Massive Open Online Courses: Combining Methodologies and Architecture for a Success Learning

Massive Open Online Courses: Combining Methodologies and Architecture for a Success Learnin

Enabling smart learning systems within smart cities using open data

Deploying ad-hoc learning environments to use and represent data from multiple sources and networks and to dynamically respond to user demands could be very expensive and ineffective in the long run. Moreover, most of the available data is wasted without extracting potentially useful information and knowledge because of the lack of established mechanisms and standards. It is preferable to focus on data availability to choose and develop interoperability strategies suitable for smart learning systems based on open standards and allowing seamless integration of third-party data and custom applications. This paper highlights the opportunity to take advantage of emerging technologies, like the linked open data platforms and automatic reasoning to effectively handle the vast amount of information and to use data linked queries in the domain of cognitive smart learning systems

A Game-based Approach for Open Data in Education:A Systematic Mapping Review

Abstract Open Data is defined as digital data that is made available with the technical and legal characteristics necessary to be freely used, reused, and redistributed by anyone, anytime and anywhere. Examples of Open Data can be data on mobility or pollution, which an increasing number of cities are making available to citizens. In education, the novel field of Open Data has the potential of empowering a young generation with digital skills and critical thinking through work with real-life Open Data. However, the scarcity of methods and tools for skills development and insertion into educational designs reduces the possibility of achieving this potential. This study is part of the project ODECO, aimed at addressing challenges in the creation of Open Data ecosystems in several contexts, such as education. A systematic mapping review was conducted to uncover the research connections between Open Data education and educational games. Twenty-eight studies were identified and analysed through iterative searching and including keywords related to Gamification, Open Data and Education. In doing this, relevant themes and novel approaches in the current literature were found. This paper discusses how the fields of Open Data education and educational games methodologically and theoretically contribute to outline a game-based approach for Open Data in education. An Open Data Gamified Education Framework leads to authentic learning experiences for real-world problem solving in relation to eight actions: connecting classroom activities to real facts, empowering students to act with Open Data, supporting technical Open Data skills in the classroom, building literacy and developing skills, enhancing civic participation, creating more realistic and appealing narratives, extending teaching outside the classroom by collecting data in real time and local settings, and increasing engagement and motivation. Acknowledgments. This study is funded by the ODECO Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2020, grant agreement 955569), which aims at addressing challenges in the creation of user driven, circular, skill-based, and inclusive Open Data ecosystems (ODECO - Towards a Sustainable Open Data ECOsystem, 2021)

Seeking Open Educational Resources to Compose Massive Open Online Courses in Engineering Education An Approach based on Linked Open Data

The OER movement has tended to define "openness" in terms of access to use and reuse educational materials, and to address the geographical and financial barriers among students, teachers and self-learners with open access to high quality digital educational resources. MOOCs are the continuation of this trend of openness, innovation, and use of technology to provide learning opportunities for large numbers of learners. In the last years, the amount of Open Educational Resources on the Web has increased dramatically, especially thanks to initiatives like OpenCourseWare and other Open Educational Resources movements. The potential of this vast amount of resources is enormous. In this paper an architecture based on Semantic Web technologies and the Linked Data guidelines to support the inclusion of open materials in massive online courses is presented. Linked Data is considered as one of the most effective alternatives for creating global shared information spaces, it has become an interesting approach for discovering and enriching open educational resources data, as well as achieving semantic interoperability and re-use between multiple Open Educational Resources repositories. The notion of Linked Data refers to a set of best practices for publishing, sharing and interconnecting data in RDF format. Educational repositories managers are, in fact, realizing the potential of using Linked Data for describing, discovering, linking and publishing educational data on the Web. This work shows a data architecture based on semantic web technologies that support the discovery and inclusion of open educational materials in massive online courses in engineering education. The authors focus on a type of openness: open of contents as regards re-use and re-mix, i.e. freedom to reuse the material, to combine it with other materials, to adapt and to share it further under an open license

MOOC y otros dispositivos de instrucción en línea de bibliotecas universitarias argentinas a partir de la pandemia de COVID-19

Se propone una investigación acerca de la participación de las bibliotecas universitarias del ámbito público y privado de Argentina en el uso y la gestión de los cursos en línea masivos y abiertos (MOOC) y de otros dispositivos de instrucción en línea a partir de la pandemia de COVID-19. En función de los resultados obtenidos por el equipo de investigación en un proyecto previo sobre la misma temática, se aplicará un estudio exploratorio, multi metodológico y no experimental con el objetivo de conocer el rol de las bibliotecas universitarias con relación al dictado de MOOC y de otros dispositivos de instrucción en línea en el período de la pandemia y la pospandemia, con énfasis en los programas ofrecidos de forma gratuita y abierta. A su vez, se explorará en qué medida las bibliotecas bajo análisis se encuentran vinculadas con los servicios de tecnología de la universidad y se estudiarán los mecanismos de almacenamiento, difusión y preservación digital de los MOOC y otros dispositivos de instrucción en línea = An investigation is proposed on the participation of public and private university libraries in Argentina on the use and management of massive open online courses (MOOCs) and other online learning devices in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the results obtained by the research team in a previous project on the same topic, an exploratory, multi-methodological and non-experimental study will be applied with the aim of understanding the role of university libraries in relation to the delivery of MOOCs and other online learning devices in the period of the pandemic and post-pandemic, with emphasis on free and open programs. In turn, the extent to which the libraries under analysis are linked to university technology services will be explored, and the mechanisms of storage, dissemination, and digital preservation of MOOCs and other online learning devices will be studied

