen luomisen avoimen verkostoituneen oppimisen ekologialle (open networked learning ecology) joka asettaa oppijan henkilökohtaisten ja verkottuneiden tilanteiden risteyskohtaan sekä edistää itseohjautuvan oppimisen ja yhteyksien luomisen pro-sesseja avoimissa online-konteksteissa. Tutkimuksen tulokset hyödyttävät avoimia verkottunutta oppimista koskevaa tietoa ja pedagogiikkaa sekä tarjoavat näkökulmia, jotka auttavat, MOOC-ympäristöjen tarjoajia, opettajia ja osallistujia kehittämään online-oppimisen kokemuksia

MyLearningMentor: a mobile App to support learners participating in MOOCs

MOOCs have brought a revolution to education. However, their impact is mainly benefiting people with Higher Education degrees. The lack of support and personalized advice in MOOCs is causing that many of the learners that have not developed work habits and self-learning skills give them up at the first obstacle, and do not see MOOCs as an alternative for their education and training. My Learning Mentor (MLM) is a mobile application that addresses the lack of support and personalized advice for learners in MOOCs. This paper presents the architecture of MLM and practical examples of use. The architecture of MLM is designed to provide MOOC participants with a personalized planning that facilitates them following up the MOOCs they enroll. This planning is adapted to learners' profiles, preferences, priorities and previous performance (measured in time devoted to each task). The architecture of MLM is also designed to provide tips and hints aimed at helping learners develop work habits and study skills, and eventually become self-learners.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Project TIN2011-28308-C03-01, the Regional Government of Madrid project S2013/ICE-2715, and the postdoctoral fellowship Alliance 4 Universities. The authors would also like to thank Israel Gutiérrez-Rojas for his contributions to the ideas behind MLM and Ricardo García Pericuesta and Carlos de Frutos Plaza for their work implementing different parts of the architecture

Can Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) be considered as Open Educational Resources (OER)?

Open Education has changed many times over the last decades: After a first boom in the middle of the last century, there was a decline in interest. In our current century, Open Education gained more popularity through the introduction of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Nevertheless, the current focus is different from the past. This article is the start of a series to contribute to a better grasp of the complexity that Open Education is covering. It is a challenge as it is not an empirical article but philosophical argumentation: It discusses the question whether MOOCs can be considered as OER. Open Education and OER can be seen and treated as two strands with different developments even though, in theory, OER belongs to Open Education. Different OER definitions and typologies are analyzed and compared in relation to their dimensions and categorizations. Furthermore, the four conditions and two original types of MOOCs are discussed leading to a debate on their quality. It turns out that there are two perspectives of MOOCs: From the OER point of view, MOOCs as a product can be called an OER if they are fulfilling the OER definition and requirements. From the Open Education point of view, MOOCs are going beyond OER as enablers of Open Education understood as innovative concept and methodology for changing education towards collaborative and moderated learning experiences. That is reflected by the dimensions of the introduced OpenEd Quality Framework and is confirming the need of the two distinctions. Therefore the short answer to our leading question: "Are MOOCs Open Educational Resources?" is: sometimes and it depends from the perspective that you take

The disruptive potential of the Massive Open Online Course: A literature review

The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is a rapidly evolving phenomenon which has stimulated discussion in universities around the world. A central theme of these discussions, and much of the published literature on the phenomenon, is the potential of the MOOC to disrupt the way universities do business. The aim of this narrative literature review is to clarify disruptive innovation theory, and to examine the influence of MOOCs on higher education. Evidence from this review suggests that although MOOCs might have had a significant effect on a range of issues (including definitions of completion pedagogical approaches, delivery methods, certification, and business models), more systematic research is needed to evaluate the level, extent, and permanence of any disruption that may occur

How to design for persistence and retention in MOOCs?

Design of educational interventions is typically carried out following a design cycle involving phases of investigation, conceptualization, prototyping, implementation, execution and evaluation. This cycle can be applied at different levels of granularity e.g. learning activity, module, course or programme. In this paper we consider an aspect of learner behavior that can be critical to the success of many MOOCs i.e. their persistence to study, and the related theme of learner retention. We reflect on the impact that consideration of these can have on design decisions at different stages in the design cycle with the aim of en-hancing MOOC design in relation to learner persistence and retention, with particular attention to the European context

Once upon a tip... : a story of MOOCs and gamification

Comunicação publicada nas atas da conferência EADTU 2017, realizadas na Open University, Milton Keynes, de 25-27 de outubro de 2017.This paper discusses the future of MOOCs based on recent research and acknowledged affordances of videogame’s design. The interest in MOOCS for educational purposes has increased over the last few years, with researchers identifying key pedagogical features that make the success of these inherently powerful learning tools. However, low student motivation and high dropout rates have somehow changed the original expectations of many researchers, despite the MOOC user base doubling in 2015. So, in this study we survey recent literature looking for answers, and discuss the evidence gathered from specific MOOCs with over one thousand participants, namely, pioneering iMOOC courses at Universidade Aberta (the Portuguese Open University). Finally, we look at the gaming world and discuss some findings that may benefit the learning design of MOOCs, considering that, besides the huge appeal of these (free) courses, there are recurring shortcomings that we have to alleviate. We follow up on the tip that gamification, and other emerging strategies, such as social networking and digital storytelling, may be vital to assure a sustainable future for open education and MOOCs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio