Volume 18, numéro 6, september 2017

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In recent years there has been a proliferation of massive open online courses (MOOCs), which provide unprecedented opportunities for lifelong learning. Registrants approach these courses with a variety of motivations for participation. Characterizing the different types of participation in MOOCs is fundamental in order to be able to better evaluate the phenomenon and to support MOOCs developers and instructors in devising courses which are adapted for different learners' needs. Thus, the purpose of this study was to characterize the different types of participant behavior in a MOOC. Using a data mining methodology, 21,889 participants of a MOOC were classified into clusters, based on their activity in the main learning resources of the course: video lectures, discussion forums, and assessments. Thereafter, the participants in each cluster were characterized in regard to demographics, course participation, and course achievement characteristics. Seven types of participant behavior were identified: Tasters (64.8%), Downloaders (8.5%), Disengagers (11.5%), Offline Engagers (3.6%), Online Engagers (7.4%), Moderately Social Engagers (3.7%), and Social Engagers (0.6%). A significant number of 1,020 participants were found to be engaged in the course, but did not achieve a certificate. The types are discussed according to the established research questions. The results provide further evidence regarding the utilization of the flexibility, which is offered in MOOCs, by the participants according to their needs. Furthermore, this study supports the claim that MOOCs' impact should not be evaluated solely based on certification rates but rather based on learning behaviors.

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This study has been carried out within the context of the ECO European Project (E-learning, Communication Open-Data: Massive Mobile, Ubiquitous, and Open Learning) which is being financed by the European Union over four years (2014-17). It analyses the pedagogic architecture of MOOC on pedagogic/educational subjects in Spanish over one academic year (September 2015-June 2016). The analysis focuses on five major dimensions from a qualitative perspective: subjects and the promoting institution, methodology, resources, type of videos, and evaluation. The results demonstrate the hegemony of subjects linked to the Society of Knowledge, such as the widespread use of traditional methodology based on video lessons (the “talking head” model). Communication tools are clearly underused and evaluation based on the use of questionnaires is dominant. The findings show the need for further research into MOOC based on a pedagogic approach such as the one adopted here.

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From a design perspective, the intentionality of students to engage in surface or deep learning is often experienced through prescribed activities and learning tasks. Educators understand that meaningful learning can be furthered through the structural and organizational design of the online environment that motivates the student towards task completion. However, learning engagement is unique for each student. It is dependent on both how students learn and their intentions for learning. Based on this challenge, the design of online discussions becomes a pedagogical means in developing students’ intentionality for the adoption of strategies leading to deep learning. Through a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach, iterative design of online learning components for undergraduate field experience courses were studied. For this paper, the focus of the research is on examining factors that influenced deep and surface levels of learning in online discussion forums. The results indicate that design factors (i.e., student engagement, group structures, and organization) influence the nature and degree of deep learning. From the findings, two implications for practice are shared to inform the design and scaffolding of online discussion forums to foster deep approaches to student learning.

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Standardising learning content and teaching approaches is not considered to be the best practice in contemporary education. This approach does not differentiate learners based on their individual abilities and preferences. The present research integrates a pedagogical theory Universal Design for Learning (UDL) with an information system (IS) theory Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). It aims to examine the effectiveness of a technology-enhanced traditional web design course on blended e-learning acceptance and learner satisfaction in which UDL principles (multiple means of representation, action and expression, and engagement) were implemented. This casts some light on the role of addressing curricula limitations on learner perceptions and e-learning adoption. A mixed research design combining survey and action methods was followed. Overall, 92 undergraduate students took part in the study. The research instrument was validated first. Subsequently, partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied to identify the path associated among constructs used in the proposed framework. The extended model accounted for 45.4% and 41.6% of the variance of perceived satisfaction and behavioural intention respectively. The findings suggest that using educational technologies to address curricula limitations is a bridge to enhancing learner willingness to accept e-learning.

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The ongoing integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into higher education courses is often called blended learning although it often relates to course design. It is usually understood in place categories, as a combination of traditional classroom-based sessions and Internet-enabled distance or online learning practices. One alternative understanding of ICT integration can be constructed of time categories, with an understanding of ICTs more as process- and project-related. Two such design frameworks are conceptually presented and then used together in a small case study in a pilot experiment in physics at the preparatory level for entering engineering programs at a university in Northern Sweden. These are a) time shift mechanisms between synchronous and asynchronous learning modes in the course process and b) agile frameworks mechanisms adapted from work process developments in the software industry. Both are here used to address common procrastination problems in flexible education. Data were collected in student interviews and analysed with qualitative content analysis. Results show student satisfaction with the work rhythm and that a feeling of presence, which enables easy interaction, can be facilitated by synchronicity.

