This study examined factors that contributed to the success of online learners in an online professional development course. Research instruments included an online survey and learners' activity logs in an online professional development course for 512 in-service teachers. The findings showed that there were several factors affecting online learners' success in online professional development. In addition, there were also significant differences between successful and unsuccessful online learners in terms of course login frequency and learning activities viewed.
The number and range of MOOC courses seem to be expanding constantly, making it difficult for researchers to describe MOOC and to prescribe principles of MOOC design and delivery. In this study, the authors joined several MOOC courses in order to investigate the aspects of online learning that are familiar, but that may be amplified in massive and open e-learning. These include technical issues, learner interactions on discussion boards, and learners’ concerns with grades. By counting and categorizing learners’ posts made on discussion boards in nine courses, the authors found that MOOC learners remain focused on grades, and that their interactions are more often social than indicative of deep learning.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.