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The general purpose of this thesis is to understand how participation in the activity of education relates to communication and tools. This purpose unfolds by drawing on possible conceivable consequences. In the fulfilment of this purpose communication, education, participation, and tools are analytically linked by a common denominator: human action. The commentary text expounds on these links, while the four included papers illustrate how these links operate in educational settings. The general purpose serves to frame a narrower purpose: a discussion of participation through computer-mediated communication in online settings of Swedish higher education. The theoretical departure derives from a transactional approach that embraces human action as an inseparable aspect of a dynamic whole, here defined as the activity of education. This activity is discussed in terms of its cultural, ecological, historical, and social aspects. This theoretical departure embraces ideas largely taken from ecological, pragmatic and sociocultural perspectives of human action. The papers include analyses of, variously, empirical material taken from interviews with students, online exchanges of utterances, syllabuses, and study-guides. Two of the papers are literature reviews. The findings indicate that participation in education is a complex boundless phenomenon that is best understood as a dynamic whole. In this whole, participation in education is culturally, ecologically, historically, and socially transformed by actions, agents, communication, tools, and the setting. In this thesis, concepts such as computermediated communication, communicative genres, dialogical intersections, and educational settings are utilised to reach a dynamic understanding. The dynamics of these findings, therefore, are a challenge to all dualistic conceptualisations of education, such as those building on the idea of learners operating in learning environments. Particularly, these findings challenge operationalisations of education that rely on computer-mediated communication and which build on the idea of so-called online learning environments. A more coherent understanding of participation in education is possible if educational research and design builds on a non-dualistic conceptualisation that includes the idea of participation being performed in a boundless activity.

MOOCs實現了高等教育的跨國性、大量性與開放性，成功將世界各地的學習者、教學者與相關機構帶進全球網絡，為全球知識與傳播提供一個全新的平台。這場由世界頂尖大學所引發的MOOCs風暴，短時間內便席捲全球，在高等教育界掀起一陣波瀾。《紐約時報》甚至將MOOCs形容成一場「校園海嘯」，以迅雷不及掩耳的速度，衝擊高等教育的百年現場。 然而，究竟這場MOOCs風暴是如何一路延燒到世界各地？不同階段的影響因素又有何不同？為了釐清這些問題，本研究利用複雜理論「系統性」與「動態性」的觀點，探討MOOCs創新擴散之動態歷程，分析相關因素如何影響各個階段的歷程演變，以及因素之間互動後所產生的回饋關係。 本研究採用歷史研究法，並參考王美雅（2005）的創新擴散之動態模型，做為研究架構之基礎，探討MOOCs各階段擴散歷程之初始狀態、演化與正向回饋效果以及自我組織的現象。 研究結果發現，MOOCs的擴散事實上是一個自我組織的過程。在MOOCs擴散過程中，以「創新者的網路位置」與「理解創新的難易程度」兩項變數的影響尤其顯著。而各項變數之間不僅擁有正向回饋效果，亦存在著負向回饋效果，進而影響MOOCs的擴散與演化。 / MOOCs successfully brought global students, educators, and related organization into a global network, forming a platform for global diffusion of knowledge. Started by top universities around the globe, MOOCs’ forces have swept around the globe in a short amount of time, creating ripples in the higher education web. The New York Times describes MOOCs as a “Campus Tsunami,” sweeping through the sectors of higher education. How did this “Campus Tsunami” sweep around the globe? What are the factors that affect its dynamic diffusion process? In order to clarify these questions, this study employs the systematic and dynamic point of view of the complex theory to analyze how the factors influence each of MOOCs diffusion stages and what effects the factors create after interaction. This study employs the historical study method and Mei Ya, Wang’s (2005) dynamic innovation diffusion model as the fundamental structure to explore the initial conditions, evolution and positive reinforcements, and self-organization of each diffusion stage. The results demonstrate that MOOCs’ diffusion is based on self-organization. Within the seven factors, innovator networks and the difficulties in understanding innovation are the foremost influential factors. During MOOCs diffusion stages, the different factors interact with each other, producing both positive reinforcements and negative reinforcements, thus influencing MOOCs continuous diffusion and development.

Ziel des Beitrags ist, einen Überblick über aktuelle Entwicklungen und Ausprägungen von MOOCs sowie die Erfahrungen und Ergebnisse aus der Untersuchung von zwei MOOCs vorzustellen, die 2011 und 2012 durchgeführt wurden. Besondere Schwerpunkte liegen dabei auf der Bedeutung und Ausprägung der Beteiligungsformen in den verschiedenen MOOC-Formaten, der Beteiligung in den beiden untersuchten MOOCs sowie auf deren Unterschiede auch aufgrund von Veränderungen des Kursdesigns.

