How do you measure success? Many researchers, when evaluating Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), tend to measure the success of a course with a single metric, i.e. the completion rate. However, MOOCs generally have a large audience, and given the diverse background of MOOC learners, every learner differs in goals and level of engagement with the course materials. It may not be comprehensive enough to evaluate learner success by simple looking at whether he/she has finished the course; and the overall course completion rate alone may not suffice in evaluating the success of a MOOC.

This is what we learnt from a seminar entitled “Demystifying Learner Success: Before, During, and After a Massive Open Online Course”, delivered by Dr Elle Yuan Wang, a Research Scientist at EdPlus Action Lab, Arizona State University on August 1, 2017. Organized by the Faculty of Education, this seminar offered us a different perspective on how to measure success of a MOOC, an ongoing debate among researchers.

Learner Success in terms of Post-Course Career Development
Dr Wang believes that learner success can take many different forms – traditional assessment scores, or in other forms of post-course development, such as career development. In her 2014 study, she measured the post-course development of a group of MOOC learners two years after the end of the course using two metrics: whether learners (i) joined a relevant professional society; and/or (ii) submitted a paper in a relevant conference. By comparing learners’ post-course career development and in-course performance, she set out to investigate the relation between the two. The ultimate goal is to find out how career advancers differ from other learners in terms of their in-course performance.

The research targeted learners of the first iteration of The Big Data in Education MOOC, a postgraduate-level 8-week course offered on Coursera in 2013. Dr Wang was one of the teaching assistants of the course. (The subsequent iterations of the course have been offered on edX.)

The study revealed that:

• Career advancers who joined a professional society or submitted a paper earned better scores and were more likely to complete the course than non-advancers.
• Career advancers also demonstrated more frequent engagement with course components including course pages, lecture videos, assignment submissions, and discussion forums. For example, the page viewing activities of people who joined a professional society were much higher than non-members.
• However, even though career advancers tended to have more post-reading actions, they were not significantly more likely to post, comment, or vote than their peers.

Significance of the Research
This study enriched our understanding of how MOOCs potentially impact learners’ career development and the possible association between student behaviors and positive developments. All these findings are crucial for educators in developing and improving their MOOCs in the future.

A Special Note of Thanks
Hereby we would like to thank Dr Wang for not only sharing with us her research endeavours and findings, but also inspiring our work in learning analytics in HKU. Our colleague, Dr Leon Lei, completed The Big Data in Education MOOC on Coursera in 2013 and is now applying principles learnt from the course in developing our own MOOCs in HKU. Thank you, Dr Wang, for inspiring us. We look forward to more opportunities to further explore learning analytics and educational data mining with fellow researchers in the future.

*Note: Dr Wang’s research was conducted in collaboration with Ryan Baker, University Pennsylvania, and Luc Paquette, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For further details, please refer to the original research paper: Wang, Y., Paquette, L., Baker, R. (2014). A longitudinal study on learner career advancement in MOOCs. Journal of Learning Analytics, 1(3), 203-206. [PDF]

We are happy to share our recent projects in the latest issue of the Convocation Newsletter! Our work would not have been possible without the support of the university, our colleagues and students. Thank you for your support all along!

Both PDF and e-book versions are now available.

In this issue, we showcase our efforts and successes in developing

• Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), namely Epidemics, Implant Dentistry, Materials in Oral Health, University Teaching and Dinosaur Ecosystems. These courses received wide acclaim, and exemplifies how knowledge can effectively reach a greater audience outside the University;
• the app Armillary Sphere, for the Common Core course Our Place in the Universe. It combines ancient intelligence with modern technology, and allows learners to gain “hands-on” experience in operating a venerable astronomical instrument virtually.
  The app is available on both Apple Store and Google Play Store.

Two Years in a Row
We also made an appearance in the Convocation Newsletter Summer 2016. For the second year in a row, we proudly present the results of our endeavours in e-learning in this publication. We explored the incorporation of pioneering learning strategies, such as blended learning, flipped classrooms and gamification, as well as the positive impacts they bring to the classroom.
We experiment, innovate and inspire. We aspire to continue our catalytic role in enhancing the quality of learning and making teaching at HKU more potent.

Want to catch up on the latest e-learning trends? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you are eager to enrich learning with technology!

It is always a pleasure to meet new friends. On November 13, 2017, we were happy to welcome delegates from Philippine Normal University (PNU), an institution specializing on teacher education. Our guests expressed strong interest in HKU’s e-learning landscape and our team’s ongoing effects in enriching teaching and learning with technology.

(Third from left) Professor Ricky Kwok; (Fifth from left) Dr. Marilyn Balagtas, Dean, PNU College of Flexible Learning and ePNU; (Sixth from left) Prof. Jason Orozco, Deputy Dean, PNU College of Flexible Learning and ePNU; (Fifth from right) Ms. Lovely Airein M. de Guzman, Faculty, PNU College of Flexible Learning and ePNU; (Fourth from right) Prof. Niño Naldoza, Head, School of Information and Knowledge Management.

