Wide-Scale Automatic Analysis of 20 Years of ITS Research

The analysis of literature within a research domain can provide significant value during preliminary research. While literature reviews may provide an in-depth understanding of current studies within an area, they are limited by the number of studies which they take into account. Importantly, whilst publications in hot areas abound, it is not feasible for an individual or team to analyse a large volume of publications within a reasonable amount of time. Additionally, major publications which have gained a large number of citations are more likely to be included in a review, with recent or fringe publications receiving less inclusion. We provide thus an automatic methodology for the large-scale analysis of literature within the Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) domain, with the aim of identifying trends and areas of research from a corpus of publications which is significantly larger than is typically presented in conventional literature reviews. We illustrate this by a novel analysis of 20 years of ITS research. The resulting analysis indicates a significant shift of the status quo of research in recent years with the advent of novel neural network architectures and the introduction of MOOCs

Conversational agent for supporting learners on a MOOC on programming with Java

One important problem in MOOCs is the lack of personalized support from teachers. Conversational agents arise as one possible solution to assist MOOC learners and help them to study. For example, conversational agents can help review key concepts of the MOOC by asking questions to the learners and providing examples. JavaPAL, a voice-based conversational agent for supporting learners on a MOOC on programming with Java offered on edX. This paper evaluates JavaPAL from different perspectives. First, the usability of JavaPAL is analyzed, obtaining a score of 74.41 according to a System Usability Scale (SUS). Second, learners’ performance is compared when answering questions directly through JavaPAL and through the equivalent web interface on edX, getting similar results in terms of performance. Finally, interviews with JavaPAL users reveal that this conversational agent can be helpful as a complementary tool for the MOOC due to its portability and flexibility compared to accessing the MOOC contents through the web interface.This work was supported in part by the FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades-Agencia Estatal de Investigación, through the Smartlet and H2O Learning projects under Grant TIN2017-85179-C3-1-R and PID2020-112584RB-C31, and in part by the Madrid Regional Government through the e-Madrid-CM Project under Grant S2018/TCS-4307 and under the Multiannual Agreement with UC3M in the line of Excellence of University Professors (EPUC3M21), and in the context of the V PRICIT (Regional Programme of Research and Technological Innovation), a project which is co-funded by the European Structural Funds (FSE and FEDER). Partial support has also been received from the European Commission through Erasmus+ Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education projects, more specifically through projects LALA, InnovaT, and PROF-XXI (586120-EPP-1-2017-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), (598758-EPP-1-2018-1-AT-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), (609767-EPP-1-2019-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP). This publication reflects the views only of the authors and funders cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

Adapting Collaborative Chat for Massive Open Online Courses: Lessons Learned

Abstract. In this paper we explore how to import intelligent support for group learning that has been demonstrated as effective in classroom instruction into a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) context. The Bazaar agent architecture paired with an innovative Lobby tool to enable coordination for synchronous reflection exercises provides a technical foundation for our work. We describe lessons learned, directions for future work, and offer pointers to resources for other researchers interested in computer supported collaborative learning in MOOCs

Conversational commerce: entering the next stage of AI-powered digital assistants

Digital assistant is a recent advancement benefited through data-driven innovation. Though digital assistants have become an integral member of user conversations, but there is no theory that relates user perception towards this AI powered technology. The purpose of the research is to investigate the role of technology attitude and AI attributes in enhancing purchase intention through digital assistants. A conceptual model is proposed after identifying three major AI factors namely, perceived anthropomorphism, perceived intelligence, and perceived animacy. To test the model, the study employed structural equation modeling using 440 sample. The results indicated that perceived anthropomorphism plays the most significant role in building a positive attitude and purchase intention through digital assistants. Though the study is built using technology-related variables, the hypotheses are proposed based on various psychology-related theories such as uncanny valley theory, the theory of mind, developmental psychology, and cognitive psychology theory. The study’s theoretical contributions are discussed within the scope of these theories. Besides the theoretical contribution, the study also offers illuminating practical implications for developers and marketers’ benefit

MOOCs as contemporary forms of books: new educational services between control and conversation

This text is devoted to an analysis of the Moocs, taking the viewpoint of the participants in these distance courses. Drawing on the emergence of new practices of training consumption, it tries to make the link between different perspectives of research: those coming from distance education, those relating to the analysis of educational resources, from textbooks. Taking into account the evolutions of books, especially with digital and Internet, it shows that considering Moocs as contemporary forms of educational (or cultural) books leads to change certain research issues and, more simply, the analyses devoted to them. Finally, it discusses two central processes in education, conversation and control, and shows how their articulation is reflected in the Moocs and how they are designed and used.Este texto volta-se a uma análise dos Moocs, considerando o ponto de vista dos parti- cipantes em cursos a distância. Com base no surgimento de novas práticas de forma- ção, busca-se estabelecer o vínculo entre diferentes perspectivas de pesquisa: as que procedem da educação a distância e as relacionadas à análise de recursos educacio- nais, a partir de livros didáticos. Tendo em conta a evolução dos livros, especialmente com o suporte digital e a internet, mostra-se que considerar Moocs como formas con- temporâneas de livros educacionais (ou culturais) leva a mudar certos problemas de pesquisa, bem como as análises a eles relacionadas. Finalmente, discutem-se dois processos centrais na educação, a conversa e o controle, mostrando como sua articu- lação se reflete nos Moocs, na forma como eles são projetados e usados

Engineering serendipity in large scale learning environments:A design-based research investigation into the impact of visualising peer produced content in real-time in FutureLearn courses

This thesis investigates social learning in large scale courses, from the perspective of exploiting the benefits of massive participation. Specifically, I examine the affordances of the FutureLearn course platform, analysing their impact on learner interactions. I then create new affordances through a novel mediating artefact, the Comment Discovery Tool, and develop innovative pedagogical models which are refined through 3 phases of design-based research. The Comment Discovery Tool is an interactive visualisation of all learner commentary that allows learners to see conversations and emergent themes from the course in a non-linear fashion. In the second phase of design-based research I use formal learning design frameworks to introduce inquiry and reflection activities into the pedagogical toolkit. These are generally missing from the established model of large scale course design which values completion, progress and retention only. The third phase of design-based research continues the pedagogical innovation by encouraging learners to alter their writing style towards the development of communities of ‘ambient affiliation’. This demonstrates that learning at scale requires a reconceptualisation of online courses, placing massive-ness and cooperation at the heart of the pedagogic design. This thesis is a case study into how this can be achieved by using design-based research, placing learners at the centre of the design process, and levelling up the human activity of learning to one where learners can extend the range of their own environment for the benefit of others. The research represents an original contribution because I demonstrate how real-time visualisations can encourage cooperative activity and demonstrate how pedagogical innovation can be achieved through a rigorous user-centric analysis, starting from the materiality of the platform, and integrating theoretical frameworks. I also use a GPL open-source licence for the tool which enables others to download, remix and re-use the technology on other courses

EU–originated MOOCs, with focus on multi- and single-institution platforms

No abstract available