Disruptive innovations are used to lower costs and augment access to high-quality, affordable higher education, but little systematic research is available on the topic. Higher education institutions use disruptive innovations to save students time and money. To understand the process of disruptive innovation, I investigated the rapid diffusion of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which are free or low-cost college courses available online. Specifically, I examined the drivers of disruptive innovation over time and by institution type, and augmented the existing theory on the diffusion of disruptive innovation in higher education. The key for this systematic study was to have a dataset that encompassed a large sample of adopters and non-adopters. I constructed a new dataset merging 4 years of IPEDS data with MOOC data (n = 1,470). Analytically, I used competing drivers of institutional change, specifically prestige-seeking versus economic competition, to investigate rate and drivers of adoption, how drivers varied over time, and which institutions were most and least likely to innovate. I employed time-series inferential statistics, specifically discrete time hazard modeling (DTHM), and latent class analysis (LCA), as well as descriptive statistics. Three research questions guided this dissertation. 1. When is MOOC adoption most likely? How does prestige-seeking behavior compared to economic competition influence the adoption of MOOCs? 2. Does partnership with a for-profit versus nonprofit provider differ by prestige-seeking behavior or economic competition? Do these partnerships change over time? 3. To what extent does a typology of institutional innovators based on prestige-seeking behavior and economic competition exist? To what extent does this typology of innovators relate to MOOC adoption? How does the adoption of innovation by institutional subgroup vary over time? The findings suggested that rate of adoption, at its height, was a little over 3% in academic year 2013, 2 years after the launch of MOOCs. Both prestige-seeking behavior and economic competition were important predictors of innovation, although institutions most likely to innovate were very prestigious and strategic about the markets they chose for competition. Specifically, the most likely adopters of disruptive innovation were highly competitive in distance education and in pursuing private grants and contracts from industry, but often did not cut costs (e.g., replacing full-time faculty with adjuncts or expanding managerial capacity) to streamline affairs on campus or manage market expansion. By contrast, institutions that did not innovate often exhibited the opposite characteristics. Finally, because the first two results suggested different adopters, I found five different types of institutional innovators (Accelerators, Wealth Managers, Pragmatists, Opportunists, and Laggards). Approximately 15% of colleges were Accelerators (primed to be disruptive innovators), while the rest were characterized by limited motivate to change or limited institutional capacity to innovate.

Le système éducatif supérieur au Maroc se base sur la formation traditionnelle en présentiel. Les apprenants sont obligés d’être présents à toutes les séances de cours et pendant toute leur formation. Actuellement, avec la mise à disposition de cours en ligne, comme les MOOC (Massive open online courses), et l’apparition des plateformes de gestion de contenus pédagogiques ou LMS (Learning management content) comme Moodle, de nombreux cours sont accessibles gratuitement en ligne pour les apprenants. Le suivi des cours à distance, pourrait être une solution au problème de la massification de l’enseignement supérieur au Maroc, contribuer à l’amélioration du niveau, améliorer la motivation et à l’implication des apprenants à l’utilisation des TICE (Technologies de l’information et de la communication pour l’éducation). Notre recherche vise à évaluer différentes situations d’apprentissage hybride (présentiel et à distance) pour des apprenants universitaires marocains en cohérence avec un cadre théorique qui s’inspire principalement de la théorie de l’activité. Pour concrétiser nos travaux de recherche, nous avons réalisé trois expériences de formation hybride ayant recours à des MOOC. Ces expériences ont été réalisées avec quelques modules de formations universitaires dans le cadre de formations supérieures relevant du secteur public et du secteur privé. L’objectif de ces expériences était d’évaluer la motivation, la satisfaction et l’appropriation de cette nouvelle approche technopédagogique et d’émettre des recommandations aux différents acteurs (apprenants, enseignants, établissements) sur l’intégration de formations hybrides dans l’enseignement supérieur au Maroc. / The higher education system in Morocco has long been based on traditional face-to-face training. Learners are required to attend all courses sessions throughout their training. At the present time, with the availability of online courses such as MOOC (Massive Open online courses), and the appearance of LMS (Learning management content) platforms like Moodle, several courses in particular and training in general are available free of charge online. The follow-up of distance courses could be a solution to the problem of the massification of higher education in Morocco, contribute to improving the level, improve the motivation and involvement of learners in the use of ICT4E (Information and Communication Technologies for Education). Our research aims to evaluate different hybrid learning situations (face-to-face and distance learning) for Moroccan university learners in coherence with a theoretical framework that is mainly inspired by the activity theory. To concretize our research, we carried out three experiments of hybrid training using MOOC. These experiments were carried out with some university training modules as part of higher education courses in the public and private sectors. The objective of these experiments was to evaluate the motivation, satisfaction and appropriation of this new techno-pedagogical approach and to issue recommendations to the various actors (learners, teachers, institutions) on the integration of hybrid training in higher education in Morocco.

