国外在线课程评价研究现状及启示——基于WOS期刊文献(2000—2017)的引文空间分析

本研究采用CiteSpace对Web of Science核心文集数据库收录的2000—2017年的在线课程评价相关文献进行了引文空间分析。研究发现:国外在线课程评价的研究主要涵盖在线课程本体评价、继续教育领域在线课程评价、高等教育领域在线课程评价、开放教育资源视角下在线课程评价、在线课程无障碍性评价、医学教育领域在线课程评价、以个性化学习为导向的在线课程评价、关注学习者学习心理特征的在线课程评价等八个方面,且系统性强,形成了丰富的研究成果。对我国在线开放课程教学质量标准的研制具有重要启示。     

Improving the quality and effectiveness of computer-mediated instruction through usability evaluations

Brigham Young University's Center for Instructional Design (CID) creates online courses and multimedia instructional applications for university faculty. This paper asserts that including usability testing as a part of evaluation improves the quality and effectiveness of computer‐mediated instruction. The paper describes the fundamental purpose and functions of usability testing, and also distinguishes between different forms of evaluation: accessibility, quality assurance (QA), usability and implementation. Through a detailed case study, we describe how usability testing improved the quality of a computer‐based chemistry course and facilitated a clearer analysis of the learning effectiveness of this course.     

Bolstering the quality and integrity of online collaborative university- level courses via an open Sim standalone server in conjunction with sloodle

The contemporary era provides several challenges which extend from the reconstitution of an innovative knowledge domain and curricula to candidate learning platforms that support online course delivery methods. Educators and scholars on these demands have recently started to rethink alternative ways for the assimilation of the experiential knowledge in three-dimensional (3D) technologically advanced environments, like 3D multi-user virtual worlds. In spite the widespread dissemination and proliferation of novel educational implications by utilizing 3D multi-user virtual worlds combined with the 2D interface of LMS (Learning Management Systems) and the assessment of the effectiveness based on the online course delivery method in a long-term usability is still absent from the international academic literature. This study presents interoperability issues focused on the utilization of the virtual world Open Simulator (Open Sim) in conjunction with Sloodle (Simulation Linked Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) as a free plug-in module. The evaluation of this online learning process according to an empirical research method became possible with the assistance of ninety-five (95) students by two different academic sectors that participated in this project and measured the capabilities and instructional affordances of this platform. The evaluation process was focused on four multi-dimensional parameters (psychological-pedagogical, technical-operational, organizational-financial, and socio-cultural). The study findings based on students’ experiences revealed that both platforms could be sufficiently connected as a unique platform which can increase the users’ learning abilities. This “hybrid” platform can adequately convert the ordinary multi-user virtual world of Open Sim and Sloodle in a common “incubator” of knowledge for online courses at university level. At the end, the instructional affordances and implications for future-driven directions are also discussed.     

技术促进下的课程设计与学习评价——访国际远程教育知名学者罗宾·梅森教授

e-Learning的繁荣发展推动了新技术在远程教育课程设计与开发中的应用,促进了远程教育课程设计与开发从理念到方法上的变革。作为资深的课程设计专家,同时也是在线教学与学习的专家,罗宾.梅森(Robin Mason)教授在本次访谈中结合英国开放大学课程设计的经验和她的研究,在e-Learning和Web2.0背景下介绍了"以学生为中心"的教育理念指导下课程设计与学习评价的最新方法和技术。梅森教授是早期探讨远程教育领域计算机会议技术的先驱之一,是享有国际威望的英国开放大学"在线与远程教育"专业课程的主管,多年从事的在线课程设计、辅导和评价工作使其成为国际上课程设计领域和在线教学的知名专家,相关的研究论文和学术专著成果颇丰。近期,她所提出的基于学习对象的远程教育课程设计方法受到业界的普遍关注,在学习评价和电子学习档案袋、e-Learning的基本概念和理论等方面也都有独到建树。     

The construction and validation of a usability evaluation survey for mobile learning environments

