South African universities in a time of increasing disruption [Scholarly Article - South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 2021]

Title:

South African universities in a time of increasing disruption

 

Authors:

Johan Coetzee, Brownhilder Neneh, Karlien Stemmet, Jana Lamprecht, Constance Motsitsi & Winnie Sereeco

All from the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

Published:

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences (SAJEMS), 26 April 2021

https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/3739

Abstract 

Background: The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have disrupted the higher education environment in unprecedented ways.  

 

Aim: This article identifies the impact of increasing disruption driven by the 4IR and COVID-19 on the content and curriculum design of degree programmes in economic and management sciences offered by South African universities.  

 

Setting: Six South African and five top-tier US and UK universities.  Methods: The study used a non-positivist qualitative research design and specifically the case-study approach. A document analysis of the information in university yearbooks and prospectuses was conducted, using a purposive sampling design.  

 

Results: An online presence will become more important due to increased disruption, and will not only ensure an additional revenue stream, but also promote continuity in operations and mitigate threats from competitors. COVID-19 has accelerated the extent of this disruption and expedited the migration to online teaching and learning platforms.  

 

Conclusion: Since science, technology, engineering and mathematics are integral to the majority of 4IR-related modules, South African universities must not shy away from degree programmes that ignore inter- and multi-disciplinary curriculum designs. Coupled with the challenges facing the majority of South African students to access electronic devices, data and the internet, COVID-19 has thrust this challenge to the forefront in the South African higher education landscape. By comparing the developments in South African universities with those in trendsetting, top-tier, global universities, management can assess the extent to which they are internationally competitive and adapting to the demands of the 4IR.

Scholarly Article (2020) - Studying Learner Behavior in Online Courses With Free-Certificate Coupons: Results From Two Case Studies

Title:
Studying Learner Behavior in Online Courses With Free-Certificate Coupons: Results From Two Case Studies

Authors:
Joshua Littenberg-Tobias, José A. Ruipérez-Valiente & Justin Reich

Citation:
Littenberg-Tobias, J., Ruipérez-Valiente, J. A., & Reich, J. (2020). Studying Learner Behavior in Online Courses With Free-Certificate Coupons: Results From Two Case Studies. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 21(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v20i5.4564

From the abstract:
The relationship between pricing and learning behavior is an important topic in research on massive open online courses (MOOCs). We report on two case studies where cohorts of learners were offered coupons for free certificates to explore how price reductions might influence behavior in MOOC-based online learning settings.

Scholarly Article: Predictive Model Selection for Completion Rate in Massive Open Online Courses

Title:
Predictive model selection for completion rate in massive open online courses

Authors:
Annamaria De Santis, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Katia Sannicandro, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Claudia Bellini, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Tommaso Minerva, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

Published:
Journal of e-Learning and Knowledge Society, volume 15, issue 3 (2019)
doi: https://doi.org/10.20368/1971-8829/1135034

From the abstract:
"In this paper we introduce an approach for selecting a linear model to estimate, in a predictive way, the completion rate of massive open online courses (MOOCs). Data are derived from LMS analytics and nominal surveys. 

The sample comprises 723 observations (users) carried out in seven courses on EduOpen, the Italian MOOCs platform. We used 24 independent variables (predictors), categorised into four groups (User Profiles, User Engagement, User Behaviour, Course Profile). As response variables we examined both the course completion status and the completion rate of the learning activities."

Keynote presented by Dr Martin Ebner: More than a MOOC - Seven Learning and Teaching Scenarios to Use MOOCs in Higher Education and Beyond

Allie Alayan reviewed Dr Martin Ebner's keynote titled  More than a MOOC - Seven Learning and Teaching Scenarios to Use MOOCs in Higher Education and Beyond. 

This keynote was presented at the "International Seminar on Linguistics and Literature" at the Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto, in Central Java, Indonesia.

Published: 
Keynote Review: More than a MOOC - Seven Learning and Teaching Scenarios to Use MOOCs in Higher Education and Beyond
AACE Review, 10 August 2019

colMOOC, a European consortium is born to develop a collaborative tool that favours learning through MOOCs

This is a fascinating project to take note of.

From the colMooc website:

"The objective of colMOOC (www.colmooc.eu) is to develop and implement a collaborative tool capable of boosting participation among students and reducing the drop-out rate in learning through MOOCs. The conversational agent will intervene in the chats or student forums of the MOOCs platforms, pose challenging questions, trigger constructive dialogues between students and stimulate critical thinking and therefore deeper learning."

According to colMOOC, three prototypes of the above-mentioned conversational agent on three different platforms will be tested.

For more information:
https://colmooc.eu/colmooc-a-european-consortium-is-born-to-develop-a-collaborative-tool-that-favours-learning-through-moocs/

Scholarly Article: Student Data Privacy in MOOCs: A Sentiment Analysis

Title:
Student data privacy in MOOCs: a sentiment analysis

Authors:
Paul Prinsloo, Sharon Slade & Mohammed Khalil

Published:
Distance Education, volume 40, number 2, 2019
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2019.1632171 

Abstract:

"Student data privacy as a research focus and practice is relatively under-researched in the context of massive open online courses (MOOCs). Central to researching student data privacy in the context of online service providers are the various user agreements that participants must accept or opt into before they can use a MOOC platform. Such documents form the basis for any recourse individuals might have if they have concerns about data privacy. Of specific interest in this research is the emotive use of language used in these documents. Research in other genres suggest that emotive language can be intentionally used to facilitate buy-in or to soften the implications of the agreement between user and provider. This article shares our findings of a sentiment analysis of the terms and conditions and privacy statements of three major MOOC providers."