Archive for the ‘MOOCs’ Category

A MOOC on Approaches to Machine Translation

This paper describes the design, development and analysis of a MOOC entitled “Approaches to Machine Translation: rule-based, statistical and hybrid” providing lessons learnt on conclusions to be take into account in the future. The course was developed within a Canvas platform, used by recognized European universities. The course contains video-lectures, quizzes and laboratory assignments. Evaluation […]

iMOOC on Climate Change: Evaluation of a Massive Open Online Learning Pilot Experience

MOOCs are a recent phenomenon, although given their impact, they have been subject to a large debate. Several questions have been raised by researchers and educators alike regarding their sustainability, both economically and as an efficient mode of education provision. In this paper we contribute to this discussion by presenting a case study of the […]

Six universities from Australia, Europe, Canada and the U.S. are seeking to establish a new alliance in which each organization’s massive open online courses (MOOCs) are formally accredited by partner institutions. Inside Higher Ed

A strategic response to MOOCs: How one European university is approaching the challenge

This paper briefly outlines some of the macro level claims, counter-claims and unresolved debates surrounding the rapid growth of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Higher Education. It then reports insights, experiences and perceptions of those charged with developing a strategic institutional response to the challenges and opportunities presented by the MOOC movement framed within […]

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Setting-up a European Cross-Provider Data Collection on Open Online Courses

While MOOCS have emerged as a new form of open online education around the world, research is stilling lagging behind to come up with a sound theoretical basis that can cover the impact of socio-economic background variables, ICT competences, prior experiences and lifelong learning profile, variance in intentions, environmental influences, outcome expectations, learning experience and […]

How socioeconomic status impacts online learning

The driving force behind the increasing popularity of massive open online courses (MOOCs) is that they provide — as the term defines it — open access to a massive online audience. Anyone with an Internet connection who wants to learn, can. Whether you’re rich or poor, living in a New York City high-rise or a […]

MOOCs and crowdsourcing: Massive courses and massive resources

Premised upon the observation that MOOC and crowdsourcing phenomena share several important characteristics, including IT mediation, large-scale human participation, and varying levels of openness to participants, this work systematizes a comparison of MOOC and crowdsourcing phenomena along these salient dimensions. In doing so, we learn that both domains share further common traits, including similarities in […]

The space for social media in structured online learning

In this paper, we explore the benefits of using social media in an online educational setting, with a particular focus on the use of Facebook and Twitter by participants in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) developed to enable educators to learn about the Carpe Diem learning design process. We define social media as digital […]

Theories and Applications of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) : The Case for Hybrid Design

Initial research on learning in massive open online courses (MOOCs) primarily focused participation patterns and participant experiences. More recently, research has addressed learning theories and offered case studies of different pedagogical designs for MOOCs. Based on a meta-analysis and synthesis of the research literature, this study develops a conceptual model of prominent theories and applications […]

Who are the Open Learners? A Comparative Study Profiling non-Formal Users of Open Educational Resources

Open educational resources (OER) have been identified as having the potential to extend opportunities for learning to non-formal learners. However, little research has been conducted into the impact of OER on non-formal learners. This paper presents the results of a systematic survey of more than 3,000 users of open educational resources (OER). Data was collected […]