The first EMOOCs conference was organised as a by invitation only event at EPFL in Lausanne in 2013. Four other open editions have followed, in Lausanne (Switzerland), Mons (Belgium), Graz (Austria) and Madrid (Spain). This 6th event has been a success with more than 250 delegates from 25 countries. The event included specialized tracks for Experience, Research, Business, and Policy. An Italian Track and four interactive workshops were also part of the program. In order to allow for quality work to be published, as well as offering space for work in progress, there was a Springer LNCS volume (LNCS 11475) as well as these proceedings. These proceedings contain papers corresponding to Work-in-Progress papers of the Research Track Work-in-Progress papers of the Experience Track Work-in-Progress papers of the Business Track In all cases, the papers have been peer reviewed in order to assess their quality. We would like to thank the respective Program Committee members, who are listed below. Further thanks are due to the authors of the papers. Without their contribution, this event would not have been possible. There are many more people who have greatly contributed to the success of the event, including our distinguished keynote speakers, Professors Candace Thille and Bruno Siciliano who opened proceedings, the major platform leaders, Anant Agarwal from edX, Simon Nelson from Futurelearn and Dil Sidhu from Coursera, as well as Georgi Dimitrov from the European Commission and Dhawal Shah from Class Central. The work of the Organization Committee at Federica Weblearning in Naples has been invaluable. We are also very grateful to our sponsors for their financial support:
Appreciation is also shown to Class Central for their collaboration.
May 2019 Organization
Mauro Calise
Federica Weblearning Centre, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Carlos Delgado Kloos Universidad Carlos III of Madrid, Spain Martin Wirsing Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
Justin Reich Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA José A. Ruipérez-Valiente Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
The number of HE institutions involved in MOOCs, and the numbers of courses and enrolled students, has increased exponentially in recent years both in Europe and beyond. One of the results of this growing MOOC movement is an increasing body of research evidence that positions itself within the established research communities in technology enhanced learning, open education and distance learning. Key trends that are accelerating HE technology adoption are blended learning design and collaborative learning as well as a growing focus on measuring learning and redesigning learning spaces, and, in the long-term, deeper learning approaches and cultures of innovation.
This track welcomed high-level contributions supported by empirical evidence to provide a rigorous theoretical backdrop to the more practical approaches described in the experience track.
Research Track Committee ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Preface to Experience Track The Experience Track sessions provided participants with the opportunity to debate and learn more about the role, current trends and future directions that MOOCs are taking to continue their online learning delivery in Higher Education. The track brought together diverse stakeholders to discuss four important areas around MOOCs. First, by discussing best practices in MOOC production processes, quality assurance, with emphasis on sustainable models that address the issue of certification and credentialing. A second focus was on the incorporation of pedagogy and MOOC design elements that can bring rich learning experiences, as well as new innovative teaching and learning models that can match the expectations of the stakeholders. Third, a reimagining of new affordances for the role of technology in MOOCs, such as the development or use of new virtual learning environments and social spaces, interactive and interoperable learning objects, immersive and wearable technologies, or techniques such as a gamification, and how all of these impact student engagement and learning outcomes. Last, the multiple roles of analytics within the MOOC ecosystem, for example to systematically optimize production or measure quality, to quantify the effectiveness of different learning designs and models in terms of learners’ engagement and outcomes, or to be included as part of new technological analytics products such as dashboards, adaptation or recommendation engines.
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Experience Track Committee Carlos Alario-Hoyos, Universidad Carlos III of Madrid, Spain Giora Alexandron, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel Oriol Borrás Gené, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain Christopher Brooks, University of Michigan, USA Eric Bruillard, Paris Descartes, France Armando Fox, UC Berkeley, USA Rocael Hernández Rizzardini, Universidad Galileo, Guatemala Davinia Hernandez-Leo, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain Garron Hillaire, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Isabel Hilliger, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile Elizabeth Huttner-Loan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Yuma Inzolia, MiriadaX, Spain Matt Jenner, Futurelearn, UK Srecko Joksimovic, University of South Australia, Australia Ruth Kerr, University of Naples Federico II, Italy Janine Kiers, TU Delft, The Netherlands René Kizilcec, Cornell University, USA Vitomir Kovanovic, University of South Australia, Australia Josh Littenberg-Tobias, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Alejandro Ortega Arranz, University of Valladolid, Spain Eva Ponce, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Gustavo Ramírez-Gónzalez, Universidad del Cauca, Colombia Marcus Specht, TU Delft, The Netherlands Orlando Trejo, Universidad Simón Bolivar, Venezuela Tim van der Zee, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands Elle Yuan Wang, EdPlus Action Lab, USA
The HE scenario is changing as lifelong learning, rather than a one-time educational qualification, becomes a key target for the knowledge economy. The education market place is now a bustling, evolving and unbundled group of players, comprising a variety of private and public funders, providers and certifiers of educational content, alongside traditional universities. Marked by strategic alliances but also by competition and conflict of interest. Several of the most popular MOOCs in 2018 are not taught by HE institutions, leading some experts to question whether, as courses turn into on-demand web-products, colleges will get cut out of the process altogether over time.
As degree requirements for middle-level jobs increase, it opens the market for a broader portfolio of post-graduate qualifications, including MOOC micromasters or nanodegrees, that offer more cost-effective solutions for students and faster, more streamlined solutions for certain recruiters.
In terms of lifelong learning, MOOCs can contribute to a repositioning of universities within the education market in line with a strategy of forging stronger links with the local context – through cultural branding – and with its industry networks – providing educational benefits and specific training opportunities to staff – which university governance reforms and reductions in government funding seem to suggest.
This track enables participants to reflect on changing business models in the HE market, and the way that the different players and their roles coincide and diverge in the provision of CPD and on-the-job training, opportunities for reskilling or upskilling for the lifelong learning sector, and in the creation of branding or marketing initiatives.
Business Track Committee ● ● ● ● ● ● ●