A strategy for monitoring and evaluating massive open online courses

Copywriters' preference evaluation on online copywriting course attributes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Copywriting online course has become a famous online training over the past years and the reliance on online courses increased even during the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, online courses have become a popular training platform, especially for copywriting courses. The demand for online courses increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the need to optimize the learning experience of an online course's target audience. This study aimed to determine the combination of online course attributes most preferred by Filipino copywriters such as course style, payment method, course delivery, module duration, and course type. 292 Filipino copywriters from a leading Philippine-based copywriting group voluntarily participated in this study and answered an online questionnaire quantitative survey which was distributed using the purposive sampling method. Conjoint Analysis with an orthogonal design revealed that copywriters consider the course style attribute as the most important (46.007%), followed by payment method (18.236%), and course delivery (15.435%). Module duration (10.489%) and while the course type (9.833%) were was the least considered attribute of an online course. The result shows that Filipino copywriters prefer an intermediate-level video course on a Facebook group that lasts 1 to 3 hours per module and is paid per course for a total utility score of 0.281, while the least preferred combination was a beginner-level audiobook course that lasts less than 30 minutes per module, delivered via email, and paid per module, for a total utility score of -0.281. This study is the first study that analyzed the copywriters' preference for online copywriting course attributes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study are beneficial to online course creators who are targeting copywriters. Finally, the result of this study can be expanded further to other online courses worldwide.

Informing and inspiring worldwide action against marine litter - The impact of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Marine Litter

Marine litter and plastic pollution are growing environmental problems that require sustainable actions from a wide range of stakeholders. To achieve effective solutions, stakeholders need good knowledge and opportunities for active engagement. To encourage leadership and provide these opportunities, we have developed an action-, and change-oriented Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Marine Litter. After five years of running the MOOC, we assessed the impact of the MOOC through an online questionnaire among participants. The results showed significant impact and global reach. Respondents from all over the world reported that they used the information of the MOOC in their careers, volunteer work and personal lives. The results underscore the importance of environmental education to inform and inspire stakeholders. Educational activities should respond to participants' motivations by using activating learning forms and illustrative examples. The MOOC inspired participants to take informed action, engage others, expand their networks, and create real change.

Self-directed Learning Predicts Online Learning Engagement in Higher Education Mediated by Perceived Value of Knowing Learning Goals

Online education has made it possible to implement the “classes suspended but learning continues” policy during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the intangible sense of the online educational setting requires self-directed learning (SDL) and may force students to know the goals of learning that may impact their engagement. To understand the effect, based on situated expectancy-value theory, this study considered SDL as attitude and approach and constructed a research model to explore the mediating power of perceived value of knowing learning goals (PVKLG) related to participants’ online learning engagement during the COVID-19 lockdown. Data were collected from 497 higher education students in China. After the confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modeling, the results reported that SDL attitude and approach positively predicted learning engagement mediated by PVKLG. The results suggest that only when students have a high level of PVKLG will they be able to regulate their learning process through the two types of SDL and enhance their engagement in online learning contexts during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Open Online Courses for Strengthening Laboratory-Based Detection of Antimicrobial Resistance in Pakistan

Introduction

Quality-assured antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) depends upon the knowledge and skills of laboratory staff. In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Pakistan, such types of knowledge and skills are limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to use openaccess online courses to improve the knowledge of laboratory staff involved in the detection and reporting of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Methodology

Seven online modules comprising 22 courses aimed at strengthening the laboratory detection of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) were developed. The courses were uploaded onto the website www.parn.org.pk. Participants had an option of selecting courses of their interest. Online registration and completion of a pre-course assessment (pre-test) were essential for enrolment. However, participation in post-course assessment (post-test) was optional. The number of registered participants and the proportion of participants who completed each course were computed. A paired t-test was used to assess the increase between mean pre- and post-test scores. The association between the participants working in public vs. private laboratories and course completion rates were determined using the chi-square test.

Results

A total of 227 participants from Pakistan (March 2018 to June 2020) were registered. The largest number of registered participants and the highest completion rate were noted for AST and biosafety courses, while quality-related courses attracted a lower interest. A comparison of pre- and post-test performance using the paired mean score for the individual courses showed a statistically significant (the value of p < 0.05) improvement in 13/20 assessed courses. A higher course completion rate was observed in participants from public vs. private sector laboratories (56.8 vs. 30.8%, the value of p = 0.005).

