Top 10 open access papers from 2017 @nidl_dcu #research #onlinelearning #open

The National Institute for Digital Learning in Dublin (NIDL), Ireland has listed what they see as the top 10 open access articles worth reading in 2017 here (with a small abstract for each). All the top reads are featured in open access journals with high quality criteria. The paper by Perkins and Lowenthal is of interest, as they ranked open access journals. I have the impression open access is (luckily!) still on the rise. Unfortunately, open access papers are rarely seen as a valuable career move for early to experienced researchers.The NIDL launched the top papers one by one through twitter @NIDL_DCU .

Last year one of my co-authored papers with Aras Bozkurt (who was also a top author in the 2017 papers!) and Nilgün Ozdamar Keskin entitled Research Trends in Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Theses and Dissertations: Surfing the Tsunami Wave was part of the top 10 reads for 2016 (which we only found out just now *blush*). For those wanting to read the full list of 2016 articles, feel free to find them listed here.

These are the 10 publications that NIDL has considered for the 2017 list, although it needs to be stressed that there are many other journal articles worthy of consideration and further evaluation depending on your specific interests:

No. 1: Blended Learning Citation Patterns And Publication Networks Across Seven Worldwide Regions

Authors: Kristian Spring & Charles Graham Journal: Australasian Journal of Educational Technology

No. 2 Review and Content Analysis of International Review of Research in Open and Distance/Distributed Learning (2000–2015)

Authors: Olaf Zawacki-Richte, Uthman Alturki & Ahmed Aldraiweesh
Journal: International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning

No. 3 Trends and Patterns in Massive Open Online Courses: Review and Content Analysis of Research on MOOCs (2008-2015)

Authors: Aras Bozkurt, Ela Akgün-Özbek, & Olaf Zawacki-Richter
Journal: International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning

No. 4 Theories and Frameworks for Online Education: Seeking an Integrated Model

Author: Anthony G Picciano
Journal: Online Learning Journal 

No. 5 A Critical Review of the Use of Wenger’s Community of Practice (CoP) Theoretical Framework in Online and Blended Learning Research, 2000-2014

Authors: Sedef Uzuner Smith, Suzanne Hayes & Peter Shea
Journal: Online Learning Journal

No. 6 Refining Success and Dropout in Massive Open Online Courses Based on the Intention–behavior Gap

Authors: Maartje A. Henderikx, Karel Kreijns & Marco Kalz
Journal: Distance Education

No. 7 Special Report on the Role of Open Educational Resources in Supporting the Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education Challenges and Opportunities

Author: Rory McGreal
Journal: International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning

No. 8 A National Study of Online Learning Leaders in US Higher Education

 Author: Eric Fredericksen
Journal: Online Learning Journal

No. 9 Bot-teachers in Hybrid Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): A post-Humanist Experience

Authors: Aras Bozkurt, Whitney Kilgore & Matt Crosslin
Journal: Australasian Journal of Educational Technology

No. 10 Gamifying Education: What is Known, What is Believed and What Remains Uncertain: A Critical Review

Authors: Christo Dichev and Darina Dicheva
Journal: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

Great reads, each one of them.

Free IRRODL issue: #research papers in online learning performance & behaviour

IRRODL just published its latest special issue on research papers in online learning performance and behaviour. In this issue psychological, cognitive and emotional elements of online learning take up a good part of the articles. A great read as it offers holistic insights to interdisciplinary educational researchers.

 

Two articles really got me thinking about the learning process (one research by Hsieh and Chen focusing more on tablet learning customization and personalization while looking at holistic/serialistic learners and one research by Cheng, Wang, Huang, Zarifis on online collaborative learning using ThinkLets that allow to measure learner satisfaction in a particular learning setting).  

Table of Contents

Editorial

Research Papers in Online Learning Performance and Behaviour Chia-Wen Tsai

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Research Articles

A Cognitive Style Perspective to Handheld Devices: Customization vs. Personalization Chen-Wei Hsieh, Sherry Y. Chen

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Using Positive Visual Stimuli to Lighten The Online Learning Experience through In Class Questioning Chia-Hung Lai, Ming-Chi Liu, Chia-Ju Liu, Yueh-Min Huang

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Does Navigation Always Predict Performance? Effects of Navigation on Digital Reading are Moderated by Comprehension Skills Johannes Naumann, Ladislao Salmerón

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An Experimental Study of Satisfaction Response: Evaluation of Online Collaborative Learning Xusen Cheng, Xueyin Wang, Jianqing Huang, Alex Zarifis

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Analysis of Learning Achievement and Teacher–Student Interactions in Flipped and Conventional Classrooms Jerry Chih-Yuan Sun, Yu-Ting Wu

