Exploring the temporal dimension of forum participation in MOOCs

Discussion forums are increasingly central to massive open online courses (MOOCs), and it is vital for learners to participate in associated forum activities. Active forum participation positively relates to learner achievement in that more posts yield better learner performance. However, this numerically aggregated measure overlooks the fact that longitudinal trajectories of forum participation temporally vary among learners with different motivations in taking MOOCs. To provide timely support for learners to stay engaged, it is important to understand the temporal variation of longitudinal forum participation and how different motivations account for the variance. Using educational data mining techniques, this research identified three clusters with different longitudinal participation trajectories and also indicated that intrinsically motivated learners outperformed others in their longitudinal forum engagement. Also, examining longitudinal forum participation more accurately differentiated learner performance than the numerically aggregated measure. Last, learners persistently engaging in forums were more likely to perform better in MOOCs.     

情感互动与网络外语教育论坛的可持续发展

情感交际和语言学习是相辅相成的关系,重视师生情感的互动,能极大地促进教师教的热情和学生学的热情。在网络外语教育论坛中,教师和学生应有情感的投入,应有良好的情感交往的能力与技巧。为促进网络外语教育论坛的发展,应使网络课程、论坛形式和方法情感化,把情感贯穿于所有的论坛活动中,将之作为论坛的手段及发展的动力。     

Exploring transition to postgraduate study: Shifting identities in interaction with communities,practice and participation

There has been relatively little research to date that has explored the transition to postgraduate study. This paper reports findings from a project (funded by the UK's Higher Education Academy) that sought to address this gap. The research project was ethnographic and explored university practice and student participation in five UK universities. A significant emergent feature of the research was that a multiplicity of identities construct student experience and contribute to student transition. This finding provides support for learning theory that argues for inextricable links between learning and wider social identities. Moreover, the process of negotiating an academic identity in light of wider experience and university practices emerged as a key factor in understanding transition together with the imperative for independent study, which was a particularly powerful practice that necessitated complex identity negotiations in order to enable full participation in the university community of practice.     

浅谈学生在高中化学必修课学习中的参与度

高中化学必修课的教学是一个全新的领域,要求教师拥有全新的理念,运用各种先进的教学手段和教学方法,以进一步提高学生的科学素养,激发学生学习化学的兴趣,尊重和促进学生的个性发展。教师除了对化学必修课的教学在每节课的备课、上课、作业、辅导和考试力求做好外,更重要的是提高学生在高中化学必修课学习中的参与度。     

Predicting student success by modeling student interaction in asynchronous online courses

Early-warning intervention for students at risk of failing their online courses is increasingly important for higher education institutions. Students who show high levels of engagement appear less likely to be at risk of failing, and how engaged a student is in their online experience can be characterized as factors contributing to their social presence. Social presence begins with teacher-student and student-student interaction in online courses. Fortunately, student interaction data can be gleaned from learning management systems, used to model and predict at-risk students at an early stage. This research addresses an existing model for predicting at-risk students to test a previous hypothesis that a holiday effect is a contributor for failure. A new analysis then presents an alternative approach, one that tests the frequency of student interaction rather than amount of interaction as a preferable indicator.     

网络教学互动对教与学的影响

在远程网络教育中,交互性（互动）是决定教育质量的一个重要因素,交互活动直接影响着远程课程的学习效果。影响现代远程教育课程交互水平的因素主要有教师、学生和教学资源三个方面。同时高质量的互动对“教”与“学”都有着新的要求和影响。     

Exploring factors impacting student engagement in open access courses

Studies on student engagement in learning have mainly focused on undergraduate degree courses. Limited attempts have been made to examine student engagement on open access enabling courses, which is targeted to underrepresented students in higher education. Students on open access enabling courses are at high risk due to a low academic achievement in high school, the gap between schooling, work and post-secondary education, and different kinds of personal and academic barriers. This paper reports on a pilot quantitative study using a survey method undertaken at an Australian university. The study examined a range of issues related to student engagement, including learning barriers, engagement and experience in learning, skills attained, motivation to complete study, career pathway, and key reasons for selecting a particular pathway. The study found that online students are less engaged in learning and, therefore, efforts need to be made to improve their sense of belonging to the university. The findings of the study are critical due to high attrition on open access enabling courses and it argues the need to improve the engagement, retention, and success of students on such courses.     