The advent of mobile technologies in learning context, has been increased the requirements for developing appropriate usability model to align with mobile learning applications. Even though mobile learning has been studied from different aspects of pedagogy environment and technology acceptance, there is little scientific and published research on usability of mobile learning applications. To fill up the gap, in this study, a usability evaluation model with the inclusion of timeliness is developed to assess the usability of mobile learning applications. Timeliness or response time as an important feature in mobile learning, which influences learning satisfaction, can be considered to evaluate the peers and instructors’ timely response. The main objective of this study is to construct and validate a usability evaluation survey for mobile learning environments. This study employed a two round Delphi method to empirically verify the usability questionnaire by obtaining a consensus from fourteen experts regarding the questionnaire items. Results indicate that over 88% of experts have consented on all usability items represented in the usability questionnaire. The usability evaluation survey for mobile learning applications can help to improve user satisfaction and reductions in training costs. The decrease in costs attracts many researchers, interface designers and project managers to employ the usability evaluation when designing the interfaces for mobile learning applications.     

Assessment of the Adult Student's Progress in an Online Environment

Communications technologies (i.e., Internet, videoconferencing, etc.) have propelled distance education to a vibrant and burgeoning field. Online education, which is centered on the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web (Web), presents a new generation of distance learning tools. The online learning environment frees students from the constraints of time and place, and it can be made universally available. Although online courses break down physical and temporal barriers of access to education, assessing students' learning is one of the challenges of online education. In an effort to meet the needs of measuring the learning effectiveness of adult students in an online learning environment, a response paper assignment was developed to serve as a tool to assess students in an online course. Then, it was executed in Fall 1999 during an online segment of Pepperdine University's Philosophy and Effects of Mass Communication (MSCO 560) course. This article presents a snapshot of the assessment tool (i.e., response paper), the process used to test the assessment tool, response paper results, response paper evaluation results, and a summary of the summative committee meeting.     

The product life-cycle of online courses and student engagement

ABSTRACT

With increased online course offerings at most higher education institutions, it is important to have a way to determine whether the courses continue to have value to students or outlived their usefulness. Courses are the central means of knowledge delivery for each institution and may be viewed through the lens of the product life-cycle, which is a common way for for-profit corporations to ensure they are aware of when it is time to make adjustments or completely overhaul what they provide to consumers. We leverage this concept to develop a conceptual mode of the life-span and cycle of curricular products; especially, those delivered online, which may have a shorter shelf life than in-classroom courses. To that end, we map a single course that has spanned nearly 20 years and shifted from face-to-face delivery, to a blended mode with learning technologies support, and then into a fully online format. This piece depicts the course life-cycle, which emerged from multi-strategy research analysis of that course. Understanding that online courses have a life-cycle can help department and university managers plan for the investment in the improvement of each as it comes to the end of its useful lifespan. This can ensure high-quality learning and a sustainable portfolio of programs and courses with which students are engaged.     

Web 3.0: Implications for Online Learning

The impact of Web 3.0, also known as the Semantic Web, on online learning is yet to be determined as the Semantic Web and its technologies continue to develop. Online instructors must have a rudimentary understanding of Web 3.0 to prepare for the next phase of online learning. This paper provides an understandable definition of the Semantic Web and its terminology, and then explores possible implications of Web 3.0 on online learning. The foundation of the Semantic Web is data integration. By using metadata, “display only” data is converted to meaningful information which can be located, evaluated, and delivered by software agents. Web 3.0 technologies will assist online instructors in the areas of course development, learner support, assessment, and record keeping. Online students will benefit from learning personalization and knowledge construction powered by the Semantic Web.     

The effective combination of hybrid usability methods in evaluating educational applications of ICT: Issues and challenges

This paper focuses on usability evaluation of information and communication technologies applications in education (ICTE applications). Various classes of teaching and learning systems are discussed in terms of technologies used and pedagogical approaches. Their usability is analyzed according to various dimensions and the impact of system usability on the learning effectiveness is studied. We argue that various classes of ICTE applications such as multimedia/hypermedia applications, open educational environments and CSCL environments, based on different theoretical perspectives, require fundamentally different approaches in evaluating their usability. The paper is structured as follows: an overview of different usability evaluation approaches is presented first, followed by a discussion on applicability of these techniques in various categories of teaching and learning computer systems. Typical case studies that engage both usability experts and users themselves (students and teachers) are also discussed. The objective is to describe both the methods, and the way to apply them effectively in order to certify the usability of an ICTE application with respect to its teaching and learning objectives.     

