Title Learner support in MOOCs: Identifying variables linked to completion
Authors Barbera Gregori, Elena , Zhang, Jingjing , Galvan-Fernandez, Cristina , FERNÁNDEZ NAVARRO, FRANCISCO DE ASÍS
External publication No
Means Comput Educ
Scope Article
Nature Científica
JCR Quartile 1
SJR Quartile 1
JCR Impact 5.62700
Web https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85045033124&doi=10.1016%2fj.compedu.2018.03.014&partnerID=40&md5=57b937b0b1335c99d919c6882a261cc5
Publication date 01/07/2018
ISI 000432512400013
Scopus Id 2-s2.0-85045033124
DOI 10.1016/j.compedu.2018.03.014
Abstract This study investigated learner support strategies that enable the success and completion of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). It examined five MOOCs categorised into three groups according to their pedagogical approach and used in different learning settings: formal MOOCs, conventional MOOCs and professional MOOCs. A total of 4,202,974 units of variables (student behaviours and MOOC features) were analysed using Semi-Supervised Extreme Learning Machine (SSELM) and Global Sensitivity Analysis. In this study, the use of SSELM was compared to the state-of-art models (e.g. ELM, KELM, OP-ELM, PCA-ELM), and SSELM yielded 97.24% accuracy. Using unlabelled students helped improve the learning accuracy for the model, which confirms that SSELM is a good model to predict completion in MOOCs, considering the difficulty of labelling students in such an open and flexible learning environment. The findings show that designers and teachers should pay special attention to their students during the second quartile of the course (independently of the type of MOOC). The teachers\' presence during the course, his or her interactions with students and the quality of the videos presented are significant determinants of course completion.
Keywords Distance education; Teleleaming; Learning strategies; Learner support; Dropouts
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