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If You Build It, Will They Come? Predictors of Teachers’ Participation in and Satisfaction with the Effective Classroom Interactions Online Courses Jennifer LoCasale-Crouch, Bridget Hamre, Amy Roberts, Kathy Neesen

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Challenges of Transitioning to e-learning System with Learning Objects Capabilities Miroslava Raspopovic, Svetlana Cvetanovic, Aleksandar Jankulovic

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Emotional Intelligence as a Determinant of Readiness for Online Learning Muhammad Ayub Buzdar, Akhtar Ali, Riaz Ul Haq Tariq

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The Relationship between Successful Completion and Sequential Movement in Self-Paced Distance Courses Janine Lim

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Factors of Participants and Blogs that Predict Blogging Activeness During Teaching Practice and Induction Year Piret Luik, Merle Taimalu

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Evaluation of Online Log Variables that Estimate Learners’ Time Management in a Korean Online Learning Context Il-Hyun Jo, Yeonjeong Park, Meehyun Yoon, Hanall Sung

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An Empirical Study of Factors Affecting Mobile Wireless Technology Adoption for Promoting Interactive Lectures in Higher Education Chin Lay Gan, Vimala Balakrishnan

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Five wonderful Open Access journals to read and write for

Getting published has multiple benefits: you reflect while writing, you get feedback from peers on the paper/research that you are writing, and your novel opinion/idea/research/insight can be picked up by hundreds if not thousands of your peers. At the same time reading up on wonderfully rich and open access journals or magazines makes my day. Especially when I have a day of data crunching behind me and I am looking for some food for thought that might ignite my online learning mind. 

These are 5 of my favorite resources that I love to read and are always happy to submit an article for (no logical order, simply listing them as they come to mind):

IRRODL or the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning: a Canadian based journal, but with a clear willingness and action to include global research. It is peer reviewed and each one of its published issues is packed with interesting articles (I do review articles for them, always a pleasure). 

JOLT or the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching: it is a peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication that aims to promote scholarship in the use of the Internet and web-based multimedia resources in higher education. The first issue appeared online in July 2005 and included a number of invited papers from various disciplines. The journal is now published quarterly in March, June, September, and December.

Learning Solutions Magazine: a wonderful  publication of The eLearning Guild since 2002, it is the eLearning industry’s oldest and trusted source for practical information on the strategies, tools, technologies, services, and best practices for the management, design, development, and implementation of enterprise-wide eLearning programs. Learning Solutions Magazine offers feature articles, case studies, reviews, interviews, spotlights, columns, snippets, tips, and news that you can use with confidence while making critical decisions to ensure your organization’s success with eLearning. 

eLearning Papers (EU): eLearning Papers looks at the exchange of information on open education, OER and ICT in education in Europe and stimulates research. As such, the articles provide views regarding the current situation and trends in different communities: schools, universities, companies, civil society and institutions. Through these articles, the journal promotes the use of Open Educational Resources and new technologies for lifelong learning in Europe. eLearning Papers issues include an editorial article, plus articles, interviews and/or reviews, and are usually published four or five times a year.

Open Praxis: is a peer-reviewed open access scholarly journal focusing on research and innovation in open, distance and flexible education. It is published by the International Council for Open and Distance Education - ICDE Open Praxis welcomes contributions which demonstrate creative and innovative research, and which highlight challenges, lessons and achievements in the practice of distance and e-learning from all over the world. An article may present research or surveys of recent work, describe original work, or discuss new technology and its possibilities, implications and/or other related issues. And the most fabulous guideline is that you need to put in at least 25% international references! Really working towards a global research community. 

Proceedings from recent #MOOC conference

Just a quick post linking to a set of conference proceedings worth reading. eMOOC2014 proceedings of the research track (European MOOC summit in Switzerland, February 2014) which are fully online here. There is a link to a co-authored paper (written by Inge de Waard, Michael Sean Gallagher, Ronda Zelezny-Green, Laura Czerniewicz, Stephen Downes, Agnes Kukulska-Hulme and
Julie Willemson ) Vulnerable Learners in MOOC which I linked to earlier.