Thesis (M. Ed.(CIE))-University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

This study examined a web-based undergraduate course structured around social learning theories through the lens of social construction as a theoretical framework and a case study research method. The purpose of the study was to investigate students' learning experiences from a cognitively guided research framework. Instructional strategies practiced in the course, instructional design developed, and demonstrated students' learning outcomes were examined to help characterize students' learning experiences. The study proceeded from a social constructivist framework, employing a qualitative case study approach. Data collected to support the description of students' learning experiences included early course survey, in-depth interviews, course documents, students' artifacts, online class interactions, email correspondences among participants, and the researcher's journals based on online observations. The results of the study reveal that students' learning experiences and learning outcomes were greatly affected by the instructor's belief about teaching a distance course. Her belief that students should be fully responsible for their own learning in the web-based course resulted in minimal facilitation of the class in all aspects, including moderating students' online discussions, fostering learning communities within the class, and providing elaborate, critical feedback to elicit students' cognitive processes. As a result, the engaged cognitive processes and knowledge domains students demonstrated over the term were not significantly improved. Furthermore, the course goal of establishing a collaborative, interactive, and social learning environment for distance students was not met. The results of this study contribute to the picture of the facilitation skills and moderating practices that support more fully the goal of the development of a cognitively rich learning community. / Graduation date: 2006

<p>Since there was a need for an Educational Management Information System (EMIS) in the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan, we designed and implemented a prototype for use in the ministry and investigated the appropriateness of using Agile methods for producing the EMIS. The prototype consisted of a database containing data about schools and a Dari interface which was used by educational planners, managers and policy makers of the ministry for decision making and planning. Agile methods are relatively new in software engineering and have an approach and development guidelines which strive for user satisfaction and early incremental delivery of software. We adapt them to local conditions due to their collaborative client-developer approach. The interface, a key component, is easy to use and e cient. The key research result is an evaluation concerning the appropriateness of using Agile Methods for developing the EMIS. Focus groups and surveys were used to develop the prototype and accomplish the study.</p>

This study analyzed students&rsquo / perceived effectiveness of an online course delivered through one of the open source course content management system, Moodle. Students&rsquo / expectations, perception, comments and suggestions about Moodle were investigated in this study. This is a case study carried out 49 students who attended to CEIT321 Foundation of Distance Education course in summer school in 2008 and 29 students who attended to the same course in fall semester of 2008-2009 academic year at Computer Education and Instructional Technology at Middle East Technical University. Blended learning that combines face-to-face interaction and online learning was used in the course. In this study, the qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from the students attended to the study. The questionnaire was distributed to the participants at the end of the summer school and fall semester. In addition, interviews with the volunteer participants were conducted in order to understand students&rsquo / perceptions, thoughts, expectations, recommendations, and comments on Moodle and its applications. The data showed that students had positive attitudes towards Moodle and its application. This study can contribute the future research studies related with Moodle. Moreover, the results of this study can contribute the development of Moodle.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of West Florida, 2007. / Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 185 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves : [102]-105).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-201). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)(Information Science)--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Summaries in Afrikaans and English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-118).