“太阳电池技术”课程在线教学的探讨

2020年春季学期受新冠肺炎疫情的影响,高校纷纷全面推行在线教学,为在线教学实践和在线课程建设提供了发展机遇。但是,部分专业课程缺乏在线教学资源,教师和学生没有在线教学经验,面临诸多实际操作的问题。“太阳电池技术”课程在线教学过程中,总结出了一套从课程建设到在线教学,以及在线评价的有效方案,可以达到“标准不降低、效果不打折”,有效地推动了在线教学过程中信息技术与教育教学深度融合,以及教学方式与学习方式的改革创新。     

The Flipped Classroom of Operations Management: A Not‐For‐Cost‐Reduction Platform

By delivering lectures online using screen capture technology, students can learn course material at the time and location of their choice, when they are in control to pause, rewind, and fast forward the professor. Class time is no longer spent teaching basic concepts, but rather focused on more value‐added activities such as problem solving, systems thinking and active learning, as well as potential collaborative exercises such as case studies, web‐based simulation games, and real‐world applications. A flipped classroom is an online course because its online components must compete with the best of the online courses. It is also a traditional course since not even a single class session is cancelled while all the lectures are delivered online. This core concept is reinforced by a network of resources and learning processes to ensure a smooth, lean, and synchronized course delivery system. Our pilot statistical analysis indicates that a flipped classroom, when implemented in a quantitative and analytical course, can outperform its alternatives.     

Educational software usability: Artifact or Design?

Online educational technologies and e‐learning tools are providing new opportunities for students to learn worldwide, and they continue to play an important role in anatomical sciences education. Yet, as we shift to teaching online, particularly within the anatomical sciences, it has become apparent that e‐learning tool success is based on more than just user satisfaction and preliminary learning outcomes—rather it is a multidimensional construct that should be addressed from an integrated perspective. The efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction with which a user can navigate an e‐learning tool is known as usability, and represents a construct which we propose can be used to quantitatively evaluate e‐learning tool success. To assess the usability of an e‐learning tool, usability testing should be employed during the design and development phases (i.e., prior to its release to users) as well as during its delivery (i.e., following its release to users). However, both the commercial educational software industry and individual academic developers in the anatomical sciences have overlooked the added value of additional usability testing. Reducing learner frustration and anxiety during e‐learning tool use is essential in ensuring e‐learning tool success, and will require a commitment on the part of the developers to engage in usability testing during all stages of an e‐learning tool's life cycle. Anat Sci Educ 10: 190–199. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.     

Sharing designer and user perspectives of web site evaluation: a cross-campus collaborative learning experience

In this paper we present an online, collaborative process that facilitates usability evaluation of web sites. The online workspace consists of simple and effective proformas and computer–mediated discussion space to support usability evaluation. The system was designed and used by staff and students at two universities. Students, working in small teams, at each university, developed web sites and then evaluated the usability of web sites developed at the other university, using the results to improve their own sites. Our project evaluations show that the process provides valuable feedback on web site usability and provides students with the experience of usability evaluation from two important perspectives: those of a user and of a developer. Further, students develop important generic skills: the ability to participate in and critique computer supported cooperative work environments.     

A Study of Disciplinary, Structural, and Behavioral Effects on Course Outcomes in Online MBA Courses

This article reports the results of a 2‐year study examining the effects of subject matter, course structure, and participant behaviors on students' perceived learning and satisfaction with delivery medium in Web‐based courses of an MBA program in the midwestern United States. Using finance as the referent discipline, we found statistically significant differences in the mean course outcomes (students' perceived learning and satisfaction with delivery medium) associated with 13 business disciplines. Although most of these disciplinary differences ceased to be significant predictors of student perceived learning as structural and behavioral characteristics were incorporated into the model, these differences remained significant predictors of perceived delivery medium satisfaction. We also found that some structural and behavioral characteristics were significant predictors of course outcomes, but in opposite directions. For instance, media variety was a positive predictor of delivery medium satisfaction but a negative predictor of perceived learning, while learner–learner interaction positively predicted perceived learning but negatively predicted delivery medium satisfaction. These findings suggest that instructors of online graduate courses must manage trade‐offs in balancing students' learning with their perceptions of the internet as a course delivery medium.     