This thesis contributes to knowledge about how Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as educational online platforms can be utilized in achieving the purposes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Starting out from a view that, in the face of global challenges every individual is an important actor with agency to drive for necessary social changes, the overall ambition of this thesis is to investigate the role of MOOCs, as a specific form of online learning, in empowering and enabling learners to acquire the competences needed to take responsible actions and informed decisions in a rapidly changing, interdependent and unequal world. More specifically, this thesis aims at providing a deeper insight into the question of whether the pedagogic approaches used in ESD (learner-centered, action-oriented and transformative learning) and the learning processes that they promote, can be incorporated in the MOOC environment. This issue holds importance due to the global and intergenerational character of ESD where providing access to training and learning for sustainable development for all is vital. In this respect, MOOCs have been envisioned as revolutionary in the provision of access to education to a wider audience. Nevertheless, the “massive” part of MOOCs could pose a challenge in connection to ESD, due to the fact that ESD is not easily generalized and aims at upholding local relevance. Therefore, this thesis also looks into the question of the implications posed by scale and the issue of scalability when investigating how MOOCs can enable the application of ESD pedagogic approaches, thus also contributing to the achievement of the purposes and learning objectives of ESD and Climate Change Education as its constituent part. Utilizing a case study methodology, the MOOC in Climate Change Leadership at Uppsala University is chosen as a case example of the MOOC learning environment and learning circumstances. By conducting a content analysis of the MOOC materials as presented on the online platform, and developing an analytical framework based on the ESD pedagogic approaches, this thesis reaches the conclusion that some aspects of the ESD approaches benefit from the networked environment and large-scale participation in the MOOC environment, while the incorporation of others is more challenging and asks for further research and improvement of the MOOC learning environment in order for them to provide for the optimal learning circumstances and outcomes in connection to ESD.

Submitted by Lucienne Costa (lucienneferreira@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-09-13T20:25:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ALANA MARQUES DE MORAIS – TESE (PPGCC) 2018.pdf: 2316851 bytes, checksum: 52b3ebbbd6f1053b4978446f0a18d143 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-13T20:25:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ALANA MARQUES DE MORAIS – TESE (PPGCC) 2018.pdf: 2316851 bytes, checksum: 52b3ebbbd6f1053b4978446f0a18d143 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-20 / Capes / A evasão discente foi apontada, por grande parte das instituições brasileiras de Educação a Distância (EaD), como um dos maiores obstáculos enfrentados pelos cursos online da atualidade. Reflexo disto, foram as taxas de evasão elevadas, entre 25 e 50% em todos os tipos de curso online, em relação à educação presencial em 2015 no Brasil. Além disto, a problemática não se restringe ao contexto brasileiro, pois diversas organizações internacionais relataram índices tão alarmantes quando os nacionais. É possível afirmar, de acordo com a literatura, que as estratégias adotadas na minimização dos índices de desistência do discente muitas vezes se limitam à avaliação pontual de um recurso pedagógico (fórum, bate-papo, etc). Há ainda uma carência de estudos que discutam sobre as interações educacionais do aluno evadido e considerem as incertezas avaliativas envolvidas no processo. Diversas metodologias podem ser utilizadas pelo docente para lidar com a subjetividade e incerteza associadas ao processo avaliativo, tais como: lógica fuzzy, redes bayesianas, etc. O presente estudo destacou a lógica fuzzy (ou difusa), pois esta técnica lida com a ambiguidade encontrada na avaliação presente na EaD. Esta modelagem permite que estados indeterminados possam ser tratados por dispositivos de controle e conceitos não quantificáveis possam ser avaliados pelo especialista. Assim, o presente estudo propôs uma abordagem avaliativa (FuzzySD) voltada ao docente para monitorar as turmas virtuais na predição e combate à evasão discente em cursos online. Para tanto, a pesquisa se subsidiou nas informações relacionadas às ações dos alunos durante o processo de ensino-aprendizagem. A análise realizada envolve fatores comportamentais do estudante com base em múltiplos critérios. Estes critérios comportamentais foram fundamentais na descrição das três métricas principais ao entendimento da evasão do aluno no contexto estudado, a saber: Autorregulação, Interação e Motivação do aluno. A avaliação com a FuzzySD foi realizada por meio da análise de precisão em recortes da amostra com base em dados de cursos online do IFPB Virtual. A precisão da abordagem, analisando as amostras teste, proporciona valores entre 65% e 95% de acertos. Por fim, a partir dos resultados, foram discutidos os desafios da aplicação de um módulo avaliativo multidimensional diante do contexto de cursos online brasileiros. / The student’s dropout in online courses was pointed out as one of the biggest issue in the area according to the educational organizations. The main result was the high dropout rates in these courses compared to face-to-face courses in 2015 in Brazil (between 25% and 50%). Moreover, this challenge belongs to the virtual learning worldwide. In this sense, the literature review showed that several approaches are adopted to minimize the student’s dropout rates. However, they limited their focus on a learning unique resource (forum, chat, upload, download, submissions). Regarding these approaches, the current