Studying and evaluating real experiences that promote active and collaborative learning is a crucial field in CSCL. Major issues that remain unsolved deal with the merging of qualitative and quantitative methods and data, especially in educational settings that involve both physical and computer-supported collaboration. In this paper we present a methodology that combines traditional sources of data with computer logs, and integrates social network analysis in an overall qualitative evaluation approach. Several computer tools have been developed to assist in this process, integrated with generic software for qualitative analysis. We present the method in the context of an educational and research project that has been going on for three years, to which we have incrementally applied and validated the evaluation design and tools. Our proposal and the presented case study aim at giving an answer to the need of innovative techniques for the study of new forms of interaction emerging in CSCL; at increasing the efficiency of the traditionally demanding qualitative methods, so that they can be used by teachers in curriculum-based experiences; and at the definition of a set of guidelines for bridging different data sources and methodological perspectives.
Abstract:From the conceptualization to the evaluation of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) scenarios, teachers address multiple tasks, sometimes being overwhelmed on account of the required time and associated burden. To support teachers in this endeavour, we propose to connect the pedagogical decisions made at design time with the analysis of the participants' interactions. Thus, teachers would be provided with relevant and coarse-grained information that could help them manage their CSCL scenarios. This paper synthesizes the main contributions obtained from a 3-year Design-Based Research process, and presents the findings obtained from the evaluation of the current proposal in 2 authentic CSCL scenarios. The participant teachers valued the proposal positively and stated that it was helpful for their orchestration of CSCL scenarios.
Our goal in this article is to set out some important elements of a useful theory of design for learning. We aim to help understand what it means to design something, or some assemblage of things, to help other people learn. In offering what we believe to be a useful framework for thinking about design for learning, we address a number of key issues, including: how it is that something designed by one person can help other people learn; what kinds of things can be designed; how these things might also need to support the work of people (like teachers) whose job it is to support other peoples’ learning; how learning usually has multiple layers and multiple goals – each of which may place different requirements on design – and how people who are learning can also be expected to modify that which has been designed.Keywords: design for learning; indirection; sustainable design(Published: 16 September 2013)Citation: Research in Learning Technology Supplement 2013, 21: 19909 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v21i0.19909
Despite the benefits of MOOCs (e.g., open access to education offered by prestigious universities), the low level of student engagement remains as an important issue causing massive dropouts in such courses. The use of reward-based gamification strategies is one approach to promote student engagement and prevent dropout. However, there is a lack of solid empirical studies analyzing the effects of rewards in MOOC environments. This paper reports a between-subjects design study conducted in a MOOC to analyze the effects of badges and redeemable rewards on student retention and engagement. Results show that the implemented reward strategies had not significant effect on student retention and behavioral engagement measured through the number of pageviews, task submissions, and student activity time. However, it was found that learners able to earn badges and redeemable rewards participated more in gamified tasks than those learners in the control group. Additionally, results reveal that the participants in the redeemable reward condition requested and earned earlier the rewards than those participants in the badge condition. The potential implications of these findings in the instructional design of future gamified MOOCs are also discussed.
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