Conclusions

Our study suggests a promising potential for open online courses (OOCs) toward addressing knowledge gaps in laboratory practice in resource limited settings.

DIAMOND: A tool for monitoring the participation of students in online lectures

The principle of traditional education has transformed fundamentally within the last few years. The growth of new computer and communication technologies has provided learners with access to a variety of quality online education. Many educational institutions have shifted partially or completely to distance learning and online lectures as their major instruction methods. With these new models, various difficulties related to classroom management and students' monitoring during online lectures face many instructors worldwide. In addition, educational administrators, such as school principals and university deans, find it very difficult to assure that students are participating and actively engaging during online lectures. In this paper, we present a framework that can be utilized to monitor online lectures and deduce important figures, such as the degree of students' involvement, the percentage of students who are participating, and the amount of engagement of each student during each lecture. The proposed system analyzes the recorded lectures and performs voice diarization on the audio signals to produce the required outputs. The system was tested during five online courses in multiple majors. The results illustrate the importance of monitoring the online lectures of distance learning courses to ensure satisfactory students' participation.

Theory of change models deepen online learning evaluation

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have gained traction as resources for professional development. This article presents the method that we used to evaluate a professional development MOOC for postdoctoral trainees that was created by a university consortium in the US. Most approaches to evaluating MOOCs focus on analysis of participation, outcomes from course assignments, self-reported learning outcomes, course completion and user pathways through the online content or clickstream data. Few published evaluations describe in detail how learning happens within online courses and the anticipated medium and longer term cognitive and behavioral outcomes on participants. This work aims to guide those who are designing, implementing and evaluating MOOCs through applying theories of change to focus evaluation on the process of learning. This approach can be used as a complement to traditional approaches for evaluating MOOCs. We described how we worked with the MOOC team building the content to develop a theory of change for each module (or lesson) within the MOOC and used the theory of change to guide evaluation of short and medium term participant cognitive, affective and attitudinal, and behavioral outcomes. Finally, we share lessons learned and suggestions for implementing theories of change in both the design and evaluation phases of MOOC development.

Use of MOOCs in Health Care Training: A Descriptive-Exploratory Case Study in the Setting of the COVID-19 Pandemic

This exploratory study is part of the training and innovation project (GID2016-16) of the National University of Distance Education (UNED) in Spain. The current socioeconomic and educational contexts derived from COVID-19 has led university institutions to develop methodological innovations in the teaching-learning process. Among these strengthening measures are the MOOCs, the most appropriate strategy to bring students closer to new digital platforms that favor the acquisition of knowledge. A methodological pluralism, combining quantitative and qualitative perspectives, has been used. The main results of the descriptive analysis compare the data of students enrolled in the MOOC, “Social and Health Care and Social Services in Social Work”, and other related bachelor’s and master’s degree courses during the four years analyzed. One of the conclusions is the emerging possibility of offering university studies that are more in line with the current teleworking market. The development of online methodologies favors the democratization of education, reaching the student body as a whole and universalizing content and learning. Among the main conclusions, it is worth highlighting the degree of satisfaction shown by the students who took advantage of the MOOC, and the training opportunities afforded by MOOC courses, during the time of COVID-19.

Implementation research training for learners in low- and middle-income countries: evaluating behaviour change after participating in a massive open online course

BACKGROUND

Implementation research (IR) can play a critical role in the delivery of disease control interventions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The growing demand for IR training has led to the development of a range of training programmes and university courses, the majority of which can not be accessed by learners in LMICs. This article reports on the evaluation of the massive open online course (MOOC) developed by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases hosted by WHO on the topic of IR with a focus on infectious diseases of poverty. This study followed the Kirkpatrick Model to evaluate training programmes with a specific focus on post-training changes in behaviour.

METHODS

MOOC participants were invited to take part in an anonymous online survey examining their knowledge of IR and how they applied it in their professional practice approximately 1-1.5 years after completing their course. The survey contained 43 open-ended, multiple choice and Likert-type questions. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the quantitative data and responses to the open-ended questions were thematically coded.