research detected an insufficiency of studies about the educational interactions of the dropout student and uncertainties in the assessment. Many methodologies are used by teachers to manage a subjectivity and uncertainty associated to the evaluation process, such as: fuzzy logic, Bayesian networks, Markov chains, etc. This thesis emphasized the fuzzy logic, because this technique solves the ambiguity found in the learning evaluation by the expert. We present an assessment framework (FuzzySD) to track the virtual classroom and to support the teacher to make a prediction of students’ dropout in online courses. In this sense, we analyzed the information related to the students’ actions during the teaching-learning process in online courses. It can be denominated as multidimensional analysis because we assessed multiple variables related to the student’s behavior. Such behavioral variables were fundamental in the definition of three main metrics to the understanding of student avoidance, they are: Self-regulation, Interaction and Motivation. It is important to consider a presence of fuzzy logic to deal with the input metrics of the FuzzySD framework. The evaluation of FuzzySD was performed by means of precision analysis on sample cut-outs based on dataset from courses of “IFPB Virtual”. The accuracy of the approach is analyzed as results of its own indicators between 65% and 95% of hits. Finally, the results discussed about the challenges of applying a multidimensional evaluative module to the context of Brazilian online courses.

O preparo e produção de material didático para cursos on-line demanda o trabalho de uma equipe multidisciplinar (com técnicos e especialistas de diferentes áreas) junto aos professores-autores. A organização e o processo de produção são complexos e específicos para cada projeto e instituição de ensino. Nesta pesquisa, o objetivo é analisar como ocorreu o processo colaborativo de produção de material didático no curso semipresencial de Licenciatura em Ciências da USP/UNIVESP (no período de 2013). Este estudo é definido como pesquisa qualitativa, identificada como estudo de caso. Para alcançar os objetivos previstos foi realizada coleta de dados documentais e entrevistas com profissionais que participaram do processo de criação. Para análise dos dados obtidos foi realizado inicialmente o levantamento de posicionamentos teóricos ligados aos principais termos que permeiam o estudo. Por meio de análise de conteúdo foram estabelecidas as relações entre a teoria estudada e os dados coletados. Ao final, conclui-se que, por se tratar de um trabalho em equipe, o conteúdo (texto) original precisa passar por alterações e adequações ao longo de todo o processo até se tornar material didático do curso (em seus diferentes formatos). Vale destacar que esse processo de produção é acompanhado, discutido e validado pelo professor em todas as suas etapas. Como em toda equipe multidisciplinar, a comunicação e as inter-relações entre os profissionais são constantes e significativas para o processo. É nesse contexto de trabalho em equipe (junto ao professorautor) que ocorrem momentos de cocriação didática, resultado de um trabalho colaborativo e de criação. Verificou-se que esse processo de atuação das equipes na produção de material didático tem momentos intercalados de trabalho individualizado e colaborativo. Apesar desse fluxo estar desenhado de forma linear, com etapas predefinidas, é nas inter-relações e trocas de conhecimentos, sugestões e adequações do conteúdo que ocorrem momentos de cocriação. Trata-se de um processo híbrido: linear e de cocriação. Linear em sua estrutura e forma de trabalho e de cocriação como parte natural das relações humanas e da produção coletiva de conhecimento. / The preparation and the production of didactic materials for on-line courses demand a multidisciplinary teamwork (technicians and specialists from different areas) along with teacherauthors. The organization and the process of production are complex and specific for each project and teaching institution. The objective of this research is to analyze how the collaborative process of the didactic material produced in the blended learning course of the Licentiate Degree in Science from USP/UNIVESP (conducted over a certain period of time. Qualitative approach has been adopted for this study, more specifically, a case study research. In order to accomplish our goals, we have conducted data collection by using review of documents as well as interviews with the professionals that participated in the creation process. For the purpose of analyzing the collected data, we have gathered diverse theoretical approaches related to the main topics of this study. By having the content analyzed, a relationship between the studied theory and the data collected has been established. In conclusion, due to the fact that it is the product of a teamwork, the original content (text) needs to go through some changes and adaptations during the whole process until the final version of the didactic material (in all its different formats) is completed. It is important to emphasize that every step during the process of production is attended, discussed and validated by the teacher-author. As in any multidisciplinary teamwork, the communication and the interrelationships are constant and meaningful to the process. It is in this context of teamwork (including the teacher-author) that the didactic co-creation occurs, being the result of collaborative and creation work. It has been verified that the groups worked in intercalated moments throughout the production of the material: as individuals or in collaboration. Despite the fact that there are predefined steps which are supposed to flow in a linear way, co-creation takes place during the interrelationships, the exchange of knowledge and suggestions and the adaptation of the content. It turns out to be a hybrid process: linear and co-creative. Linear in its structure and its way of working and co-creative as a natural part of human relationships and as a collective production of knowledge.