Los MOOC y su nivel de implementación en las bibliotecas universitarias de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires y área metropolitana

 The participation of public and private academic libraries in the Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires and its Área Metropolitana in the use and management of Massive and Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is analyzed. MOOCs1 present opportunities and challenges for libraries, such as participating in the implementation of courses, advising on and resolving issues related to copyright and licenses, providing massive access to information resources and 24/7 remote service for those enrolled in MOOCs. An exploratory methodology was adopted in order to prepare an initial diagnosis. The population consisted of 68 information units. The research instrument was designed to collect data with the purpose of exploring the state of development of the topic in the defined scope. The survey included 31 questions and was answered by 39 libraries. The analysis of the information obtained made it possible to produce an approximate idea of the importance of the topic today and the challenges it poses.Se analiza la participación de las bibliotecas de universidades públicas y privadas de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires y su Área Metropolitana en el uso y gestión de Cursos Masivos y Abiertos en Línea (MOOC). Los MOOC plantean a las bibliotecas oportunidades y desafíos, tales como participar en la implementación de los cursos, asesorar y resolver temas vinculados a los derechos de autor y a las licencias, brindar acceso masivo a los recursos de información y el servicio remoto 24/7 para los inscriptos a los MOOC. Se adoptó una metodología de carácter exploratorio, a fin de elaborar un diagnóstico inicial. La población de análisis estuvo conformada por 68 unidades de información. Se diseñó el instrumento para recolectar los datos con el propósito de relevar el estado de desarrollo del tema en el ámbito definido. Se aplicó la encuesta que incluyó 31 preguntas y se trabajó con la información correspondiente a 39 unidades de información de las cuales se obtuvo respuesta. El análisis de los resultados obtenidos permite generar una aproximación a la importancia y a los desafíos del tema en la actualidad

Los MOOC y su nivel de implementación en las bibliotecas universitarias de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires y área metropolitana

The participation of public and private academic libraries in the Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires and its Área Metropolitana in the use and management of Massive and Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is analyzed. MOOCs1 present opportunities and challenges for libraries, such as participating in the implementation of courses, advising on and resolving issues related to copyright and licenses, providing massive access to information resources and 24/7 remote service for those enrolled in MOOCs. An exploratory methodology was adopted in order to prepare an initial diagnosis. The population consisted of 68 information units. The research instrument was designed to collect data with the purpose of exploring the state of development of the topic in the defined scope. The survey included 31 questions and was answered by 39 libraries. The analysis of the information obtained made it possible to produce an approximate idea of the importance of the topic today and the challenges it poses

The Semantically Rich Learning Environments: A Systematic Literature Review

Purpose: The research is intended to extract repetitive themes in the field of semantic-rich learning and to express the basic opportunities and challenges therein. Method: The method applied was to review the articles published in the WOS database, during the years 2000 to 2020 by using the paradigm funnel technique; moreover the Nvivo software was used for document analysis and theme extraction. Findings: In the study, it was found that establishing access to appropriate educational content, proper analysis and representation of knowledge, human capabilities enhancement, personalization of learning, and improving the quality of assessment, are the most important positive effects of using STs in learning; Also, in this study, nine themes and seven major challenges in the field of semantic-rich learning were identified. Conclusion: personalization and adaptation, and the development of various ontologies, are the most cited themes; and access to learning content and concerns about the design and development of learning systems are the most important challenges facing semantic-rich learning environments. We believe that in order to overcome the enumerated challenges, the combination of STs with other emerging cognitive and communication technologies, such as IoT, is necessary and could be the subject of future research in this field

A Quantitative Analysis of the Use of Microdata for Semantic Annotations on Educational Resources

A current trend in the semantic web is the use of embedded markup formats aimed to semantically enrich web content by making it more understandable to search engines and other applications. The deployment of Microdata as a markup format has increased thanks to the widespread of a controlled vocabulary provided by Schema.org. Recently, a set of properties from the Learning Resource Metadata Initiative (LRMI) specification, which describes educational resources, was adopted by Schema.org. These properties, in addition to those related to accessibility and the license of resources included in Schema.org, would enable search engines to provide more relevant results in searching for educational resources for all users, including users with disabilities. In order to obtain a reliable evaluation of the use of Microdata properties related to the LRMI specification, accessibility, and the license of resources, this research conducted a quantitative analysis of the deployment of these properties in large-scale web corpora covering two consecutive years. The corpora contain hundreds of millions of web pages. The results further our understanding of this deployment in addition to highlighting the pending issues and challenges concerning the use of such properties