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This paper presents a case study of the co-design process for an online course on Sustainable Development (Degree in Tourism) involving the teacher, two students, and the project researchers. The co-design process was founded on an inquiry-based and technology-enhanced model that takes shape in a set of design principles. The research had two main objectives. Firstly, to identify the moments of change that occur during the co-design process and secondly, to describe the causes and agents that motivate them. This study applied design-based research methodology and used a qualitative approach to collect, analyse, and interpret data. The results show that the co-design methodology led to moderate changes consisting of the progressive construction and refinement of the activities, seeking a sense of continuum throughout by including students’ collaboration. The findings also reveal the main role of each of the actors involved. Thus, the teacher focused on basic instructional design related aspects while students focused on improving the use of resources and learning aids. Researchers helped them to embody and achieve the proposed changes and also acted as mediators of pedagogical concepts and vocabulary. CompendiumLD software was a helpful tool to graphically represent and share the prototyping of the activities and to help analyse the design process.

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This study investigated undergraduate students’ intention to use wiki technology. An extension of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been used by taking into account not only students’ wiki perceived utility and usability, but also Big Five personality characteristics and two other variables, social norms, and facilitating conditions, as proposed in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Students’ beliefs before (pre-wiki scenario) and after (post-wiki scenario) the actual use of the wiki system were investigated, with 85 and 86 participants respectively. The hypotheses were tested using partial least squares analysis. For the pre-wiki scenario, 8/15 hypotheses were confirmed and 11/15 for the post-wiki scenario. The relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness was found to be of the highest magnitude. The most notable difference across the two scenarios was that the relation between perceived ease of use and attitudes towards use was significant only in the first scenario. The results demonstrate that the proposed TAM-extended model could predict students’ wiki acceptance.

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Advocates for student voice in higher education believe students should have the right and power to engage in much of the decision-making traditionally dominated by instructors or administrators. This qualitative study examines the role of student voice in the evaluation of textbook quality. Evaluators included two graduate students enrolled in a project management course at a university in the western U.S. and their instructor. Evaluators used their own student-created metric to analyze the comparative quality of eight graduate-level project management textbooks, two of which were open and six copyright-restricted. The purposes of this study were to assess the comparative quality of low-cost open textbooks and traditional copyright-restricted textbooks and to identify key student-generated criteria wherein all textbooks may be improved to better serve student needs. The analysis revealed that textbooks can be rigorously and meaningfully evaluated by students, that open textbooks can compete with restricted textbooks in terms of quality, and that polyphonic approaches to textbook evaluation can be valuable for learning. We discuss the implications of open textbooks as viable, high-quality classroom options, and the importance of valuing both student voice and instructor perspectives to ensure the highest quality textbook selection for courses in higher education.

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e-Assessment, in the form of tools and systems that deliver and administer multiple choice questions (MCQs), is used increasingly, raising the need for evaluation and validation of such systems. This research uses literature and a series of six empirical action research studies to develop an evaluation framework of categories and criteria called SEAT (Selecting and Evaluating e-Assessment Tools). SEAT was converted to an interactive electronic instrument, e-SEAT, to assist academics in making informed choices when selecting MCQ systems for adoption or evaluating existing ones.

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The use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), a subset of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), can reduce the cost of purchasing software. Despite the benefit in the initial purchase price of software, deploying software requires total cost that goes beyond the initial purchase price. Total cost is a silent issue of FOSS and can only be evaluated in the particular environment in which it is adopted, in this case Kerala, India, fora state-level FOSS project called IT@School. This project is one of the largest deployments of free open source software FOSS-based ICT education in the world and impacts 6 million students and 200,000 teachers every year. This study analyzes the perception of 43 senior FOSS implementation project officials. It details how FOSS was introduced and reports on major challenges and how those challenges were overcome in a secondary educational setting in India. Email interviews, document analysis, and online case studies were used to collect the data. The lack of adequate resources to train the teachers was the single biggest challenge in the adoption of FOSS. The emerging strategies for efficient FOSS implementation could be used in other states in India and in other developing countries.

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This paper will explore how a portfolio approach to teaching and learning can help the educator incorporate unique forms of reflective practice into his or her daily work. By being able to express ideas more clearly to himself, the educator can better promote the relational construction of knowledge in his educational communities. This paper, as part of a larger body of research asks, how can a portfolio approach to teaching and learning help the educator develop unique forms of reflective practice that will help him express his ideas more clearly, first to himself and then secondly to his educational communities? Research methodology is primarily participatory action research and includes an autoethnographic review of the author’s work, reviews, interviews, observations, and focus groups with student teachers and professional teachers in the United Arab Emirates. The research concludes that in consideration of McLuhan’s (1964) notion that the “medium is the message,” the interactions that arise through the use of new media tools can lead us to relational, co-constructed ideas that are not those simply passed on from other texts. By making our thinking visible, the portfolio approach allows the educator to capture the contextual relationship between the author, the audience or community, and the knowledge being created.