RESULTS

A total of 748 MOOC participants responded to the survey. The demographic profile of the survey respondents aligned with that of the MOOC participants, with nearly 70% of respondents originating from Africa. Responses to the quantitative and open-ended survey questions revealed that respondents' knowledge of IR had improved to a large extent as a result of the MOOC, and that they used the knowledge and skills gained in their professional lives frequently and had consequently changed their professional behaviour. Respondents most often cited the problem-solving aspect of IR as a substantial area of behavioral change influenced by participating in the MOOC.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that the MOOC was successful in targeting learners from LMICs, in strengthening their IR knowledge and contributing to their ability to apply it in their professional practice. The utility of MOOCs for providing IR training to learners in LMICs, where implementation challenges are encountered often, makes this platform an ideal standalone learning tool or one that could be combined with other training formats.

Analysis of User Satisfaction with Online Education Platforms in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in various countries at the end of last year has transferred traditional face-to-face teaching to online education platforms, which directly affects the quality of education. Taking user satisfaction on online education platforms in China as the research object, this paper uses a questionnaire survey and web crawler to collect experience data of online and offline users, constructs a customer satisfaction index system by analyzing emotion and the existing literature for quantitative analysis, and builds aback propagation (BP) neural network model to forecast user satisfaction. The conclusion shows that users' personal factors have no direct influence on user satisfaction, while platform availability has the greatest influence on user satisfaction. Finally, suggestions on improving the online education platform are given to escalate the level of online education during the COVID-19 pandemic, so as to promote the reform of information-based education.

Twelve tips for integrating massive open online course content into classroom teaching

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a novel and emerging mode of online learning. They offer the advantages of online learning and provide content including short video lectures, digital readings, interactive assignments, discussion fora, and quizzes. Besides stand-alone use, universities are also trying to integrate MOOC content into the regular curriculum creating blended learning programs. In this 12 tips article, we aim to provide guidelines for readers to integrate MOOC content from their own or from other institutions into regular classroom teaching based on the literature and our own experiences. We provide advice on how to select the right content, how to assess its quality and usefulness, and how to actually create a blend within your existing course.

Data Collection Approaches to Enable Evaluation of a Massive Open Online Course About Data Science for Continuing Education in Health Care: Case Study

BACKGROUND

This study presents learner perceptions of a pilot massive open online course (MOOC).

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to explore data collection approaches to help inform future MOOC evaluations on the use of semistructured interviews and the Kirkpatrick evaluation model.

METHODS

A total of 191 learners joined 2 course runs of a limited trial of the MOOC. Moreover, 7 learners volunteered to be interviewed for the study. The study design drew on semistructured interviews of 2 learners transcribed and analyzed using Braun and Clark's method for thematic coding. This limited participant set was used to identify how the Kirkpatrick evaluation model could be used to evaluate further implementations of the course at scale.

RESULTS

The study identified several themes that could be used for further analysis. The themes and subthemes include learner background (educational, professional, and topic significance), MOOC learning (learning achievement and MOOC application), and MOOC features (MOOC positives, MOOC negatives, and networking). There were insufficient data points to perform a Kirkpatrick evaluation.

CONCLUSIONS

Semistructured interviews for MOOC evaluation can provide a valuable in-depth analysis of learners' experience of the course. However, there must be sufficient data sources to complete a Kirkpatrick evaluation to provide for data triangulation. For example, data from precourse and postcourse surveys, quizzes, and test results could be used to improve the evaluation methodology.

Cyberincivility in the Massive Open Online Course Learning Environment: Data-Mining Study

BACKGROUND

Cyberincivility is a pervasive issue that demands upfront thinking and can negatively impact one's personal, professional, social, and educational well-being. Although massive open online courses (MOOCs) environments could be vulnerable to undesirable acts of incivility among students, no study has explored the phenomena of cyberincivility in this learning environment, particularly in a health-related course in which mostly current or eventual health professions students enroll.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of text entries posted by students enrolled in a medicine and health care MOOC. The objectives were to (1) examine the prevalence of posts deemed disrespectful, insensitive or disruptive, and inconducive to learning; (2) describe the patterns and types of uncivil posts; and (3) highlight aspects that could be useful for MOOC designers and educators to build a culture of cybercivility in the MOOC environment.

