[publication] Introducing MOOCs to Middle European Universities – is it worth it to accept the challenge?

Our contribution to the Special Issue on MOOCs for the International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning is titled „Introducing MOOCs to Middle European Universities – is it worth it to accept the challenge?„.
Abstract:

The paper deals with necessary requirements to implement MOOCs at European universities, by the example of Austria. As the respective general conditions and business environments are obviously different from the university system in the United States the analysis of advantages and obstacles of offering MOOCs is done from a local point of view including lecturers’ and students’ perspectives as well as necessary preconditions that have to be established by the universities and the government. Thereby, challenges in the fields of content creation, the supply of MOOCs, the assessment of knowledge and the development of business models are pointed out and discussed.

Reference: Kopp, M., Ebner, M., Dorfer-Novak, A. (2014) Introducing MOOCs to Middle European Universities – is it worth it to accept the challenge?, International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning, Vol. 2/3, pp. 46-52
[Link to full article (open access)]

[publication] Detection of Pilates Exercises Based on Movement Sensors Data in Modern Smartphones: For children aged 11 to 13

Our publication about „Detection of Pilates Exercises Based on Movement Sensors Data in Modern Smartphones: For children aged 11 to 13“ in the International Journal of Computer and Information Technology (IJCIT) is published:
Abstract:

Nowadays more and more children are suffering from back pain and postural defects. Different studies dedicate to this issue and various workouts are specially designed for prevention. Generally a therapeutic success remains low, because the patients do not accomplish the required exercises at home or perform them wrong and the therapist has no possibility to monitor their activities. This publication aims to answer the research question, if it is possible to monitor the activities of children, just with the data provided by sensors included in their personal smartphones.

Reference: Parfant, M., Ebner, M. & Deutschmann, D. (2014) Detection of Pilates Exercises Based on Movement Sensors Data in Modern Smartphones: For children aged 11 to 13. International Journal of Computer and Information Technology (IJCIT), Volume 3/4, pp. 755-782

[Link to Article]

[publication] How Open Content Servers Can Be Made Beneficial for Learning and Education

OER and open content is of course also a technical challenges. Here are some suggestions by Sandra Schön, Nicolai Scerbakov and me.
Abstract:

The development of Open Educational Resources (OER) is necessary for the classroom of tomorrow. Especially in Central Europe the copyright law does not allow the use of not-licensed content located in the Internet for educational purposes. Therefore different projects and initiatives started to provide Internet platforms with free educational resources or links to such resources. For educators as well as learners searching for open content on several platforms can be very exhausting. In this publication we present a first prototype for mobile devices that allow users to find open educational resources in minutes. In the discussion, benefits and handicaps of the approach are pointed out. The research work shows that the application supports the daily life of teachers and learners.

How Open Content Servers Can Be Made Beneficial for Learning and Education by Martin

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Reference: Ebner, Martin; Scerbakov, Nicolai & Schön, Sandra (2014). How open content servers an be made beneficial for learning and teaching. In: Transactions on Internet Research, vol.10, no.2 , pp. 26-30

[publication] The TU Graz E-book Strategy: from Content Management to Online Mutliple Device Usage

My first publication with the title „The TU Graz E-book Strategy: from Content Management to Online Mutliple Device Usage“ I did for a workshop in russian language is now online available.
Abstract:

This paper presents an authoring tool for creating content for teaching and learning purposes at universities in the meaning of e-learning2.0, named the ABC- Manager. The paper focuses on the advantages of the tool as well as its didactical background. The current use of the ABC-Manager as an integrated part of the e- learning strategy of Graz University of Technology especially in the face of its online version, the e-book platform of the learning management system in use called TU Graz TeachCenter.

The TU Graz E-book Strategy: from Content Management to Online Mutliple Device Usage by Martin

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Reference: Ebner M., Nagler W., Wiesenhofer K., Scerbakov N., 2014, The TU Graz E-book Strategy: from Content Management to Online Mutliple Device Usage, Непрерывное образование в общеевропейском образовательном пространстве (workshop proceedings), Dr. Ihar Sazonau int. al. (Ed.). 5th International Workshop on Lifelong Learning within European Framework, Mogilev 2014, 154-161. Belarusian-Russian University (Mogilev, Belarus). ISBN 978-985-492-131-0

[publication] Open Educational Resources – offene Bildungsmaterialien

In neuesten Newsletter des Vereins Forum Neue Medien in der Lehre Austria (kurz fnma) ist erstmals auch ein Themenschwerpunkt erschienen. Das Thema war dabei Open Educational Resources und ich durfte zusammen mit Sandra in den Schwerpunkt einleiten.
Aber auch die anderen Beiträge von den Kolleginnen und Kollegen sind sehr lesenswert. Also anschauen, es lohnt sich 🙂

[Newsletter fnma mit Themenschwerpunkt OER]

[publication] MOOCs Completion Rates and Possible Methods to Improve Retention – A Literature Review

Our contribution at this year ED-MEDIA conference in Tampere, Finnland about „MOOCs Completion Rates and Possible Methods to Improve Retention – A Literature Review“ is now online available. The slides have alreday been published here.
Abstract:

Many MOOCs initiatives continue to report high attrition rates among distance education students. This study investigates why students dropped out or failed their MOOCs. It also provides strategies that can be implemented to increase the retention rate as well as increasing overall student satisfaction. Through studying literature, accurate data analysis and personal observations, the most significant factors that cause high attrition rate of MOOCs are identified. The reasons found are lack of time, lack of learners’ motivation, feelings of isolation and the lack of interactivity in MOOCs, insufficient background and skills, and finally hidden costs. As a result, some strategies are identified to increase the online retention rate, and will allow more online students to graduate.