Exploring the use of web-based learning tools in secondary school classrooms

This study explored the impact of Web-Based Learning Tools )WBLTs), also known as learning objects, in secondary school mathematics and science classrooms. Surveys, open-ended questions, and student performance data were collected from a sample of 8 teachers and 333 students. Teachers rated the learning benefits, quality, and engagement value of WBLTs very high. Students rated these same features moderately high. Student performance with respect to remembering, understanding, applying, and analyzing concepts increased significantly )28–53%) when WBLTs were used. Qualitative data suggested that a number of students reacted positively to the following qualities of WBLTs: visual supports, learning benefits, ease of use, animations, graphics, and engagement. Some students were concerned about pace )too fast), challenge level )too hard), and the quality of help features when using WBLTs. Overall, it appears that the WBLTs used in this study had a positive impact on teacher and student attitudes, as well as student learning performance.     

Meaningful interaction in web-based learning: A social constructivist interpretation

Interaction is an essential ingredient in any learning process. However, every interaction does not lead to increased learning. When interaction has a direct influence on learners' intellectual growth, we can say the interaction is meaningful. The precise meaning of meaningful interaction is strongly related to the learning theories underlying the development of particular learning environments. The primary goal of this paper is to re-conceptualize online interaction in terms of meaningful learning based on the learning theory known as social constructivism. Analyzing interaction through this theoretical framework may yield design principles needed to improve the quality of Web-based learning environments. A secondary goal of this paper is to present the implications of meaningful online interaction for researchers and developers.     

A study of student participation and nonparticipation in prelecture electronic surveys

Student nonparticipation in electronic surveys represents a challenge to educators as it may impact significantly on the implementation or evaluation of the associated teaching activities. We here study the student evaluation of a pedagogical project consisting of prelecture online polling followed by linked revision lectures. This investigation involves studying the responses from 43 undergraduate students following a course in accounting at a British university. With regard to the students' views on the use of prelecture polling, our study shows that there are no statistically significant differences between those who did not participate in the online polling and those who did. Both groups of students were generally positive about the use of (1) polling results in structuring the revision lecture, (2) online survey in helping them prepare for the examination and (3) online polling as a teaching platform in other courses. Our findings therefore suggest that prelecture electronic surveys can help engage students with follow‐up lectures, including those who did not participate in the prelecture survey.     

电类专业多课程仿真的ARCS分析及综合应用

用ARCS动机设计理论,从注意、切身性、自信心和满足感这4个维度分析了电类专业多课程仿真的必要性。通过完成8086和AT89C55经由RS-232串行总线同步数字时钟和温度显示这一综合仿真应用实例,对电路原理、程序设计到仿真结果进行分析,表明在这些课程中引入Proteus仿真,确实能够激发学生的学习动力,有助于提高学生的实践动手能力。     

浅议高职电子网络教材建设

电子网络教材是高职教材建设的重要组成部分,它体积小、容量大,具有多媒体、非线性、超文本、动态性、交互性等特点。加强电子网络教材建设,有助于促进高职教学改革,实现教学现代化,提高高职教育教学水平。     

信息技术与中职电工电子课程教学的整合探讨

对于中职教育而言,在培养优秀人才的同时也注重其本身的职能和作用,注重实践性教学和充分利用现代化信息技术,所以在教学过程中要信息技术与课程教学有效整合。电工电子专业课程教学应以与信息技术进行整合时要注重教师为主导,学生为主体的理念。     

Exploring the beliefs surrounding student evaluations of instruction in criminology and criminal justice undergraduate courses

Student evaluations of instructors are given consideration in a number of important decisions concerning instructors such as hiring, merit pay, and in the tenure and promotion process. However, a number of popular beliefs surround the interpretation of these evaluations. Using student evaluations for the three research-oriented universities in the state of Florida as a database, a number of these beliefs are explored. Specifically, the effects of instructor attributes (such as gender, rank and grades) and course characteristics (such as class size, type, number of course meetings, and time of day offered) on the end of the semester student evaluation rankings are discussed.     

Exploring a Personal Social Knowledge Network (PSKN) to aid the observation of connectivist interaction for high- and low-performing learners in connectivist massive open online courses

This study adds a new perspective to the observations about connectivist interaction behavior in cMOOCs by extending the notion of network building from the perspective of individuals. We explore the possibility of building a learning network named Personal Social Knowledge Network (PSKN) to support in the monitoring of learning performance and interaction in cMOOCs. The sample in this study included 284 preservice teachers and their learning lasted approximately 12 weeks. Data were primarily gathered by PSKN graphs. The results revealed a correlation between connectivist interaction measured by the PSKN (including density structure) and learning performance. The results also revealed differences in connectivist interaction behavior and patterns, indicated by PSKN (densities and structures), for high- and low-performing learners in cMOOCs. The high-performing learners show deeper knowledge interaction and social communication in addition to simple knowledge sharing and social communication. Additionally, as time passed and the PSKN of high-performing learners extended further, their interaction behavior became more complex and their role had gradually changed from “learning” to “teaching” as well as from knowledge acceptance to knowledge creation in cMOOCs.