Exploring Chinese students’ learning experience in CIC MOOC 2.0– A study with Chinese online communities

This research explores Chinese students’ learning experience in the Creativity, Innovation, and Change (CIC) Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) 2.0 from the cultural, language, and communication perspectives. The CIC MOOC was the first course offered in both English and Chinese in Coursera. Data in this study were collected via online survey, interviews, QQ chat logs, and discussion threads in Guokr platform. Content analysis was performed to identify key themes from the collected data. Findings reveal that differences exist in Eastern and Western societies regarding power distance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity. Communication patterns also vary in QQ and Guokr online communities. In addition, Chinese students reported that translation helped them understand the course topics better, and the online interest group motivated them to participate in course activities and complete the course. The conclusions shed light on the design of future MOOCs, advocating for translating course content into different languages and building small online communities to meet learners’ needs and improve their learning experiences

The Issues and Challenges of Assessing Media Literacy Education

In the media literacy literature, the challenges associated with assessment have, to a great extent, been ignored. The purpose of this mixed methods study was therefore to explore the views of media literacy scholars and professionals on assessment challenges through qualitative interviews (n = 10) with the intent of using this information to develop a quantitative survey to validate and extend the qualitative findings with a larger sample of media literacy professionals and scholars from around the world (n = 133). The findings offer an overview of the assessment challenges encountered by these participants

Using Information Technology to Forge Connections in an Extension Service Project

A hybrid Extension project is introduced that uses a traditional Extension delivery model without the complete infrastructure of Cooperative Extension Services. The absence of this local organizational support and infrastructure necessitates new thinking regarding how Information Technology (IT) can support this project and hybrid Extension projects in general. The reciprocal relationship between offline and online tasks and how an Internet portal can serve as a centralized location for project continuity is offered as one solution. How IT facilitates the implementation of hybrid Extension projects such as this one can further promote the interdisciplinary adoption of the Extension model

Building Virtual Communities of Practice for Distance Educators

VII, 58 p.online resource

Exploring Demographics and Students’ Motivation as Predictors of Completion of a Massive Open Online Course

This paper investigates the degree to which different variables affect the completion of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Data on those variables, such as age, gender, English proficiency, education level, and motivation for course enrollment were first collected through a pre-course survey. Next, course completion records were collected via the Coursera database. Finally, multiple binomial logistic regression models were used to identify factors related to MOOC completion. Although students were grouped according to their preferences, working in groups did not affect students’ likelihood for MOOC completion. Also, other variables such as age, the institution hosting the MOOC, academic program alignment with students’ needs, and students’ intention to complete the course all affected their probability of MOOC completion. This study contributes to the literature by indicating the factors that influence the probability of MOOC completion. Results show that older participants (age > 50 years old) have higher probability of completing the MOOC. Students’ MOOC completion also increases when the MOOC provides experiences that add to students’ current academic backgrounds and when they are hosted by institutions with a strong academic reputation. Based on these factors, this study contributes to research methods in MOOCs by proposing a model that is aligned with the most important factors predicting completion as recommended by the current MOOC literature. For the next phase of assigning learners to work in groups, findings from this study also suggest that MOOC instructors should provide assistance for group work and monitor students’ collaborative processes