This paper reports preliminary findings on students enrolled in a massive open online course, who were also assigned to work in groups. Part of a larger study on the effect of groups on retention and completion in MOOCs, the paper provides students' demographics (i.e., location, gender, education level, and employment status), and motivation for taking the course. Findings show that women outnumbered men and that students mostly enrolled into the course because of a friend. Indeed, research on MOOCs demonstrates that men outnumber women and that educational pursuit and professional development are the main motivators for taking MOOCs. Yet, this paper shows that when group work is included in a MOOC, women participate more. Furthermore, for students assigned to groups in a MOOC, friends are the principal incentive for enrolling into the course. These results are discussed in light of previous research, and implications for teaching and learning in online environments addressed.

Background Recent years have seen the resurgence of board games designed for entertainment, and to teach or explicate real life problems. The revival of board gameplay has been discussed in mainstream media, and has drawn the attention of researchers. Yet, in the field of games studies, the conception of games as learning spaces is mostly emphasized through digital/video games. Aim This literature review reveals the current knowledge regarding the learning potential of board games in various settings, subjects, and diverse learners. Results Board games are spaces for mathematical learning and learning spaces that can enable the learning of various contents. Board games allow for various interactions that result in players engaging in computational thinking, teamwork, and creativity. Conclusion The relationship between board gameplay and learning is evidenced across disciplines and countries. Board games simplify complex issues and systems, which make them appropriate to further explore learning and concepts such as motivation and computational thinking in formal and informal settings. Furthermore, there is need to expand research on learning in commercial board games.

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This paper reports the results of an exploratory study on participants' perception of the importance of single-gender grouping in a massive open online course (MOOC) delivered through the Coursera platform. Findings reveal that female and male learners' perception of single-gender grouping differs. Female students more than males indicated less preference for single-gender grouping. Views on single-gender grouping also differed across regions, suggesting the effect of participants' regions of origin on their opinions about single-gender grouping. Moreover, an interaction was established between participants' region and gender. In particular, our study reveals that men in the "Asia and Pacific" region tended-more than men and women from other regions of the world-to give more importance to single-gender grouping in this MOOC. In addition, younger participants cared less about single-gender groups compared to older respondents. This study sheds light on our understanding of the importance of gender and age importance in online learning environments such as MOOCs. The findings also point to the role gender and age may play as MOOCs continue to gain in popularity and to adopt collaborative approaches to teaching and learning.