Posting versus Replying: The Effects of Instructor Participation in MOOC Discussion Forums

Previous research has suggested that the frequency of instructor participation in online discussion forums can affect student participation and subsequently their learning results in online courses. However , the different approaches of instructor participation and their effects have not been well studied, particularly in MOOCs of very large class sizes. This research investigates how instructor participation via posting vs. replying in online discussion forums affects student participation in MOOCs. Our results show that instructors mainly participate through replying rather than posting. However , instructor posting is more effective than instructor replying on enhancing student participation, and this advantage of instructor posting over replying increases with class size. Class size negatively moderates the positive effect of instructor replying, but not that of instructor posting. These findings implicate the necessity of a well-planned participation strategy for instructors to engage in MOOC discussion forums

MOOCs in Higher Education

MOOCs have been the major issue in higher education worldwide since 2008. Frankly speaking, there are clear pros and cons of moving into MOOC-based education. This chapter deals with the pedagogical utilization and limitations of MOOCs in higher education. Through literature review and websites surfing related to MOOCs, expansion of MOOCs, instructional strategies in MOOCs, functions of platform for MOOCs, development of a MOOC, and future of MOOCs are summarized, analyzed, and discussed at the aspect of pedagogy. Based on the analysis, some recommendations are suggested for the success of MOOCs

Gamification: a key determinant of massive open online course (MOOC) success

Massive open online courses (MOOCs), contribute significantly to individual empowerment because they can help people learn about a wide range of topics. To realize the full potential of MOOCs, we need to understand their factors of success, here defined as the use, user satisfaction, along the individual and organizational performance resulting from the user involvement. We propose a theoretical framework to identify the determinants of successful MOOCs, and empirically measure these factors in a real MOOC context. We put forward the role of gamification and suggest that, together with information system (IS) theory, gamification proved to play a crucial role in the success of MOOCs.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

How to bring forth good social learning in teacher education through technology

A core theme of this context statement is the contribution that digital technology can make to social learning in online and face-to-face contexts. The work contributes to the field of educational technology across sectors, by considering some of the obstacles currently facing practitioners such as new curricula, new pedagogical approaches and the fast pace of change. I present a rationale for technology supporting social learning and discuss several significant themes, such as the role of learning communities in supporting the co-creation of knowledge, the pedagogic approaches that support computational thinking, digital literacy and mobile learning, and the potential of international projects and online courses to make purposeful connections between teachers and learners. Looking firstly with a distant lens at the forms of technology-enabled learning communities (TELCs) in my public works, and then with a closer lens at the interactions and behaviours within them, I present a characterisation of the learning landscape that involves a topology and typology of TELCs. These consist of five distinct forms of TELCs together with a set of five dualities that describe conditions for knowledge-building. This framework contributes towards an understanding of the epistemology of TELCs within the context of my public works. It offers descriptive and diagnostic tools for analysing the nature of learning, knowing and knowledge-building within TELCs, and demonstrates how some key variables are interrelated. As such, it has relevance to the design and evaluation of social online learning and makes a contribution to the debate around theories of learning in a digital age