Introducing TELI and HKU’s E-learning Landscape
Our meeting began with Professor Ricky Kwok’s introduction of TELI’s missions:

1. Content production
2. Research on students’ online learning behaviour: By analyzing the data, we aim to
   • facilitate our teachers to improve their teaching; and
   • benefit other institutions through publishing our research.
3. System and application development:
   • We are constantly improving our Learning Management Systems, namely Moodle and open edX, and experimenting with different pedagogical ideas on these platforms.
   • Various apps have also been developed, including Newssary and the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (P-SHOC) app, to enrich students’ learning experience.
4. Collaboration and outreach: To maximize our impact on teaching and learning, our team also regularly collaborate with other institutions in organizing events and conferences. One major initiative is Asian e-Table.

Following Professor Kwok’s introduction, representatives from our team showcased our projects, including the production of Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs), Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), flipped classrooms and data analytics.

Roundtable discussion on the e-learning landscape of HKU and PNU; and challenges in developing online learning materials.

EdTech Demo: Introducing Useful E-learning Tools to Our Fellow Educators
Since our guests are teacher educators, we introduced several e-learning tools suitable for training teachers, including Google Slides, Kahoot! and Mentimeter. All these tools are free and can be used in any educational context.

“We want to make sure every student is covered with the e-learning tools we are using. No one is left behind,” said Mr. Donn Gonda, our assistant instructional designer.

We also showcased our equipment and productions in our multimedia office.
Showing our guests around our multimedia office.

It is our team’s mission to connect with the international academic community and promote knowledge exchange. It is also our pleasure to meet with fellow educators enthusiastic about e-learning. We look forward to more opportunities to connect with institutions worldwide!

On May 18-19 2017, the third annual Asian e-Table was held. We welcomed back our e-learning advocates/partners from nine universities ¹ in Asia to reflect on and strive for enhancing and improving e-learning’s impact across the region. This year, we continue our exploration of collaboration opportunities, with the idea that “deeper collaboration reflects genuine friendship”.

We welcomed two new members from National Taiwan University, Prof Huang and Dr. Kung, who are associate directors of the Center for Teaching and Learning Development.

Other participants in attendance included edX Partner Manager Mr. Henry Kesner, and other local colleagues from HKU, HKUST, CUHK and PolyU.

Roundtable discussions
Reviewing our goals in Asian e-Table 2016, the co-creation of MOOCs amongst member institutions has kicked off, with collaborations between HKU and Peking University, Yonsei University. A central repository for content sharing has also been in shape.

The roundtable format led to fruitful discussions and continuation of previous conversations, with key topics such as:

• Impact, measurement and metric of e-learning
• Professional development for teachers in e-learning
• Student preparedness and their digital literacies
• Collaborations now and in the future between participating institutions
• Identifying opportunities for future development within and amongst institutions

A student representative from Faculty of Education, Mr. Derek Wong, also attended a session to offer the student perspective on e-learning and digital literacies. While digitally “native”, students’ digital literacies in the classroom vary. Communication between teachers and students will help bridge the gaps and allow both parties to utilize technology effective in teaching and learning.

Presentations
Besides roundtable discussions, some short presentations provided more insights for members. The course instructors of two HKU MOOCs – “University Teaching” by Dr. Lily Zeng and Dr. Tracy Zou (CETL, HKU), and “Hong Kong Cinema Through A Global Lens” by Prof Gina Marchetti (Faculty of Arts, HKU), shared their experiences and challenges in the MOOC making process. Mr. Henry Kesner, Partners Manager at edX also gave an introduction of micromasters.

The participants visited a face-to-face workshop of ‘Interactive Online Learning’ on Data Analytics

After two intensive but rewarding days, between roundtable discussions, presentations, and coffee break and mealtime chats, our take-away goals and aims for this year are:

• Establishing a framework to guide teachers in designing and delivering online/blended courses
• Creating social media platforms for communication
• Co-creating courses (such as MOOCs, on professional development), local meet-ups

Technology has no borders, so is education. Contact us if you are interested in developing online education in Asia with us.

The Asian e-Table 2017 is partially sponsored by the HKU Global Partnership Seed Fund

Organised by Technology-Enriched Learning Initiative (TELI)

Details of the event:

Abstract

Have you ever imagined a class, where students are actively engaged in exploring new ideas, investigating complicated cases, solving real-life problems, and creating new knowledge to challenge conventional thinking? We invite you to witness this vision become a reality by flipping the classroom.

In this half-day symposium, practitioners will share with you the rational, pedagogical strategies, challenges and solutions in adopting the flipped class approach. Together with award-winning teachers, innovative educators, and students who have experienced flipped classrooms, we explore the paths towards effective teaching and learning.

Registration

Enquiries should be directed to enquiry@teli.hku.hk.