But the proceedings link to some magnificent global MOOC cases and experiences and lots of papers on learner drop-out and retention. I just started to read them all through, and the following were already of interest to me (related to my research interest):
Analyzing completion rates in the First French xMOOC by Matthieu Cisel (p. 26)
Scaffolding Self-learning in MOOCs (p. 43) written by Israel Gutiérrez-Rojas, Carlos Alario-Hoyos, Mar Pérez-Sanagustín, Derick Leony, Carlos Delgado-Kloos
MOOC Learning in Spontaneous Study Groups: Does Synchronously Watching Videos Make a Difference? (p. 88) by Nan Li, Himanshu Verma, Afroditi Skevi, Guillaume Zufferey and Pierre Dillenbourg
Signals of Success and Self-directed Learning (p. 18) by Penny Bentley, Helen Crump, Paige Cuffe, Iwona Gniadek, Briar Jamieson, Sheila MacNeill and Yishay Mor

Free research articles from JOLT: self-regulated learning, online learning, tutor support

Vol. 9, No. 4 of the MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT at http://jolt.merlot.org/currentissue.html) has been published and is available online. The contents of the issue are listed below. In this issue you will find 12 articles concerned with various aspects of online learning and teaching. 

It is a nice set of articles, embracing social media for online learning, gender-based barriers for men in online nursing (nice twist), student preference for asynchronous content delivery ...

The one article that immediately caught my attention - because it is related to my own research - was the paper by Rowe and Rafferty on self-regulated learning (SRL), and especially how instructors and learning designers might tweak their online courses in order to enhance or support self-regulated learning. The authors also share an instrument they used for SRL (nice).

From the abstract of the paper: 

      "Theories and models about self-regulated learning are important to educators attempting to understand why some learners succeed and others have difficulty in academic settings. Understanding self-regulation in e-learning environments is critical because there is much agreement in the literature that e-learning requires a higher degree of self-regulation than face-to-face learning. Furthermore, empirical studies of the effects of self-regulated learning intervention on learning outcomes of students in elearning environments indicate that support for self-regulated learning fosters significantly higher academic outcomes. In this paper, the authors will focus on: (1) what educators should know about the different types of self-regulated learning interventions that have been studied; and (2) how educators might apply self-regulated learning interventions to the design of e-learning environments in order to support self-regulated learning processes."

JOLT is a nice journal, so for those interested in getting the new issues in their mailbox, you can subscribe online here: http://grapevine.merlot.org/joltnews/joltlistserv.php?action=add.)

CONTENTS – Vol. 9, No. 4

---

Research Papers

A Longitudinal Comparison of Course Delivery Modes of an Introductory Information Systems Course and the Subsequent Information Systems Course
Kathleen Burns, Mary "Mimi" Duncan, Donald C. Sweeney II, Jeremy W. North, and William A. Ellegood

453 – 467

Students' Perceptions of Social Presence: Rhetorical and Relational Goals Across Three Mediated Instructional Designs
Brandi N. Frisby, Anthony M. Limperos, Rachael A. Record, Edward P. Downs, and Sarah E. Kercsmar

468 – 480

Perceptions of Gender-Based Barriers for Men in an Online Nursing Completion Program Compared to Traditional On-Campus Nursing Programs
John R. Kirk, Chad E. O’Lynn, and Michael K. Ponton                                                 

481 – 488

Listening to the Learner: Graduate Teacher Education Students' Preferences for Asynchronous Content Delivery
Douglas W. Smith                                                                                                     

489 - 499

Teaching Social Studies Online: An Exemplar for Examining the Broader Implications of Online Methods Courses in Teacher Education
Christina M. Tschida and Brian Sevier                                                                        

500 – 514

Foreign Language Learners' Use and Perception of Online Dictionaries: A Survey Study
Li Jin and Elizabeth Deifell                                                                                         

515 - 533

It Can Be Taught: Explorations into Teaching the Foundations for Multicultural Effectiveness
Randall E. Osborne, Paul Kriese, and John M. Davis                                                   

534 - 533

Case Studies

Changing the Conversation: Facebook as a Venue for Online Class Discussion in Higher Education
Mike Kent                                                                                                                 

546 - 565

Integrating Social Media in an Online Graduate Youth Development Course
Kimberly Allen and Dede Nelson                                                                                 

566 - 574

Incorporating the Experiential Learning Cycle into Online Classes
Undrahbuyan Baasanjav                                                                                            

575 - 589

Position Paper

Instructional Design Interventions for Supporting Self-Regulated Learning: Enhancing Academic Outcomes in Postsecondary E-Learning Environments
Frances A. Rowe and Jennifer A. Rafferty                                                                   

590 - 601

Digital Critical Dialogue: A Process for Implementing Transformative Discussion Practices within Online Courses in Higher Education
Jason T. Hilton                                                                                                         

602 - 601

New free #research articles #IRRODL lots of interesting papers

IRRODL has a new issue out, gathering papers from across the globe. Did not have time to read it yet, but I put many papers in my 'to read' folder based on interesting titles and related abstracts. The wonderful bonus of IRRODL is that they deliver each paper in a variety of digital formats and they are OPEN to all.