行动导向教学模式的《Web应用程序设计》课程改革

探讨在应用型本科IT类专业《Web应用程序设计》课程教学中引入行动导向教学模式的可行性,阐明了基于行动导向教学模式的课程改革基本思路,并对课程内容体系、教学方式方法和学习评价三方面进行深入探讨,提出了具体的、较为系统的改革方案。     

高校网络精品课程可用性的调查研究——基于用户（学习者）体验及需求的视角

从用户（学习者）体验及需求的角度开展网络课程可用性研究,为网络课程评价研究提供了新的方向。本研究从用户（学习者）的视角出发,将2007至2010年的国家网络精品课程作为一种产品进行调查评价和实证分析．全面梳理并深入分析了这些课程在可用性方面存在的问题及其原因,为提高网络课程的建设质量,特别是提高网络课程的可用性方面提供借鉴与指导。     

Course evaluation: reconfigurations for learning with learning management systems

The introduction of online delivery platforms such as learning management systems (LMS) in tertiary education has changed the methods and modes of curriculum delivery and communication. While course evaluation methods have also changed from paper-based in-class-administered methods to largely online-administered methods, the data collection instruments have remained unchanged. This paper reports on a small exploratory study of two tertiary-level courses. The study investigated why design of the instruments and methods to administer surveys in the courses are ineffective measures against the intrinsic characteristics of online learning. It reviewed the students' response rates of the conventional evaluations for the courses over an eight-year period. It then compared a newly developed online evaluation and the conventional methods over a two-year period. The results showed the response rates with the new evaluation method increased by more than 80% from the average of the conventional evaluations (below 30%), and the students' written feedback was more detailed and comprehensive than in the conventional evaluations. The study demonstrated the possibility that the LMS-based learning evaluation can be effective and efficient in terms of the quality of students' participation and engagement in their learning, and for an integrated pedagogical approach in an online learning environment.     

“昆虫生态及预测预报”在线教学改革与实践

“昆虫生态及预测预报”是高等农业院校植物保护专业的一门选修课。由于其涉及大量抽象的概念,同时难以开展实验教学,一直是一门较难学习的课程。新冠肺炎疫情期间,在课堂教学向线上教学转换的过程中,通过把教学章节破碎重组,将教学内容分割为20分钟时长的小段,使其适合在线教学。再辅以MOOC和在线讨论问答的形式,增加教学的趣味性和互动性,从而提高学生的学习热情。同时开展计算机模拟实验,通过在线屏幕投送和会议讨论的形式,使学生使用教师提供的数据在各自客户端建模,计算实验结果后撰写实验报告。通过直播理论教学和互动实验教学相结合的线上教学形式,学生经历了从理论到实践的双重学习过程,从而提高了解决实际问题的能力,且学生积极性高,教学节奏顺畅,教学效果良好。     

网络课程可用性质量的衡量与评估

评估和改进网络课程的可用性质量,需要有一种客观、统一和定量的衡量标准作为参照系。目前,国际上已有的网络课程评价标准,虽然对可用性的评价有所涉及,但不像教学设计、媒体设计等指标,对网络课程可用性质量的评价指标重视程度还不够,考虑得不够系统、全面和成熟,这和当前可用性在网络课程质量评价中的突显地位是不对称的,所以构建一份客观、统一和定量的网络课程可用性衡量标准是现实所需。本文在国际上已有的网络课程评价标准的基础上,构建了一份适于我国国情的网络课程建设质量检查表,以期为我国的网络课程建设及国家网络精品课程的评审提供借鉴。     

网络课程的可用性测试初探

随着网络教育的蓬勃发展,如何更有效地建设网络资源成为重要而迫切的问题。阐述了网络课程设计的可用性测试方法,并将视线追踪技术引入到网络课程的可用性测试中,获取学习者客观的眼动数据,分析人在网页浏览中的视觉特性,为网络课程设计者提供人的视觉参数。目的是使网络课程的设计更符合学习者的生理与心理方面的需要,使学习者的学习效率更高。