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The purpose of this study was to verify a Chinese version of Community of Inquiry (CoI) instrument with learning presence and explore the causal relationships of the factors in the instrument. This study first examined the reliability and validity of the instrument. All four presences had acceptable levels of reliability (all Cronbach's α> .765 or higher). The confirmatory factor modeling approach was used to assess its validity. Then, the study used path analysis and regression analysis to explore the causal relationships of the presences. The key findings showed that teaching and social presences directly influenced the perceptions of learning presence. Learning presence was a partial mediating variable of interactional relationship within CoI constructs.

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The constant growth of methods of education that incorporate the Internet into teaching-learning processes has opened up a wide range of opportunities for students across the world to gain entry to undergraduate or graduate degree programs. However, if the enrolling student is a digital immigrant, the chances of success may be limited by the difficulty of using the Internet to communicate. This laid the groundwork for a qualitative study aimed at determining, from an ontological, epistemological, methodological, and instrumental approach, and from a teacher’s perspective, the main technical and communication challenges faced by digital immigrants as they follow an online higher-education study program.

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In this article, we studied net neutrality as a complex sociocultural phenomenon that can affect the works of distance education scholars and online learners. We decided to take part in this research because many distance education scholars and learners take net neutrality for granted. We engaged in a qualitative investigation of US public documents and explored the effects of net neutrality and public digital access, which can influence learner engagement with online educational materials. We focused on identifying tensions in the discourse about net neutrality, especially surrounding the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) 2015 Open Internet Order. Our research question was: How do the complexities involved in the net neutrality debate in the United States affect public access to online information and services, and what implications does this hold for online learning? We relied on activity systems as an analytical framework for making sense of net neutrality.

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In recent decades, international organizations have developed initiatives that incorporate lifelong learning as a tool to increase the employability of citizens. In this context, the goal of this research is to test the influence of formal e-learning on estimating employment status. The research made use of a sample of 595 citizens in 2007 and 1,742 citizens in 2011, using microdata from Eurostat's Adult Education Survey (AES) implemented by the Spanish Statistical Office [Instituto Nacional de Estadística] (INE) in Spain. Controlling for socio-demographics and formal education-level information, multiple binary logistic and ordinal regression models on formal education activities are used to check the separate effects of independent variables and demonstrate that Spanish people who have done formal lifelong e-learning activities are more likely to have an employment contract: i) in 2007, before the start of the economic crisis, for all individuals; ii) in 2011, during the economic crisis, for all individuals; iii) in 2011, for individuals with any level of computer literacy; iv) in 2011, for individuals whose highest education level is primary, secondary, or post-secondary non-tertiary; and v) in 2011, for individuals having more stable employment contracts, understood as a combination of duration (temporary, permanent), and working hours (part-time, full-time). Consequently, after inferential judgements based on the empirical results, it is shown that one of the most important factors for estimating employability in times of economic crisis has to do with lifelong e-learning. Moreover, formal e-learning activities can be a strategy for obtaining better job stability.

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The Canadian Remote Sciences Laboratories (CRSL) website ( www.remotelab.ca) was successfully employed in a study of the differences in the performance and perceptions of students’ about their learning in the laboratory (in-person) versus learning at a remote location (remote access). The experiment was completed both in-person and via remote access by 70 students, who performed essentially the same, academically, in the two modes. One set of students encountered the in-person laboratory first and then did the remote laboratory, while the other set of students did the activities in the reverse order. The student perception survey results (n = 46) indicated that the students found both experimental scenarios to be at appropriate levels of difficulty, clear to understand, and did not overall prefer one way of completing the experiment over the other. However, they felt that they learned more about the theory of the experiment, more hands-on skills, and more about the operation of the instrument when they performed the experiment in the laboratory in the presence of an instructor. They also believed that they learned more about the instrument operation from their laboratory partner when they completed the experiment in the laboratory, but learned more from their partner about the operation of the instrument software when they completed the procedure from a remote location.

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This literature review seeks to outline the state of the art regarding collaboration between educational institutions on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) launched in Europe and in the US for the past 10 years. The review explores enablers and barriers that influence national institutional MOOC collaboration, and looks into how existing knowledge about institutional collaboration on e-learning can be used in MOOC collaboration. The review is based on a literature search in databases and on snowballing techniques. It concludes that collaboration on MOOCs can be advantageous in terms of ensuring quality and innovation in the common learning designs, and that—in order to succeed—such projects need strategic and institutional support from all partners involved. Moreover, the review points out barriers concerning the reluctance of individual institutions to engage in national collaboration due to fear of potential loss of their own national branding and the teachers’ hesitancy or passive resistance to new educational platforms and formats.