The increasing demand of online education is a driving factor for development of training for online pedagogy as a separate entity of traditional pedagogical practices. Literature relating to online teaching suggests that continued research is needed to understand the development of online pedagogy, in order for higher education institutions to provide relevant training and support for online instructors. The problem examined in this study is understanding professional development and support needs of online instructors to enhance the continuous development of pedagogical skills in an online learning environment. The purpose of the study was to identify online instructor support needs by investigating perceptions, successes, and challenges of online instructors at a multicampus state college in the southeast. The study explored the experiences of online instructors, in order to form an understanding of the types of professional development strategies that are needed to guide the transition from face-to-face instruction to online instruction. Using case-study techniques, this qualitative study assessed the perspectives of five faculty participants from academic disciplines representing computer science, mathematics, nursing, psychology, and sociology. Data were collected from interviews and resource documents and analyzed to reveal several findings relating to the practice of online instruction. Three key themes emerged from the findings: reflection of practice, connection to students, and process of work. Reflecting on personal experiences and learning from the experiences of other online instructors is influential to the development of online pedagogical skills. Connecting to students using multiple methods of delivery and developing an organized course structure is critical to successful online instruction. Navigating student communication, developing engaging course content, and identifying when students need help are challenges associated with managing the work of online instruction. Results of this study indicate the need for professional development programs that provide a structured emphasis on the development of online pedagogical skills. To address the evolving nature of online instruction, professional development programs should provide the opportunity to reflect on the practice of online teaching, assess individual training needs for online instructors, and guide the development of relevant online course content. As the demand for online education continues to grow along with emerging technologies associated with online learning, future research should be conducted on the length of time required to develop effective online pedagogical practices. The increasing demand of online education is a driving factor for development of training for online pedagogy as a separate entity of traditional pedagogical practices. Literature relating to online teaching suggests that continued research is needed to understand the development of online pedagogy, in order for higher education institutions to provide relevant training and support for online instructors. The problem examined in this study is understanding professional development and support needs of online instructors to enhance the continuous development of pedagogical skills in an online learning environment. The purpose of the study was to identify online instructor support needs by investigating perceptions, successes, and challenges of online instructors at a multicampus state college in the southeast. The study explored the experiences of online instructors, in order to form an understanding of the types of professional development strategies that are needed to guide the transition from face-to-face instruction to online instruction. Using case-study techniques, this qualitative study assessed the perspectives of five faculty participants from academic disciplines representing computer science, mathematics, nursing, psychology, and sociology. Data were collected from interviews and resource documents and analyzed to reveal several findings relating to the practice of online instruction. Three key themes emerged from the findings: reflection of practice, connection to students, and process of work. Reflecting on personal experiences and learning from the experiences of other online instructors is influential to the development of online pedagogical skills. Connecting to students using multiple methods of delivery and developing an organized course structure is critical to successful online instruction. Navigating student communication, developing engaging course content, and identifying when students need help are challenges associated with managing the work of online instruction. Results of this study indicate the need for professional development programs that provide a structured emphasis on the development of online pedagogical skills. To address the evolving nature of online instruction, professional development programs should provide the opportunity to reflect on the practice of online teaching, assess individual training needs for online instructors, and guide the development of relevant online course content. As the demand for online education continues to grow along with emerging technologies associated with online learning, future research should be conducted on the length of time required to develop effective online pedagogical practices.

