European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning The European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning – EURODL is an electronic, multi-media journal on distance and e-learning distributed on the Internet. It publishes the accounts of research, development and teaching for Europe in its most inclusive definition, exploring the potential of electronic publishing. EURODL presents scholarly work and solid information about open, distance and e-learning, education through telematics, multimedia, on-line learning and co-operation. We are delighted to inform that the EDEN Executive Committee assigned Dr. Ulrich Bernath, Chair of the "Foundation for Research in Open and Distance Learning", Senior Fellow of EDEN, as Chief Editor of EURODL. Dr. EDEN is pleased to inform that, an Agreement is now signed between EDEN, as owner of EURODL and the Versita/De Gruyter Open company, providing publishing services for over 400 journals. Current issue.
MOOCs Are Finally Being Analyzed by Educators . . . What’s the Verdict? MOOCs (massive open online courses) are difficult to assess when you don’t have hard data. As colleges begin to implement these courses, data is slowly becoming available, and the integrity of the classes can be evaluated. It’s a challenging process, and it requires experienced educators and technologists to find value in the data. For that reason, Duke University’s Randy Riddle has been working with professors and other faculty for the last 13 years, honing his expertise and delivering tools that boost engagement and learning. Riddle is also an energetic blogger. His work helped Duke’s CIT blog earn a spot on this year’s list of must-read higher education tech blogs. EdTech: Can you provide us with some information about your background and current role at Duke University? Riddle: I have a Bachelor of Science degree in public and applied history from Appalachian State University. I've been at Duke University since 2000. EdTech: Why is Duke exploring MOOCs? MOOCs are one example.
Research publications on Massive Open Online Courses and Personal Learning Environments People interested in Massive Open Online Courses will probably be aware of the research by Helene Fournier and me on Personal Learning Environments and MOOCs. We carried out research in the MOOC PLENK2010 (The MOOC Personal Learning Environments Networks and Knowledge that was held in the fall of 2010). The data collected on this distributed course with 1641 participants has been massive as well. Its analysis has kept us and some fellow researchers busy over the past year. Fournier, H., Kop, R., and Durand, G. (2014), Challenges to research in Massive Open Online Courses, Merlot Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, Vol. 10, No.1, March 2014 Fournier, H., and Kop, R. (2014) De nouvelles dimensions à l’auto-apprentisage dans un environment d’apprentisage en réseau, Association canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation des adultes Kop, R., Fournier, H., and Durand, G. (2014, In Press), Challenges to research in Massive Open Online Courses, Journal of Online Learning and Teaching
Innovation Confusion — Education + Technology I know the answer to the question even as I ask it. Why do the same people who pushed so hard for so many years to drive innovation into the teaching and learning space now recoil at the arrival of it en masse? The answers I have rolling around in my head may be too simple to be real, but they are there speaking to me nearly all the time these days. Just a couple of years ago we were all trying so hard to get people to accept the idea that open access to learning was a great thing. Hell, some of the best conversations I’ve ever had in this field have centered around the ideals of openness, but now that the MOOC thing has happened the same people who built rallying calls for more open access to learning are now rejecting this movement. Yes, the way the current MOOC landscape is shaking out has little to do with real honest to goodness open access. If we want to move the needle on the conversation of openness, in terms of access, the MOOC movement is a real catalyst.
Emerging Student Patterns in MOOCs: A (Revised) Graphical View In part 1 of this series of posts on MOOC student patterns, I shared an initial description of four student patterns emerging from Coursera-style MOOCs based on new data from professors. In part 2, I revised the description based on some feedback and added a graphical view. The excellent feedback has continued, primarily through comments to both posts mentioned above as well as a separate Google+ discussion. This process has helped identify a fifth pattern, clarify the pattern description, and improve the associated graphic. The primary changes involve clarifying the previously-described Lurker category. No-Shows – These students appear to be the largest group of those registering for an Coursera-style MOOC, where people register but never login to the course while it is active. Observers – These students login and may read content or browse discussions, but do not take any form of assessment beyond pop-up quizzes embedded in videos. Google+ Comments
online learning insights | A Blog about Open and Online Education Through the Open Door: Open Courses as Research, Learning, and Engagement (EDUCAUSE Review © 2010 Dave Cormier and George Siemens. The text of this article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License ( EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 45, no. 4 (July/August 2010): 30-39 Dave Cormier (dave@edactive.ca) is a web projects lead at the University of Prince Edward Island, cofounder of Edtechtalk, and president of Edactive Technologies, a social software consulting firm. Comments on this article can be posted to the web via the link at the bottom of this page. Let attention be paid not to the matter, but to the shape I give it. — Montaigne Over the last decade, as educators have increasingly experimented with social technologies and interactive pedagogies, the concept of a "course" has been significantly challenged. The numerous high-profile open courseware initiatives from elite universities suggest that content itself is not a sufficient value point on which to build the future of higher education. Openness as Transparent Practice MOOCs
What is the theory that underpins <em>our</em> moocs? If you’re even casually aware of what is happening in higher education, you’ve likely heard of massive open online courses (MOOCs). They have been covered by NY Times, Chronicle of Higher Education, TV programs, newspapers, and a mess or blogs. While MOOCs have been around since at least 2008, the landscape has changed dramatically over the past 10 months. In this timeframe, close to $100 million has been invested in corporate (Udacity) and university (EDx and Coursera) MOOCs . Personally, I’m very pleased to see the development of Coursera and EDx. A secondary focus, for me (and far lower on the scale than the primary one mentioned above), is around the learning theory and pedagogical models that influence different types of MOOCs. In 2008, Stephen Downes and I offered an open online course, Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK08). What is the theory that underpins our MOOCs? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Thoughts from a MOOC Pioneer — Academic Technology A screen capture from Scott E. Page’s MOOC. Recently Scott E. Page did a presentation at the University of Wisconsin Center for Educational Innovation where he reviewed his experience teaching his Model Thinking course twice through online course provider Coursera. (He’s had 150,000 people sign up for the course and over 3,000,000 YouTube video downloads.) The presentation runs a little more than an hour, including one embarrassing technology glitch. One of the things that makes Professor Page such an engaging commentator is that he obviously believes the world would be a much better place if more people knew how to use models to make decisions. Seven Different Methods for Sharing Knowledge In his talk, Page identifies seven different methods that he’s used to share his knowledge with a wider audience. On stage at the University of Michigan, where he teaches undergraduate courses in modeling and game theory.As an author, writing scholarly and popular books and articles. Modularity