An Empirical Analysis of Learners’ Experience on Select MOOCs Platforms with Reference to Users Reviews and Ratings

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) is created greater prominence as a modern learning system mainly due to the advanced progress made in the area of Learning and Teaching Technology and. Covid pandemic also had open opportunities for Online Learning Platforms. Present study has focused on learners’ experience with various MOOCs platforms through online reviews and ratings, which were collected from Google play store and appbot application. Seven MOOCs platforms namely Coursera, edX, Udemy, Swayam, LinkedIn , Khan Academy and Upgrad are reviewed in this paper. The main objective is to compare the select MOOCs platforms in the area of users’ experience. Total number of reviews and rating has been taken for the study is 63, 652. The time frame of sample data was taken for last one year that is from 5th April, 2020 to 5th April, 2021. Sentiment analysis and chi-square test is applied to analyze the difference among the different MOOCs platforms. The major outcomes were the reviews and ratings of different platform found with very good uses experience.

Khan Academy e o ensino/aprendizagem de Matemática para além da sala de aula

As Tecnologias Digitais de Informação e Comunicação (TDICs) estão cada vez mais presentes no cotidiano das crianças, adolescentes e jovens. Nesse contexto, a usabilidade das TDICs também tem encontrado espaço na Educação, num processo em que a utilização de recursos e ferramentas digitais tem promovido práticas educativas mais próximas desse cenário no qual os alunos da atualidade estão inseridos. A partir disso, este artigo discute a possibilidade de uso da plataforma Khan Academy como ferramenta de auxílio no ensino/aprendizagem de Matemática, apoiado na perspectiva do Ensino Híbrido e do conceito de Sala de Aula Ampliada. Para tal, este traz reflexões sobre o uso da TDICs na Educação e apresenta/discute a interface de funcionamento da plataforma em questão, acessibilidade e gamificação de conteúdos/atividades, a partir da literatura disponível sobre a temática. Apresenta também, os resultados de uma pesquisa de campo realizada com alunos de nível médio que, ainda que possam ser estendidos, considera a plataforma Khan Academy como ferramenta capaz de auxiliar no ensino/aprendizagem de Matemática, uma vez que pode atuar como ambiente para o complemento do estudo dos alunos, possibilitando estudar em casa, no horário que convém, com acesso a amplos conteúdos disponibilizados em vídeos, textos e exercícios que podem expandir o aprendizado tido em sala de aula.

МЕТОДИ ДИСТАНЦІЙНОГО НАВЧАННЯ ІНОЗЕМНИХ МОВ СТУДЕНТІВ ЗВО МІНІСТЕРСТВА ВНУТРІШНІХ СПРАВ УКРАЇНИ

Глобальна пандемія СОVID-19 і стрімкий розвиток мережі Інтернет та інформаційно-комунікаційних технологій (ІКТ) сприяли масовому впровадженню в навчальний процес ЗВО Міністерства внутрішніх справ України дистанційної форми навчання. У статті розглянуто особливості організації навчання в дистанційному форматі та методи дистанційного навчання, які використовуються під час вивчення іноземних мов студентами. Наведено перелік популярних освітніх платформ для дистанційного вивчення англійської мови (Сoursera, edX, Futurelearn, Udemy, Khan Academy, Openlearning, Alison, Stanford Online, Canvas, Yale). З’ясовано, що використання освітніх платформ дозволяє реалізувати значний спектр завдань, які виникають у момент переформатування навчального процесу, допомагає вирішити питання створення комунікаційного простору, що забезпечує взаємодію викладача і студента з метою оволодіння комунікативними навичками, які забезпечують вільне спілкування як на професійному, так і на особистому рівні. Зазначено, що використання викладачем освітньої платформи Coursera дозволяє сконструювати індивідуальний план вивчення англійської мови для кожного студента. Доведено, що найбільш ефективним і перевіреним рішенням у контексті електронного навчання і дистанційних освітніх технологій є система «Moodle», яка поєднує різні класи інформаційних систем: систему управління сайтом, систему управління процесом навчання, віртуальне середовище навчання і може використовуватись як інструментальне середовище для розробки як окремих електронних навчальних курсів, так і освітніх сайтів. З’ясовано, що «Moodle» фактично є універсальним порталом і може слугувати платформою для створення комплексу електронних курсів із вбудованою системою тестування і забезпечення комунікації між викладачами та студентами. З’ясовано, що професійна спрямованість вивчення студентами закладів вищої освіти Міністерства внутрішніх справ України іноземної мови зберігається, але вузька професійна орієнтованість дисципліни «Іноземна мова» змінюється загальнопрофесійною спрямованістю.

