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Canadian Initiative for Distance Education Research - CIDER
| Most recent session October 4, 2017 Social Presence in Two Massive Open Online Courses: Results from a Doctoral Study Dr. Matthew Stranach, University of Ontario Institute of Technology In this session, the author will share research from his 2017 doctoral study on social presence in two MOOCs. The purpose of this study was to explore the role social presence plays within two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered by two American institutions of higher education through the Canvas and EdX learning software consortia. Descriptive multiple case study methodology was used for the study, with data collected through surveys, individual interviews, focus group interviews, and discussion board postings. The author will discuss participation in the study, study results, and implications for theory and practice - for the design and facilitation of MOOCs, and for future CoI research in relation to these courses. |
The CIDER Sessions Series includes monthly sessions running from September 2017 to June 2018. These sessions feature presentations by leading researchers in distance, distributed, and online learning.
OPEN CALL: Do you have research to share with our CIDER audience? To suggest a session or nominate a speaker, contact the Sessions host and manager. Download our full call.
See below for our full 2017-18 Season as it develops.
Technical note
Note that Adobe Connect uses Flash. If you have not used Adobe Connect with your computer, you can take a moment now to pre-visit our presentation room to make sure all necessary software is downloaded ahead of time.
Please log onto the CIDER sessions - https://athabascau.adobeconnect.com/cider/ - as a "guest". You will then be prompted for your name, and you could add your location or institution as well, if you wish.
| November 1, 2017 · 11am MT Conceptualizing Formal and Informal Learning in MOOCs as Activity Systems Kathlyn Bradshaw, Algonquin College This CIDER session considers formal and informal learning activities in massive open online courses (MOOCs). MOOCs are often broadly positioned as either cMOOCs (based on connectivistic pedagogies) or xMOOCs (based on cognitivistic/behaviouristic pedagogies). This presentation provides findings from an in situ case study - examining an emergent, hybrid MOOC design - focused on establishing the presence of both formal and informal learning activities in a network-based hybrid approach to MOOC design. The establishment of these two activity systems extended to include opportunities for boundary crossings between them. An outcome is a cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT)-informed model that extends commonly used and recognized MOOC typologies. |
| October 4, 2017 · 11am MT Social Presence in Two Massive Open Online Courses: Results from a Doctoral Study Dr. Matthew Stranach, University of Ontario Institute of Technology In this session, the author will share research from his 2017 doctoral study on social presence in two MOOCs. The purpose of this study was to explore the role social presence plays within two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered by two American institutions of higher education through the Canvas and Ed.X learning software consortia. Descriptive multiple case study methodology was used for the study, with data collected through surveys, individual interviews, focus group interviews, and discussion board postings. The author will discuss participation in the study, study results, and implications for theory and practice - for the design and facilitation of MOOCs, and for future CoI research in relation to these courses. |