MOOCs Completion Rates and Possible Methods to Improve Retention – A Literature Review by Martin

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Reference: Khalil, H. & Ebner, M. (2014). MOOCs Completion Rates and Possible Methods to Improve Retention – A Literature Review. In Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2014 (pp. 1236-1244). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

[publication] Support of Video-Based lectures with Interactions – Implementation of a first prototype

Our contribution at this year ED-MEDIA conference in Tampere, Finnland about „Support of Video-Based lectures with Interactions – Implementation of a first prototype“ is now online available. The slides have alreday been published here.
Abstract:

In general videos have a more or less consuming character without any interaction possibilities. Due to this fact a web-based application is developed which offers different methods of communication and interaction to a certain learning-video. This should help attendees to avoid that they become tired and annoyed. The lecturer is able to use interactions to omit whether learners are able to understand the content of the video. For instance the developed web-application offers the possibility to add multiple-choice-questions at predefined positions. Furthermore there are many different kind of analysis as for example a detailed attention-profile. In this publication the implementation of a first prototype is described as well as a first field study which points out that learners? interactions and engagements increased arbitrarily.

Support of Video-Based lectures with Interactions – Implementation of a first prototype by Martin

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Reference: Wachtler, J. & Ebner, M. (2014). Support of Video-Based lectures with Interactions – Implementation of a first prototype. In Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2014 (pp. 562-571). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

[publication] Finding and Exploring Commonalities Between Researchers Using the ResXplorer

Our publication about „Finding and Exploring Commonalities Between Researchers Using the ResXplorer“ at this year HCII conference in Crete, Greece is now online available.
Abstract:

Researcher community produces a vast of content on the Web. We assume that every researcher interest oneself in events, persons and findings of other related community members who share the same interest. Although research related archives give access to their content most of them lack on analytic services and adequate visualizations for this data. This work resides on our previous achievements we made on semantically and Linked Data driven search and user inter- faces for Research 2.0. We show how researchers can find and visually explore commonalities between each other within their interest domain, by introducing for this matter the user interface of “ResXplorer”, and underlying search infrastructure operating over Linked Data Knowledge Base of research resources. We discuss and test most important com- ponents of “ResXplorer” relevant for detecting commonalities between researchers, closing up with conclusions and outlook for future work.

Finding and Exploring Commonalities Between Researchers Using the ResXplorer by Martin

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Reference: Softic, S., De Vocht, L., Mannens, E., Van de Walle, R., Ebner, M. (2014). Finding and Exploring Commonalities Between Researchers Using the ResXplorer. Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Technology-Rich Environments for Learning and Collaboration. Panayiotis, Z., Ioannou, A. (Ed.) Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 8524. Springer, pp. 486-494

[publication] Markov Chain and Classification of Difficulty Levels Enhances the Learning Path in One Digit Multiplication

Our second publication at this year HCII conference in Crete, Greece is about „Markov Chain and Classification of Difficulty Levels Enhances the Learning Path in One Digit Multiplication„.
Abstract:

In this work we focus on a specific application named “1×1 trainer” that has been designed to assist children in primary school to learn one digit multiplications. We investigate the database of learners’ answers to the asked questions by applying Markov chain and classification algorithms. The analysis identifies different clusters of one digit multiplication problems in respect to their difficulty for the learners. Next we present and discuss the outcomes of our analysis considering Markov chain of different orders for each question. The results of the analysis influence the learning path for every pupil and offer a personalized recommendation proposal that optimizes the way questions are asked to each pupil individually.

Markov Chain and Classification of Difficulty Levels Enhances the Learning Path in One Digit Multiplication… by Martin

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Reference: Taraghi, B., Saranti, A., Ebner, M., Schön, M. (2014) Markov Chain and Classification of Difficulty Levels Enhances the Learning Path in One Digit Multiplication. Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Designing and Developing Novel Learning Experiences. Panayiotis, Z., Ioannou, A. (Ed.), Springer Lecture Notes, pp. 322-322

[publication] Attention Profiling Algorithm for Video-based Lectures

Our first publication at this year HCII conference in Crete, Greece about „Attention Profiling Algorithm for Video-based Lectures“ is now online available as prelimiary version. The slides are already published here.
Abstract:

Due to the fact that students‘ attention is the most crucial resource in a high-quality course it is from high importance to control and analyze it. This could be done by using the interaction and the communication because they are known as valuable influencing factors of the attention. In this publication we introduce a web-based information system which implements an attention-profiling algorithm for learningvideos
as well as live-broadcastings of lectures. For that different methods of interaction are offered and analyzed. The evaluation points out that the attention profiling algorithm delivers realistic values.

Attention Profiling Algorithm for Video-based Lectures by Martin

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Reference: Wachtler, J., Ebner, M., Taraghi, B. (2014). Attention Profiling Algorithm for Video-based Lectures. Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Designing and Developing Novel Learning Experiences. Panayiotis, Z., Ioannou, A. (Ed.), Springer Lecture Notes, pp. 358-367