Khan Academy: as potencialidades como objeto de aprendizagem

Este artigo apresenta uma avaliação de um ambiente da plataforma Khan Academy como um objeto de aprendizagem (OA), verificando as suas potencialidades para a compreensão do conteúdo de ângulos formados por retas paralelas cortadas por uma transversal. Na avaliação do OA foram considerados os seguintes critérios: usabilidade, interação, interatividade, acessibilidade, qualidade do conteúdo, efetividade e apresentação. A análise foi predominantemente qualitativa, enfatizando-se a descrição ao invés dos dados numéricos. Concluiu-se que o OA possui potencial para proporcionar a compreensão do conteúdo de ângulos formados por retas paralelas cortadas por uma transversal, visto que a plataforma tem um ambiente agradável e motivador para que o estudante se envolva na realização das atividades, bem como na organização didática dos conteúdos, proporcionando que o estudante aprenda no seu ritmo.

BIOLOGY STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF INTERNET RESOURCES IN LEARNING ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

The outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has accelerated the process of digitalization in higher education setting and the field of learning English for academic purposes is no exception. An adequate selection of available online resources of high didactic and pedagogical value that could facilitate EAP learning is an urgent issue. The aim of the article is to investigate biology students’ evaluation of 6 internet resources (FutureLearn, Khan Academy, tutorial channels on Youtube (namely, CrashCourse and RicochetScience), Quizlet, Kahoot, Crossword Labs) that were used during the academic year 2020-2021 as supplementary tools for achieving learning objectives in the framework of disciplinary course ‘English for Biologists (freshmen).’ In order to achieve the purpose of the research quantitative and qualitative surveys were conducted among first-year biology students. Collected data revealed their preferences regarding 3 sections in the evaluation of internet resources: design (user-friendly browsing, absence of technical errors), information reliability and accuracy, promotion of learners’ interaction and engagement. Also, the data showed students’ self-assessment of linguistic skills they improved by utilizing these resources. The study of students’ perceptions of internet resources helps to define useful internet tools to make distant learning of Academic English for Biology more meaningful and effective.

Measuring User Satisfaction of Educational Service Applications using Text Mining and Multicriteria Decision-Making Approach

Rapid growth of educational technology services today means that there are more applications in the market. Users may find it hard to choose the most suitable application, so they look for references. Experience shared in the form of text reviews and numerical rating can provide references. Text re-views are particularly specific and so they can provide insights to user satis-faction. In this study, we use text mining and multicriteria decision-making approach to measure the user satisfaction. The data is crawled and collected from seven educational applications: Coursera, edX, Khan Academy, LinkedIn Learning, Quipper, Socratic and Udemy. Nine attributes are used to measure the user reviews according to quality model of e-learning sys-tems. The result is in favor of Khan Academy, while Quipper is ranked the lowest. The v-values used range between 0 and1 and what is unique is that the rank of Khan Academy and Quipper are not affected by v-value while the ranks of the other applications are. It indicates that Khan Academy has high user satisfaction in terms of utility and low complaint from individuals. Quipper shows the opposite.

