Self-regulated learning in a cMOOC

Do open badges motivate learners to invest more? Simone Haug, Katrin Wodzicki, Ulrike Cress, Johannes Moskaliuk

Two types of MOOCs

xMOOC
lecture 2.0 structured

cMOOC
connectivism

self-regulated

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Motivation in a cMOOC
! intrinsic motivation ! interest in the topic ! interest in the course format ! getting to know new people ! exchanging opinions with the community extrinsic motivation ! grades ! certificats ! badges

Drop out is also high in cMOOCs

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Open Badges
no formal learning assessment / certificate ! set own learning goals ! documenting learning ! document their skills

Anyashy [CC-BY-SA-] Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Research Question
! How does participation in a cMOOC develop over time? ! Do external motivators (open badges) support persistence and engagement?

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

A Case-Study of Open Course 2012 ! 6 topics from Horizon Report 2012 Mobile Apps, Tablet Computing, Game-Based Learning, Learning Analytics, Gesture-Based Computing, Internet of Things. Newsletter / weekly summaries Course-Blog (aggregated content using #opoc12) Adobe Connect Live-Event Twitter, Facebook, ...

! ! ! !

1451 participants
Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Open Badges of OPCO12

observer commentator curator

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Activity
Logfiles ! number of distinct users per unit Questionnaires ! after first half of the course (n = 85) ! after second half of the course (n = 147) ! users activity ! passive forms of investment: reading material, newsletter, visting events ! active/interactive forms of investment: chatting, blogging etc. Badge

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Results

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Logdata
!"#$%&'()*($+),(-.'./)&'(
'&!!" '%!!" '$!!" '#!!" '!!!" &!!" %!!" $!!" #!!" !" ()*+"'" ()*+"#" ()*+"," ()*+"$" ()*+"-" ()*+"%"

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Passive Forms of Investment

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Active Forms of Investment

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Effect of Badges
62% / 50% aimed to achieve a badge passive forms of investment
0,8 0,6 0,4 0,2 0 1
0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 with badge without bbadge

with badge without bbadge 2 3 4 5 6

active forms of investment

unit
Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Methodological issues
!self-selection (response rate < 10%) !time and topic (units) are confounded !rough measurement of activity (no/yes) !logfiles validate questionnaires !no randomization: causal effect of badge?

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014

Conclusions
! challenge of motivating participants in MOOCs to become active learners still exists. ! Newsletter as a push-medium is an appropriate way to motivate selfcentered investment. ! Offering open badges may be a means to support users to set their own learning goals and ensure ongoing participation.

Haug, Wodzicki, Cress & Moskaliuk, 2014