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1 – 10 of 79Stefan Dreisiebner, Anna Katharina Polzer, Lyn Robinson, Paul Libbrecht, Juan-José Boté-Vericad, Cristóbal Urbano, Thomas Mandl, Polona Vilar, Maja Žumer, Mate Juric, Franjo Pehar and Ivanka Stričević
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the rationale, technical framework, content creation workflow and evaluation for a multilingual massive open online course (MOOC) to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the rationale, technical framework, content creation workflow and evaluation for a multilingual massive open online course (MOOC) to facilitate information literacy (IL) considering cultural aspects.
Design/methodology/approach
A good practice analysis built the basis for the technical and content framework. The evaluation approach consisted of three phases: first, the students were asked to fill out a short self-assessment questionnaire and a shortened adapted version of a standardized IL test. Second, they completed the full version of the IL MOOC. Third, they were asked to fill out the full version of a standardized IL test and a user experience questionnaire.
Findings
The results show that first the designed workflow was suitable in practice and led to the implementation of a full-grown MOOC. Second, the implementation itself provides implications for future projects developing multilingual educational resources. Third, the evaluation results show that participants achieved significantly higher results in a standardized IL test after attending the MOOC as mandatory coursework. Variations between the different student groups in the participating countries were observed. Fourth, self-motivation to complete the MOOC showed to be a challenge for students asked to attend the MOOC as nonmandatory out-of-classroom task. It seems that multilingual facilitation alone is not sufficient to increase active MOOC participation.
Originality/value
This paper presents an innovative approach of developing multilingual IL teaching resources and is one of the first works to evaluate the impact of an IL MOOC on learners' experience and learning outcomes in an international evaluation study.
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The purpose of this paper is to survey the factors which facilitate effective teaching through massive open online courses (MOOCs).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to survey the factors which facilitate effective teaching through massive open online courses (MOOCs).
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive meta-analysis was conducted to first examine the literature covering the characteristics of teaching in MOOCs, the profile of participants, the instructional design of course materials and/or the course assessment methods – and then to summarise the factors which are conducive to the teaching effectiveness of MOOCs. A random sample of MOOCs was then reviewed to sort out the extent to which the factors can be identified in these courses.
Findings
The factors leading to effective teaching of MOOCs revolve around six areas according to the stages of course delivery, namely, preparation, attraction, participation, interaction, consolidation and post-course support. They address the application of technology to achieve educational purposes, while coping with the potentials and constraints of the MOOC environment. In practice, however, existing MOOCs show varying degrees of the implementation of the factors.
Research limitations/implications
As this is an exploratory study summarising and categorising the factors, further work should be done, in particular on the proper adoption of these factors in teaching, their effectiveness and ways of assessing such effectiveness.
Originality/value
The factors identified will help institutions and academics who plan to offer MOOCs to be aware of how teaching can be best delivered to promote effective student learning.
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Zhuoxuan Jiang, Chunyan Miao and Xiaoming Li
Recent years have witnessed the rapid development of massive open online courses (MOOCs). With more and more courses being produced by instructors and being participated by…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent years have witnessed the rapid development of massive open online courses (MOOCs). With more and more courses being produced by instructors and being participated by learners all over the world, unprecedented massive educational resources are aggregated. The educational resources include videos, subtitles, lecture notes, quizzes, etc., on the teaching side, and forum contents, Wiki, log of learning behavior, log of homework, etc., on the learning side. However, the data are both unstructured and diverse. To facilitate knowledge management and mining on MOOCs, extracting keywords from the resources is important. This paper aims to adapt the state-of-the-art techniques to MOOC settings and evaluate the effectiveness on real data. In terms of practice, this paper also tries to answer the questions for the first time that to what extend can the MOOC resources support keyword extraction models, and how many human efforts are required to make the models work well.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on which side generates the data, i.e instructors or learners, the data are classified to teaching resources and learning resources, respectively. The approach used on teaching resources is based on machine learning models with labels, while the approach used on learning resources is based on graph model without labels.
Findings
From the teaching resources, the methods used by the authors can accurately extract keywords with only 10 per cent labeled data. The authors find a characteristic of the data that the resources of various forms, e.g. subtitles and PPTs, should be separately considered because they have the different model ability. From the learning resources, the keywords extracted from MOOC forums are not as domain-specific as those extracted from teaching resources, but they can reflect the topics which are lively discussed in forums. Then instructors can get feedback from the indication. The authors implement two applications with the extracted keywords: generating concept map and generating learning path. The visual demos show they have the potential to improve learning efficiency when they are integrated into a real MOOC platform.
Research limitations/implications
Conducting keyword extraction on MOOC resources is quite difficult because teaching resources are hard to be obtained due to copyrights. Also, getting labeled data is tough because usually expertise of the corresponding domain is required.
Practical implications
The experiment results support that MOOC resources are good enough for building models of keyword extraction, and an acceptable balance between human efforts and model accuracy can be achieved.
Originality/value
This paper presents a pioneer study on keyword extraction on MOOC resources and obtains some new findings.
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Syed Saad Ahmed, Essa Khan, Muhammad Faisal and Sara Khan
The birth of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has instantly drawn the attention of scholars, academicians and learners. Millions of participants are learning through this…
Abstract
Purpose
The birth of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has instantly drawn the attention of scholars, academicians and learners. Millions of participants are learning through this freely accessible model of education. The purpose of this paper is to review the development of MOOCs, its characteristics and to explore its potential and challenges in Pakistan particularly.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected through interviews and focus group, and the respondents had completed at least one MOOC offering. This research used content and thematic analysis with the triangulation of methods and sources.
