Collaborative Learning Theory and Practice： the Missing Link

in Effective Online Education

Linda Harasim

This article argues that Online Collaborative Learning （OCL） theory and practice are the missing links in effective and satisfying online education. OCL is based on student discourse， whereby learners communicate and collaborate to understand and solve real world problems， as well as contribute to building knowledge together in a context facilitated by the teacher. Five learning theories of the 20th and 21st centuries are outlined， with specific attention to how each theory defines the role of the instructor and the learner， the pedagogy and the type of technology designed to support these roles. Two distinct theoretical approaches are identified in online education today： Online Courseware/MOOCs （representing individualized， teacher-less content delivery） and OCL （representing progressive group discourse and collaborative learning facilitated by the teacher）. While technology-centric approaches have been pursued for over 90 years， despite the huge input of investment dollars and significant hype， the results remain poor. The formula underlying technology-driven pedagogies is didactic： content+quiz. Students receive content， and are required to memorize and then replicate a correct answer in a quiz format. OCL places student discourse and collaboration as key to learning and has been identified even by for-profit MOOC vendors as a missing link to effective online education. The major challenge is for educators， researchers， developers and providers to study the theories， the research and the practice to identify how to make online learning pedagogy more effective and how to best incorporate collaborative learning. Otherwise， if online teachers continue to emphasize didactic teaching， with group forums only as an add-on， teachers can and will be replaced by technology.

Keywords： online education； learning theory； online collaborative learning； MOOCs； online technology； online post-secondary education

Towards a Paradigm of Using Big Data in Education to Develop MOOCs

Wu Nanzhong

The Massive Open Online Course （MOOC） movement represents a new wave of enthusiasm for online resources development. Informed by relevant literature， the author designed a paradigm of using big data in education to develop MOOCs. It is argued that MOOC development can benefit from big data in education， the use of which enables MOOC developers to better reflect MOOC values in the overall design， better control the development process， and better meet users’ needs. Big-data-driven MOOCs are characterized by better fit between developers’ intentions and users’ needs， enhanced usability and stronger adaptability. Issues concerning the use of big data in decision making， content selection， forms of expression and feedback mechanism are discussed， with the MOOC entitled ‘Psychology and Healthy Life’ as a case in point.

Keywords： MOOC； big data in education； development paradigm

Towards a Mechanism for Promoting Lifelong Learning： Implications

from Beijing Declaration on Building Learning Cities

Wang Renyu

Lifelong learning is essential for all members of the human society in the 21st century； it is also a lifestyle to improve the quality of life. Both Reports to the Seventeenth and Eighteenth National Congresses of the Communist Party of China emphasized the importance of building learning societies， which is basically the essence of Beijing Declaration on Building Learning Cities. It is argued that China can learn from other countries in promoting the construction of learning societies both in theory and practice， review its own experience， and reflect on areas for improvement. This can serve as the foundation of effective implementation of lifelong learning in China.

Keywords： learning society construction； lifelong learning； features； implementation mechanism

An Investigation of University Students’ Acceptance of

MOOCs and Usage Behavior

Zhao Ying， Yang Ge and Luo Xuan

Massive Open Online Course （MOOC） is a user-oriented application. It contributes to the use of ICT in education， autonomous learning and lifelong learning. Using university students， an important cohort of MOOC users， as sample， and based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology （UTAUT）， this study built the Acceptance Model of University Students by adding perceived playfulness as an independent variable， and gender， grade， and Internet terminal as moderators. Testing the model， the study focused on verifying the roles of moderators. Findings from the study show that performance expectancy， effort expectancy， social influence， perceived playfulness， facilitating conditions and usage intention affect the usage behavior of university students and that only the influence of perceived playfulness on usage intention is affected by gender. Strategies and suggestions for MOOC development are discussed accordingly.

Keywords： MOOC； user； adoption； UTAUT

更正：

本刊2015年第6期（總485期）《中小學教師網(wǎng)絡學習現(xiàn)狀調(diào)查研究——以新疆兵團為例》一文的英文摘要和關鍵詞應為：

An Investigation of Primary and Secondary School Teachers’ Online Learning：

The Case of China Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps

Meng Zhaokun， Lan Guoshuai， Xu Meidan and Zhang Yichun

This article reports on an investigation of teachers’ online learning at the primary and secondary schools of China Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. The investigation covered five dimensions： online learning conditions， online learning objectives， support in the online learning environment， online learning effectiveness and online learning resources. Informed by findings from the investigation， existing problems in this field are identified and analyzed and five suggestions are proposed which include improving primary and secondary school teachers’ online learning conditions to enhance their learning experience， building an online learning community to facilitate their professional development， offer IT capacity training on a regular basis to strengthen their confidence in using technology， construct a resource bank for professional development to provide a one-stop platform for their autonomous learning， as well as advocate an ecological perspective on learning resources and establish an incentive mechanism for sharing quality resources to support deep learning in the online environment.

Keywords： China Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps； primary and secondary school teachers； online professional development community； online learning； investigation

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