In China, microblogging is an extremely popular activity and is proving to be an effective mechanism to gauge perceptions about social phenomena. Between 2010 and 2015 Sina Weibo, China's largest microblogging website, generated 95,015 postings from 62,074 users referencing the term massive open online courses (MOOCs), a method of online course delivery popularized in North America that has spread globally. Time series analyses revealed distinct patterns in the volume of postings during a four-year period, and subsequently by month, by week, and by the time of day. The volume of postings during the week, for example, peaked on Monday and declined daily to a low point on Saturday. Relative to maximizing learner engagement, the findings may provide insight to parties who deliver MOOCs to employ or test strategies on timing (i.e., time of year to offer/not offer a MOOC, time of week to release/not release new material, time of day to schedule/not schedule chat sessions). The paper also serves to demonstrate a mechanism to retrieve big data from social media sources, otherwise underutilized in educational research.
Background: There is a strong association between interactions and cognitive engagement, which is crucial for constructing new cognition and knowledge.Although interactions and cognitive engagement have attracted extensive attention in online learning environments, few studies have revealed the evolution of cognitive engagement with interaction levels.Objectives: The study aims to automatically identify learners' interactions and cognitive engagement and then analyse the evolution of learners' cognitive engagement with interaction levels and during different stages of online learning. Methods:The participants of the study were learners who participated in an online open course. Their text data from discussion forums on five learning themes were collected. Data were analysed using text mining and ENA.Results: Learners' cognitive engagement in online learning was related to interaction levels. As learners' online interaction levels changed from surface to deep, cognitive engagement levels changed from low to high. With the continuous occurrence of deep interactions, cognitive feedback became more complex. At the social-emotional interaction level, although learners' cognitive engagement levels began to change from low to high, complex cognitive feedback was still insufficient. In addition, the analysis of the evolution of cognitive engagement during different stages of online learning showed that learners' patterns of cognitive engagement changed significantly as the learning process continued, from initially dynamic and complex to a stable development pattern. Implications:The results of the study are of theoretical significance and practical guidance for further understanding the relationship between online interaction levels and cognitive engagement as well as the process of online collaborative knowledge exploration, construction, and even connectivity.
The series Lecture Notes in Educational Technology (LNET), has established itself as a medium for the publication of new developments in the research and practice of educational policy, pedagogy, learning science, learning environment, learning resources etc. in information and knowledge age, -quickly, informally, and at a high level. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. As a new productive force, modern information technology represented by Internet is initiating an overall change in productive relations and exerting profound impacts on various aspects of our socioeconomic life. Also, businesses in all industries are constantly taking on new looks with the optimization, increase, and innovation driven by the development of information technology. Thus, the Chinese government responds to this ongoing and unstoppable trend by proposing the strategy of "Internet +."The serious impact of modern information technology can also be seen in education, a social subsystem, and in face of this trend, educational informationization becomes the inevitable strategic deployment and countermeasure. Many countries have looked at the strategy of educational informationization as a forward-looking choice to promote educational reform and enhance national comprehensive competitiveness. Educational informationization has entered the stage where technology and education are deeply integrated. One distinct feature of this stage is that the closed door of traditional school education is going to be knocked out open by the openness nature of Internet, and the system of educational services is going to be reconstructed.
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