Community and Social Presence in a MOOC:

Course Design for Student Engagement

Chery Takkunen, PhDSchool of Education

Jen Rosato, MA Department of Computer Science

The College of St. Scholasticawww.css.edu

SoTL Commons Conference- 2014- Georgia

The College of St. ScholasticaThe College of St. Scholastica

Location

College

Growth Strategy 10% Gr

IntroductionsIntroductionsChery Takkunen, PhDAssociate Professor & Chair Graduate Programs in Education

Jennifer Rosato, MAAssistant Professor, Computer Science

BackgroundBackgroundCS + EDU= Unique Partnership

Computer Science EducationProfessional Development Workshops

Experience in Online Teaching and LearningGrants= TAG, Google CS4HS, Local/Regional

**Webtools for Learning course**

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asked…asked…Previous CS4HS grant recipient

CS4HS is an annual grant program promoting computer science education

Online workshopRationale: Too many teachers need support and not enough onsite workshops

StudyStudyQuantitative and qualitative study

Still in progressResearch Questions: 1.Can an online professional development workshop effectively support middle and high school teachers in adopting CS concepts?

2. What online instructional strategies are more effective at supporting teachers to adopt and incorporate CS concepts?

3. What factors of professional development for teachers are most effective at supporting the adoption and incorporation of CS concepts?

4. What online instructional strategies are more effective at creating and supporting a sense of community?

ParticipantsParticipantsWe were planning on 50.

Over 400 participants

Over 40 statesOver 40 countries

Middle and High School TeachersOther educational professionals working with CS

DiscussionDiscussion

How many of you teach online?Have you participated in a MOOC as a learner?Have you designed and/or taught a MOOC?What are the components of a MOOC?How are MOOCs different than an other online courses?

MOOC definedMOOC defined

A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC; English pronunciation: /muːk/) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings, and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user format that help build a community for students, professors, and teaching assistants (TAs). MOOCs are a recent development in distance education.

Wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course

MOOCMOOC

Massive-open-online-course

VS.

MOOC-Like

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Workshop GoalsWorkshop Goals

Teach computer science via App InventorRecruit and retain underrepresented student populationsCollaborateComputer science education landscapeStandardsSupport teachers in implementing CS in their classrooms

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Conceptual Conceptual FrameworkFramework

Community of InquiryCommunity of Inquiry

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The community of Inquiry model. Garrison, R., Anderson, T, Archer, W. and Rourke, L et al. (2007).

Research for today

Effective Professional Effective Professional DevelopmentDevelopment

*Supports communities of teachers in working collaboratively over time.

*Online tools should be implemented as this can provide important support that many teachers need to continue collaboration.

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Hardee, C., Duffin, M., and PEER Associates. (2013). Five (+) guiding principlesfor professional development: Summary report, professional development literature review. Project Learning Tree, Washington, DC.

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Effective online courses allow students to have a sense of “social presence”, a quality that allows students in the online environment to have a sense of self and belonging. Course design needs to be intentional in allowing course participants to have an opportunity to present themselves as “real people” (Pelz, 2004).

Technology- BridgeTechnology- Bridge

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Can we build something that can effectively support social presence and community?

DiscussionDiscussion

What would/does social presence look like?What communication mediums (technologies) support social presence over others?

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Community of InquiryCommunity of Inquiry

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The community of Inquiry model. Garrison, R., Anderson, T, Archer, W. and Rourke, L et al. (2007), University of Calgary.