Findings
The finding of this study reflects that MOOCs are inspiring great number of learners in Pakistan despite of factors impeding the surge of e-learning. MOOCs in regional languages with better electricity and internet connectivity could be very useful for the rural areas’ people but it requires extra ordinary interest from government and academicians.
Research limitations/implications
This is an exploratory qualitative study highlighting the potential and challenges of MOOCs from the perspective of faculty and students. However, it does not incorporate the views of university officials. Similar study could consider university officials and university owner as respondents. In addition, future studies could also investigate the factors inhibiting completion of MOOCs.
Originality/value
Despite of the sharp rise of published literature on MOOCs, there is less contribution from the developing countries. This research enables us to develop better understanding of the potential and challenges of MOOCs in the social context of Pakistan.
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Abstract
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Martha de Jesús Beltrán Hernández de Galindo, Luis M. Romero-Rodriguez and Maria Soledad Ramirez Montoya
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been gaining popularity as non-formal lifelong learning educational platforms. However, they have been criticized for their low completion…
Abstract
Purpose
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been gaining popularity as non-formal lifelong learning educational platforms. However, they have been criticized for their low completion rate and low ability for networking. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how incorporating entrepreneurial competencies in MOOCs develops attributes of educational innovation and collaborative projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The research followed a three-stage process: in first stage, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify dimensions of entrepreneurial skills and attributes of educational innovation in MOOCs. In the second stage, a quantitative study was carried out, based on the analysis of pre- and post-test surveys taken by a sample of 6,517 participants. In the last stage, the interaction analysis model/computer-mediated communication analysis model was applied through qualitative analysis, using the MAXQDA tool to identify if entrepreneurship opportunities were generated in the interactions within the discussion forums of the MOOCs.
Findings
The results show that the analyzed MOOCs have an overall completion rate of 12.55 per cent, above the average of the rates found in the literature review. However, only 14.29 per cent of the participants expressed at least one opportunity to generate ventures related to the topics of energy in the discussion forums.
Practical implications
This research could help instructional designers and universities to consider the inclusion of entrepreneurship issues in the design of MOOCs’ content and to encourage more activities that promote networking among participants, to identify business potential from the educational materials.
Originality/value
This research is one of the very few studies on entrepreneurship competencies in MOOCs to understand how the inclusion of issues related to entrepreneurship in MOOCs can generate a positive impact on participants.
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Raimunda Bukartaite and Daire Hooper
This study explores insights from key stakeholders into the skills they believe will be necessary for the future of work as we become more reliant on artificial intelligence (AI…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores insights from key stakeholders into the skills they believe will be necessary for the future of work as we become more reliant on artificial intelligence (AI) and technology. The study also seeks to understand what human resource policies and educational interventions are needed to support and take advantage of these changes.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative study where a sample of highly experienced representatives from a range of small to large Irish organisations, both public and private, provide insights into this important topic.
Findings
Findings indicate participants see a continued need for soft and hard skills as we evolve towards a more technologised workplace, with a need for employees to adopt a lifelong learning philosophy. As the knowledge economy in Ireland is well established, experts do not expect mass displacement to occur but differ with respect to the predicted rate of change. Novel HR interventions such as hiring for potential, pooling talent and establishing postgraduate supply contracts are seen as key. Current state interventions were mostly viewed positively but revamping of curricula is needed as well as stronger partnerships with tertiary institutions.
Research limitations/implications
The interpretivist nature of the study limits the generalisability of the findings as they are based on a relatively small sample from one country. Also despite the significant expertise of the sample, it is not possible to predict whether their forecasts will manifest.
Practical implications
This research highlights the need for Irish SMEs to embrace the impacts of automation and AI as many are seen to be slow in reacting to changes in technology. The study also reveals cutting edge talent management interventions for employers to adopt that will insulate them from the challenges technological change presents to recruitment and employee development.
Originality/value
The findings from this paper culminate in the development of a conceptual framework, which encapsulates the responsibilities of all parties so that future skills needs will be met. This highlights the interplay between employers, individuals/employees, the Irish Government and educational institutions, demonstrating how they are interdependent on one another as we move towards a more technologised future.
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Vanessa Martins dos Santos, Adrian Kemmer Cernev, Guilherme Marzol Montandon Saraiva and Adriano Gonçalves Bida
Digital platforms have enabled the emergence of new business models by transforming the competitive scenario, labour, traditional management activities and strategies of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital platforms have enabled the emergence of new business models by transforming the competitive scenario, labour, traditional management activities and strategies of the organisations regarding a number of productive sectors. The objective of this study is to analyse these changes in the educational sector from the view of professors who produce content in digital platforms, such as the massive open online courses (MOOCs).
Design/methodology/approach
In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 Brazilian professors using MOOC. The methodology proposed by Bardin (2011) and the board’s guidelines (2013) were used for content analysis.
Findings
Positive aspects such as autonomy, higher financial gains, geographic coverage, quality of life and cheaper and quicker courses were identified in the present study, whereas negative aspects were disclosure and sales performed by faculty members, problems with technical support, demand for new skills (e.g. digital marketing), new teaching methods and opportunities perceived by the professors.
Research limitations/implications
The results found cannot be generalised to different publics and contexts.
Originality/value
The results contribute to a better understanding of the new business models on digital platforms as they show evidence of how these techniques are contributing to digital transformation of traditional sectors. This model can be used to connect professors who produce content to those who want to learn as well as to enable remote operations in educational institutions. Additionally, managers, CEOs and entrepreneurs of the sector can use MOOC as a reference when formulating their strategies.
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