METHODS

We obtained data from postings in the discussion forums from the MOOC Medical Neuroscience created by a large private university in the southeast region of the United States. After cleaning the dataset, 8705 posts were analyzed, which contained (1) 667 questions that received no responses; (2) 756 questions that received at least one answer; (3) 6921 responses that applied to 756 posts; and (4) 361 responses where the initiating post was unknown. An iterative process of coding, discussion, and revision was conducted to develop a series of a priori codes. Data management and analysis were performed with NVivo 12.

RESULTS

Overall, 19 a priori codes were retained from 25 initially developed, and 3 themes emerged from the data-Annoyance, Disruption, and Aggression. Of 8705 posts included in the analysis, 7333 (84.24%) were considered as the absence of uncivil posts and 1043 (11.98%) as the presence of uncivil posts, while 329 (3.78%) were uncodable. Of 1043 uncivil posts analyzed, 466 were coded to >1 a priori codes, which resulted in 1509 instances. Of those 1509 instances, 826 (54.74%) fell into "annoyance", 648 (42.94%) into "disruption", and 35 (2.32%) into "aggression". Of 466 posts that related to >1 a priori codes, 380 were attributed to 2 or 3 themes. Of those 380 posts, 352 (92.6%) overlapped both "annoyance" and "disruption," 13 (3.4%) overlapped both "disruption" and "aggression," and 9 (2.4%) overlapped "annoyance" and "aggression," while 6 (1.6%) intersected all 3 themes.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reports on the phenomena of cyberincivility in health-related MOOCs toward the education of future health care professionals. Despite the general view that discussion forums are a staple of the MOOC delivery system, students cite discussion forums as a source of frustration for their potential to contain uncivil posts. Therefore, MOOC developers and instructors should consider ways to maintain a civil discourse within discussion forums.

Real-world evidence for postgraduate students and professionals in healthcare: protocol for the design of a blended massive open online course

INTRODUCTION

There is an increased need for improving data science skills of healthcare professionals. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) provide the opportunity to train professionals in a sustainable and cost-effective way. We present a protocol for the design and development of a blended MOOC on real-world evidence (RWE) aimed at improving RWE data science skills. The primary objective is to provide the opportunity to understand the fundamentals of RWE data science and to implement methods for analysing RWD. The blended format of MOOC will combine the expertise of healthcare professionals joining the course online with the on-campus students. We expect learners to take skills taught in MOOC and use them to seek new employment or to explore entpreneurship activities in these domains.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The proposed MOOC will be developed through a blended format using the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation instructional design model and following the connectivist-heutagogical learning theories (as a hybrid MOOC). The target learners will include postgraduate students and professionals working in the health-related roles with interest in data science. An evaluation of MOOC will be performed to assess MOOCs success in meeting its intended outcomes and to improve future iterations of the course.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The education course design protocol was approved by EIT Health (grant 18654) as part of the EIT Health CAMPUS Deferred Call for Innovative Education 2018. Results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Basic actions to reduce dropout rates in distance learning

Today's society, which is strongly based on knowledge and interaction with information, has a key component in technological innovation, a fundamental tool for the development of the current teaching methodologies. Nowadays, there are a lot of online resources, such as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and distance learning courses. One aspect that is common to all of these is a high dropout rate: about 90% in MOOCs and 50% in the courses of the Spanish National Distance Education University, among other examples. In this paper, we analyze a number of actions undertaken in the Master's Degree in Computational Mathematics at Universitat Jaume I in Castellón, Spain. These actions seem to help decrease the dropout rate in distance learning; the available data confirm their effectiveness.

Twelve tips for developing and delivering a massive open online course in medical education

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a novel mode of online learning. They are typically based on higher education courses and can attract a high number of learners, often in the thousands. They are distinct from on-campus education and deliver the learning objectives through a series of short videos, recommended readings and discussion fora, alongside automated assessments. Within medical education the role of MOOCs remains unclear, with recent proposals including continuing professional development, interprofessional education or integration into campus-based blended learning curricula. In this twelve tips article, we aim to provide a framework for readers to use when developing, delivering and evaluating a MOOC within medical education based on the literature and our own experience. Practical advice is provided on how to design the appropriate curriculum, engage with learners on the platform, select suitable assessments, and comprehensively evaluate the impact of your course.