Predicting successful completion using student delay indicators in undergraduate self-paced online courses

Students' engagement characteristics predict success and completion of online courses

“…Specifically, the findings of this research supply a comprehensive understanding of the type of engagement reflected in each student's online activity. With regard to course materials, in this research as well as in previous research (Goda et al, 2015), students who completed their course were highly engaged with the videos (Ozan & Ozarslan, 2016), learning unit resources, and additional materials and consistently submitted assignments (Lim, 2016). This corresponds to other study findings that demonstrated that students' late submission of assignments and frequency of course logins predicted their course achievement (You, 2016), although students' completion of learning assignments has a positive influence on their interaction in regard to learning (Ma et al, 2015).…”

“…The collective data could assist in monitoring the students' behaviour and achievements during the online course, as well as identifying differences among students in order to detect and even predict dropout from the course (Cohen & Soffer, 2015;Lim, 2016). Time and effort spent by students on online courses were found to be factors that affect their achievement (Ryabov, 2012).…”

“…Thus, the online learning environments, which use LMSs, enable the trace of students' activities with regard to self‐regulated learning behaviour at any stage of a course's progression for the evaluation of learning processes and learner behaviour through formative as well as summative assessment. The collective data could assist in monitoring the students' behaviour and achievements during the online course, as well as identifying differences among students in order to detect and even predict dropout from the course (Cohen & Soffer, ; Lim, ).…”

El problema del abandono en estudios a distancia. Respuestas desde el Diálogo Didáctico Mediado

“…Parece evidente que el problema del abandono de los estudiantes que siguen cursos a través de formatos no presenciales, no presenta perfiles bien definidos y concretos, que pudieran abordarse de forma determinante, más bien al contrario, se trata de un fenómeno de naturaleza multidimensional, multifactorial, altamente complejo y en constante evolución (Carr, 2000;Pierrakeas, Xeno, Panagiotakopoulos y Vergidis, 2004;Holder, 2007;Bethencourt, Cabrera, Hernández, Álvarez y González, 2008;Celis, Flores, Reyes y Venegas, 2013;Juajibioy, 2016), más allá de que las causas más destacadas que lo generan vengan reiterándose en sucesivas investigaciones. Pero interesa refrescar esas causas, con el fin de que los profesionales de la educación que laboran en ambientes virtuales, puedan aplicar diseños y metodologías con la finalidad de reconducir esos diálogos rotos y reducir, así, esas tasas de deserción (Lim, 2016).…”

Openness and flexibility are the norm, but what are the challenges?

“…Neither more interaction nor greater independence might be best as the need for constant communication and interaction can run the risk of negating the benefits of independent learning, place strains on the distance teaching mode by increasing costs and limit the flexibility it can afford (see Daniel & Uvalic-Trumbic, 2011;Hülsmann & Shabalala, 2016;Immerwhar, Johnson, & Gasbarra, 2008). Too much independence, on the other hand, will run the risk of isolating distance learners from their teachers, peers and the educational organisation, causing procrastination, delay and eventually attrition from the program (see Klingsieck, Fries, Horz, & Hofer, 2012;Lim, 2016). The goal in relation to this is about getting the mixture right between the degree of independence and interaction in the distance education transaction to achieve optimal balance between the two attributes (see Anderson, 2003;Daniel & Marquis, 1988).…”