PhilosophyPhilosophyKeep the best of:Online learning

Professional developmentBe intentional – build community

Social presence

Adult learners*Certificate Completer

*Casual Participant

StrategiesStrategies1. Course mentors2. Google Hangout on Air sessions with guest

speakers 3. Professional learning communities4. Google Hangouts with participants and/or

mentors5. Discussion forums 6. Narrated content created by facilitators 7. Discussion of curriculum project with other

participants

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CS4HS-App InventorCS4HS-App InventorUnit Structure:1. Objectives2. CS Unplugged*3. Hangout On Air4. App Inventor Tutorial, Part 1*5. App Inventor Tutorial, Part 2*6. Pedagogy*7. Group Hangouts8. Discussion9. Additional Resources*Included activities (formative assessments)

Google Analytics of a CS Professional Development MOOC- Jen Rosato

Unit ComponentsUnit Components• Narrated Videos-Takkunen and Rosato• CS Unplugged Activity• Hangout On Air Guest Speakers• 1-2 App Inventor Tutorials• Other -CS Topic• Unit Discussion• PLC Hangout• Additional Resources• Unit Assessment

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App InventorApp Inventor

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Dave WolberProfessor, Computer ScienceUniversity of San Francisco

MOOC-likeMOOC-like

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CS4HS Workshop: Android App Inventor

Course-Preview Page

Waiting...Waiting...

Google HangoutsGoogle Hangouts

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Google EffectsGoogle Effects

YouTube ChannelYouTube Channel

Narrated Power PointsExample- Unit Three Overview

Google Hangout on Air with Guest Speakers

Survey QuestionsSurvey QuestionsOverall, I found the workshop worthwhile.

4 Point Likert Scale (4 = Strongly Agree)

I felt a sense of community with other members of the workshop.

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Certificate Completers

Casual Completers

Overall

Mean 3.64 3.43 3.56

N 33 23 56

SD .54

Certificate Completers

Casual Completers

Overall

Mean 3.00 2.63 2.87

N 33 23 56

SD .63

????1. Course mentors2. Google Hangout on Air sessions with guest

speakers 3. Professional learning communities4. Google Hangouts with participants and/or

mentors5. Discussion forums 6. Narrated content created by facilitators 7. Discussion of curriculum project with other

participants

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SurveySurveyHow helpful do you believe the listed workshop activities were in supporting a sense of community among participants?

4 point Likert Scale:

4 (very helpful), 3 (helpful), 2 (slightly helpful), 1 (not helpful).

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OverallOverall N=56 Mean Scores SD

3.14 - Narrated Presentations 3.14 .792.97 - Working with a Mentor 2.97 .852.95 - Small Group Hangouts 2.95 .962.88 - Hangouts on Air 2.88 .972.80 - Discussion Forums 2.80 .782.77 - Curriculum Project small group discussion

2.77 .842.64 - PLC Groups 2.64 .96

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* 4- Very Helpful

RankingsRankingsMean scores disaggregated

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N= 33 for Certificate CompletersN= 23 for Casual Participants

Still in processStill in process

Online Survey-1- Completed

Learner (Google) Analytics- In ProcessMentor Surveys – Completed

Work Sample Analysis- Summer 2014Focus Groups- May 2014

Online Survey-2- May 2014

Adel from TunisiaAdel from TunisiaDear CheryThis is Adel from Tunisia, I participated in the online workshop about App Inventor.I wanted to thank you.In Friday the 15th of November, I got the visit of a GDG Bizert (Google Developer Group) to my after school club. They were really surprised to see kids coding and making Android Apps. The concept here in Tunisia is still new. These are the photos in my modest classroom. As you can see, most of my students are girls

Photos from Tunisia

Video- middle school student

AnalyticsAnalytics

9,235 visitors●8,675 from U.S●Other audiences: Canada, Puerto Rico, Tunisia

90 % of visits

*Kristen Donahue, Kassandra Quick & Alvaro Hernandez-Feris

User Trends by Unit User Trends by Unit and Page Typesand Page Types

•

http:mfeldstein.comemerging_student_patterns_in_moocs_graphical_view/

Phil Hill

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Completion RatesCompletion Rates Over 400 participants

200 signed up to be a “Certificate Completer”

63 of those completed = 32%

MOOC completion rates are less than 7-13%*

QuestionsQuestions

Thank you!

ctakkune@css.eduTwitter: ctak10

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