Copying from the wonderful editorial accompanying this issue and which is written by Dianne Conrad:
Several topics emerged in this issue’s selection of articles. The first, in pieces from Canada, the UK, Korea, and Saudi Arabia, considers aspects of open and distributed learning on culture, learning, and knowledge. E.g. Hamdan from Saudi Arabia approaches her cultural study through the gender lens, considering the impact of ODL on female learners in that country.

A second topic, the increasingly popular open movement, is further explored by Mtebe and Raisamo as they look at African instructors’ use and adoption of OER. And from Katy Jordan comes a wide-ranging study that presents the results of a study that draws together MOOC enrolment and completion data from courses across the major MOOC platforms. 

Thirdly, and not surprisingly in any ODL journal, South African, Balkan, Chinese, and Taiwanese researchers give us the results of their investigations into the use of specific distance learning tools. 

Finally, reflecting our evolving field’s continuing interest in the critical issue of what constitutes effective teaching and learning at a distance, several writers offer their answers to that question from a variety of perspectives. One of the most popular approaches to “what works” over the years has been the measure of student satisfaction. The relationship of satisfaction to learning is, of course, its own topic, also often researched. With examples from Canada, Spain, Russia and China.

So from four continents, multiple researchers using a variety of methods ... this sure makes one perfect mid-week read.  

The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning

Vol 15, No 1 (2014)

Table of Contents

Editorial

Editorial: Volume 15, Number 1	HTML PDF MP3 EPUB
Dianne Conrad

Research Articles

Post-secondary distance education in a contemporary colonial context: Experiences of students in a rural First Nation in Canada	HTML PDFMP3 EPUB
Jesse Simon, Kevin Burton, Emily Lockhart, Susan O'Donnell

Roles and student identities in online large course forums: Implications for practice	HTML PDF MP3EPUB
Jacqueline Aundree Baxter, Jo Haycock

A cultural-historical activity theory investigation of contradictions in open and distance higher education among alienated adult learners in Korea National Open University	HTMLPDF MP3EPUB
K. P. Joo

Benchmarking the habits and behaviours of successful students: A case study of academic-business collaboration	HTML PDFMP3 EPUB
Elizabeth Archer, Yuraisha Bianca Chetty, Paul Prinsloo

Multi-country experience in delivering a joint course on software engineering – numerical results	HTML PDF MP3EPUB
Zoran Budimac, Zoran Putnik, Mirjana Ivanović, Klaus Bothe, Katerina Zdravkova, Boro Jakimovski

An exploratory study of effective online learning: Assessing satisfaction levels of graduate students of mathematics education associated with human and design factors of an online course	HTMLPDFMP3EPUB
Joohi Lee

Initial trends in enrolment and completion of massive open online courses	HTML PDF MP3EPUB
Katy Jordan

A case study of integrating Interwise: Interaction, internet self-efficacy, and satisfaction in synchronous online learning environments	HTML PDFMP3 EPUB
Yu-Chun Kuo, Andrew E. Walker, Brian R. Belland, Kerstin E. E. Schroder, Yu-Tung Kuo

Student satisfaction with a web-based dissertation course: Findings from an international distance learning master's programme in public health	HTML PDFMP3 EPUB
Roger Harrison, Isla Gemmell, Katie Reed

Design and implementation of a simulation-based learning system for international trade	HTML PDF MP3EPUB
Guo-Heng Luo, Eric Zhi-Feng Liu, Hung-Wei Kuo, Shyan-Ming Yuan

How well do Canadian distance education students understand plagiarism?	HTML PDF MP3EPUB
Cheryl Ann Kier

Challenges and instructors’ intention to adopt and use open educational resources in higher education in Tanzania	HTML PDFMP3 EPUB
Joel Samson Mtebe, Roope Raisamo

Introducing a learning management system at a Russian university: Students' and teachers' perceptions	HTML PDFMP3 EPUB
Natalya Emelyanova, Elena Voronina

Rethinking dropout in online higher education: The case of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya	HTML PDF MP3EPUB
Josep Grau-Valldosera, Julià Minguillón

The reciprocal and correlative relationship between learning culture and online education: A case from Saudi Arabia

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Amani K Hamdan

free online #elearning research articles from JOLT

Vol. 9, No. 3 of the MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT) at http://jolt.merlot.org/currentissue.html has been published and is available online. The contents of the issue are listed below. In this issue you will find 12 articles concerned with various aspects of online learning and teaching. I hope you will find several articles of interest, and that you will take the time to forward this notice to colleagues who might also be interested in JOLT. 