Online Learning Modules in Anatomical Sciences: Effective Sources for Continued Learning for Medical Undergraduates During the Unprecedent COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction. During the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown, the selection of simple and authentic online material among plethora of web content is difficult for both students and teachers. This forces students and teachers to explore various avenues of learning. The objective of this research was to evaluate free open-access anatomy e-learning resources in accordance with required standard learning outcomes for medical students. Methods. During February 2021, an extensive search for online modules for learning anatomy across six Massive Open Online Courses, including edX, Coursera, Udemy, Khan Academy, Canvas and FutureLearn, along with Google and YouTube was conducted. Courses or modules on e-learning platforms, YouTube channels, standalone videos, anatomy atlases, 3D models were considered as learning resources and evaluated. Online materials were classified as structured learning resources if they had a defined syllabus, time duration and instructional design. Resources lacking these characteristics were considered as unstructured ones. Results. Twenty structured learning courses were identified on the Udemy (6 courses), Coursera (3 courses), edX (2 courses), FutureLearn and Khan academy platforms. Learning resources available through Swayam Prabha were aligned with the defined syllabus and video lectures. The content hosted within Clinical Anatomy, Medvizz and Kenhub was eye-catching. Thirty-two YouTube channels offering standalone learning material were identified. Seven resource materials, other than YouTube channels, offered anatomy learning material in the form of charts and tables. Four websites noted to have 3D interactive learning content regarding gross anatomy. Conclusions. During the pandemic-induced lockdown, the list presented in the study may act as guide in selection of the simplest and best materials for those teaching and learning anatomy in medical undergraduate courses. However, in most cases, there is no alignment with standard learning outcomes as defined by medical education regulatory authorities.

Instructional Videos, Conceptual Understanding and Self-Efficacy in the Time of COVID

Advances in technology offer new opportunities for teaching. Many students engage with online videos that enable them to watch, and re-watch these support materials flexibly and at their own pace. In our large-enrolment introductory first-year physics unit, many students find the content very challenging. To support their learning, we have developed short videos of 4-7 minutes explaining concepts and providing demonstrations of the problem-solving process. Our study was originally designed to evaluate and compare the effect on conceptual understanding and self-efficacy of students engaging with two different types of videos: screencasts (e.g. Khan Academy style) and lightboard videos, where the teacher presents direct to the camera on a writable transparent board (the image is then inverted to be the right way round). Then COVID struck, and all our learning was moved online. Thus, in the second semester of the study, we only used screencasts, and focused our research on exploring the relationship between online engagement, self-efficacy and conceptual understanding of students. We found that students preferred lightboards, and that both semesters’ average survey scores on self-efficacy and conceptual understanding were generally stable or increased only slightly. This is at odds with other studies of similar cohorts. However, the small number of paired responses in our study meant that a self-selection bias may have skewed results. Scores on the conceptual understanding were weakly correlated with assessment performance, suggesting the presence of other contributing variables. Initial self-efficacy scores did not predict subsequent engagement. Instead, missing multiple early assessments was identified as a stronger predictor of failing to pass the subject.

Alinhamento Construtivo e Taxonomia SOLO: relações com o Sistema de Domínio Khan Academy

As tecnologias da informação e comunicação são ferramentas utilizadas em inúmeras áreas e, no âmbito educacional, deram margem ao desenvolvimento de ambientes virtuais com novas possibilidades pedagógicas. Considerando a incorporação destas ferramentas no processo de ensino e aprendizagem, esta pesquisa voltou-se para análises do ambiente Khan Academy, como suporte virtual na condução de atividades complementares de estudo de matemática para alunos com dificuldades na matéria e/ou em estado de defasagem, pautados na teoria do Alinhamento Construtivo, de John Biggs. Com vistas nas análises acerca do ambiente virtual à luz do referencial teórico, estabeleceu-se uma relação entre as formas de organização do ambiente virtual, com seus níveis de domínio, e as formas de organização do processo educativo sustentadas pela fundamentação teórica. Seguindo os moldes qualitativos de investigação teórica conceitual, as discussões neste artigo argumentam sobre as conexões entre estruturação do ambiente virtual abordado e as etapas de desenvolvimento da taxonomia SOLO e, além disso, favorecem análises com reflexões e constatações acerca das formas de organização, acompanhamento e avaliações de processos educativos pautados nas TICs.