Exploring the experiences of instructors teaching massive open online courses in tourism and hospitality: a mixed methods approach

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have existed as a disruptive educational phenomenon for nine years. Grounded in the roots of distance education, open education, Open Educational Resources, and OpenCourseWare, MOOCs have now survived various critics and have continued growing globally. Reports about MOOCs in both the press and scholarly publications began to grow significantly in 2013 (Sánchez-Vera, Leon Urrutia, & Davis, 2015; Zancanaro & Domingues, 2017) and, since then, more and more researchers have joined the discussions, developing them to explore various new topics. To contribute to the literature of MOOC studies, this doctoral thesis begins with an in-depth analysis of the background, history, growth, and vision, and proposes a tentative definition of MOOCs. Meanwhile, by conducting bibliometric research to review MOOC studies conducted between 2015 and 2017, this thesis fills in the gap that has existed due to a lack of systematic reviews of MOOC literature since 2015. The results of the bibliometric research summarised the relevant MOOC research into nine categories, including learner focused, commentary and concepts, case reports or evaluations, pedagogy, curriculum and design, course object focused, provider focused, technology, systematic review of literature, and learning analytics and big data. They also suggested a limited amount of provider focused research, which became the research interest and focus of this thesis. In the centre of the Europe, Swiss universities have marched forward in the MOOC movement, together with other over 550 universities (Shah, 2016) around the world. Università della Svizzera italiana (USI; Lugano, Switzerland), a Swiss public university, became a MOOC provider in 2015 and offered the first MOOC in the topic of eTourism: eTourism: Communication Perspectives. This doctoral thesis is closely related to this university-level initiative, which was dedicated to producing the first pilot MOOC at USI. Therefore, the cases chosen by this thesis are positioned in the discipline of tourism and hospitality. The first MOOC with a large audience taught artificial intelligence in 2011 (Zancanaro & Domingues, 2017). Nowadays, MOOCs have broken the barrier of space and time to educate the masses in a wide range of subjects. However, the provision of MOOCs in the subject of tourism and hospitality did not appear until 2013, when two MOOCs from two American universities became available. In the past four years since these MOOCs were launched, the number of tourism and hospitality MOOCs available in the market has remained limited (Tracey, Murphy, & Horton-Tognazzini, 2016). This scarcity contradicts the fact that tourism and hospitality is the field that contributes the most to the employment of the global workforce. Pressing problems, such as high turnover, seasonality, and new global challenges have urged for solutions to quickly training people working in this area to become available (Cantoni, Kalbaska, & Inversini, 2009). A call for more studies about tourism and hospitality MOOCs has emerged. The combined reality of the lack of studies regarding MOOC providers, opportunities for first-hand experience of producing a tourism MOOC in a university, and the deficiency in both the research and practises of tourism and hospitality MOOCs has inspired the direction of this thesis in regard to exploring MOOC instructors’ experiences, using cases in the field of tourism and hospitality. It cumulates six studies, using a mixed methods approach, to tackle the two main research objectives: to investigate at large the tourism and hospitality MOOC provisions between 2008 and 2015 and to report the experiences of Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) when producing the eTourism MOOC. In order, the first two studies in Chapter 3 of this thesis focus on tourism and hospitality MOOCs in general and produce a big picture context for the other four studies in Chapter 4. The first study proposes a conceptual framework through which to describe and analyse the course design of a MOOC and applies it to 18 tourism and hospitality MOOCs produced between 2008 and 2015. The second study then continues to interview six tourism and hospitality MOOC instructors, to describe their experiences and perspectives of teaching MOOCs. After exploring a holistic view of the overall development of MOOCs in tourism and hospitality and gaining a deep understanding of the instructors behind these offerings, this thesis introduces the experiences of one single MOOC provider: Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Chapter 4. It first introduces its overall implementation process (Study 3), and further elaborates three phases of this process: how it selected a suitable MOOC platform at the beginning (Study 4); how it assessed learner engagement in the MOOC (Study 5); and, eventually, how it evaluated the performance of the MOOC (Study 6). This thesis was written mainly from the perspective of eLearning, with the intention of benefiting its community of scholars and practitioners. It has contributed to the literature by developing a framework with which to review MOOCs (in Study 1), the implementation process of producing MOOCs (in Study 2), practical review schema of MOOC platforms (in Study 4), the MOOC Learner Engagement Online Survey (in Study 5), and how to use the Kirkpatrick model to evaluate MOOCs (in Study 6). These conceptual frameworks and experiential tools can benefit future researchers and practitioners. Meanwhile, due to its intimate connection with the field of tourism and hospitality, by directly using its cases, the research outputs of the six studies can also benefit the tourism and hospitality education and training sector as a reference for further action