Articles I read and found useful:

The Rachell Sturm-Beiss shared an interesting paper on the efficacy of online exam-review sessions for math students: reaching both high- and low-performing students (paper pdf here) simple actions for hightened student performance ... always nice.

Abstract "Teaching mathematics in a class comprised of students with varying levels of 

preparation and aptitude poses a significant challenge: How does one keep the top 

performers engaged without losing those who are struggling? In an effort to 

accommodate commuter students with little schedule flexibility, screencast videos made 

accessible on YouTube were used as means to deliver optional exam-review sessions 

in two pre-calculus classes. The screencasts were introduced before the second exam; 

thereafter, several poor performers began to score better and appeared more motivated 

in class. Students in both classes completed brief surveys regarding their preparation 

for the first two in-class exams. An analysis of survey data together with test grades 

showed that 55% of the students viewed the entire screencast series and that high- and 

low-performing students viewed the videos in equal proportions. The mean 

standardized grade of the student group who watched the entire video series increased 

significantly from the first exam to the second exam. Subsequently, in an effort to 

promote autonomous mathematical problem-solving skills the author experimented with 

videos containing embedded math exercises. Positive student feedback suggests that 

this type of teaching medium is beneficial to and appreciated by the motivated student. "

The position paper accompanying this JOLT volume I also found of interest as it provides options for collaboratively constructing instructional design with multiple actors coming from different fields (within the same university). Real title: Instructional Design Collaboration: 

A Professional Learning and Growth Experience written by multiple authors of the Calgary university in Canada.

Abstract: "High-quality online courses can result from collaborative instructional design and 

development approaches that draw upon the diverse and relevant expertise of faculty 

design teams. In this reflective analysis of design and pedagogical practice, the authors 

explore a collaborative instructional design partnership among education faculty, 

including the course instructors, which developed while co-designing an online 

graduate-level course at a Canadian University. A reflective analysis of the collaborative 

design process is presented using an adapted, four-fold curriculum design framework. 

Course instructors discuss their approaches to backward instructional design and 

describe the digital tools used to support collaboration. Benefits from collaborative 

course design, including ongoing professional dialogue and peer support, academic 

development of faculty, and improved course design and delivery, are described. 

Challenges included increased time investment for instructors and a perception of 

increased workload during design and implementation of the course. Overall, the 

collaborative design team determined that the course co-design experience resulted in 

439 MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching Vol. 9, No. 3, September 2013 

an enhanced course design with meaningful assessment rubrics, and offered a valuable 

professional learning and online teaching experience for the design team. "

Pasting the whole set of articles below. 

Research Papers

An Exploration of Students' Experiences of Learning in an Online Primary Teacher Education Program

Margaret Cain and Sharon Phillip

304-315

Quality of Interactions in Face-to-Face and Hybrid Career Development Courses: An Exploration of Students' Perceptions

Siu-Man Raymond Ting and Laura M. Gonzalez

316-327

The Use of E-Learning Tools for Improving Hispanic Students' Academic Performance

Jennie Johnson and Edith Galy

328-340

Adjunct versus Full-Time Faculty: Comparison of Student Outcomes in the Online Classroom

Brian Mueller, B. Jean Mandernach, and Kelly Sanderson

341-352

Experiences with Military Online Learners: Toward a Mindful Practice

David Starr-Glass

353-363

Which Instructional Design Models are Educators Using to Design Virtual World Instruction?

Victor J. Soto

364-375

Using a Video Game as an Advance Organizer: Effects on Development of Procedural and Conceptual Knowledge, Cognitive Load, and Casual Adoption

Jennifer J. Vogel-Walcutt, Katherine Del Giudice, Logan Fiorella, and Denise Nicholson

376-392

Case Studies

Developing a Supportive Framework for Learning on Biosciences Field Courses through Video-Based Resources

Anne E. Goodenough, Lynne MacTavish, and Adam G. Hart

393-405

Improving Undergraduate Sociology Students' Presentation Skills through Reflective Learning in an Online Learning Environment   

Natalia V. Smirnova and Irina V. Nuzha

406-417

Old Concepts, New Tools: An Action Research Project on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning in Teacher Education

Orly Sela

418-430

The Efficacy of Online Exam-Review Sessions: Reaching Both High- and Low-Performing Students

Rachel Sturm-Beiss

431-438

Position Paper

Instructional Design Collaboration: A Professional Learning and Growth Experience

Barbara Brown, Sarah Elaine Eaton, D. Michele Jacobsen, Sylvie Roy, and Sharon Friesen

439-452