El objetivo principal de esta tesis es desarrollar un plan de negocios para la creación de una empresa basada en una plataforma de venta de cursos online. Inicialmente, el público objetivo serán los líderes de la pequeña y mediana empresa local y a largo plazo la comunidad empresarial de habla hispana. En la actualidad el uso intensivo del Internet ha generado una revolución en diversas áreas, como el entretenimiento, la productividad, las transacciones comerciales, las capacitaciones entre muchas más. En nuestro caso las capacitaciones, o cursos en línea, han creado una verdadera democratización de la educación, cada día los precios bajan y la calidad mejora. En cualquier parte del mundo, una persona con un Smartphone y acceso a internet puede recibir un entrenamiento de calidad con muy baja inversión o gratis. Todas las instituciones educativas tradicionales de primer nivel, han iniciado en la última década sus procesos de transformación digital hacia esta tendencia. La investigación de la competencia, nos ayudó a desarrollar una estrategia de diferenciación para ingresar al mercado. Empresas exitosas orientadas a la capacitación como CREHANA y PLATZI buscaron en sus primeras etapas la especialización como diferenciación. CREHANA inició orientada al diseño digital y web, migrando al mediano plazo a todos los temas creativos. PLATZI inició especializándose en programación, diversificando su cartera a mediano plazo con temas como la tecnología en general, el emprendimiento, el marketing digital y el desarrollo personal. En nuestro caso, gracias a los estudios de mercado, entrevistas de profundidad e investigando las tendencias, la especialización será orientada a temas de habilidades blandas, mejora de clima laboral y la empatía, todo orientado a crear culturas organizacionales FELICES para que logren ser más PRODUCTIVAS. Por tal razón el nombre tentativo de esta plataforma seria PRODUCTIVIDADFELIZ.ORG / The main objective of this thesis is to develop a business plan for the creation of a company based on a platform for selling online courses. Initially, the target audience will be the leaders of the small and medium-sized local business and in the long term the Spanish-speaking business community. At present, the intensive use of the Internet has generated a revolution in several areas, such as entertainment, productivity, commercial transactions, training among others. In our case, the trainings, or online courses, have created a true democratization of education, every day, prices fall and quality improves. Anywhere in the world, a person with a Smartphone and Internet access can receive quality training with very low investment or free. All the traditional educational institutions of first level, have initiated in the last decade their processes of digital transformation towards this tendency. The competition research helped us to develop a differentiation strategy to enter the market. Successful companies oriented to training, such as CREHANA and PLATZI, sought in their early stages the specialization for differentiation. CREHANA started with digital and web design, migrating in the medium term to all creative themes. PLATZI started specializing in programming, diversifying its portfolio in the medium term with topics such as general technology, entrepreneurship, digital marketing and personal development. In our case, thanks to market studies, in-depth interviews and trends analysis. The specialization will be oriented to soft skills, work climate improvement and empathy, all aimed at creating HAPPY organizational cultures so that they can be MORE PRODUCTIVE. For this reason the tentative name of this platform would be PRODUCTIVIDADFELIZ.ORG / Tesis

El objetivo de este trabajo de investigación es dar a conocer la viabilidad para el desarrollo de un proyecto de negocio basado en ofrecer clases de español online. Este proyecto va dirigido a extranjeros profesionales entre los 21 y 45 años provenientes de Estados Unidos y Brasil, quienes se relacionan con empresas o comunidades hispanohablantes y tienen la necesidad de utilizar el español como instrumento de comunicación. La coyuntura actual, el virus COVID-19, ha limitado el acceso presencial a los centros de estudios a miles de personas en el último año impulsando la digitalización. Hispalogue nace como respuesta al exponencial crecimiento de la transformación digital en el sector de enseñanza de idiomas y permite seguir aprendiendo sin salir de casa. Hispalogue es un negocio 100% online que opera desde Perú y puede dirigirse desde cualquier parte del mundo. Cuenta con un equipo altamente calificado y con docentes hablantes nativos del idioma español y con amplia experiencia en metodología comunicativa para la enseñanza de idiomas. Gracias al estudio de mercado realizado, logramos concluir que existe una necesidad de clases de español personalizadas con horarios flexibles para aquellos profesionales con horarios complejos. / The objective of this research paper is to prove the viability of a business project based on the offering of online Spanish classes. This project is aimed at professional foreigners between the ages of 21 and 45 from the United States and Brazil, who interact with Spanish-speaking companies or communities and have the need to use Spanish as a communication tool. The COVID-19 virus, has limited face-to-face access to learning centers for thousands of people in the past year, promoting digitization. Hispalogue was born in response to the exponential growth of digital transformation in the language teaching sector and allows people to continue learning without ever needing to leave their home. Hispalogue is a 100% online business that operates from Peru but can be managed from anywhere in the world. It has a highly qualified team of native Spanish-speaking teachers with extensive experience working under the communicative method for language teaching. Thanks to the market study carried out, we were able to conclude that there is a need for personalized Spanish classes during flexible hours for professionals with complex schedules. / Trabajo de investigación