[publication] REVENUE VS. COSTS OF MOOC PLATFORMS. DISCUSSION OF BUSINESS MODELS FOR XMOOC PROVIDERS, BASED ON EMPIRICAL FINDINGS AND EXPERIENCES DURING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT #IMOOX

Our publication about „REVENUE VS. COSTS OF MOOC PLATFORMS. DISCUSSION OF BUSINESS MODELS FOR XMOOC PROVIDERS, BASED ON EMPIRICAL FINDINGS AND EXPERIENCES DURING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT IMOOX“ at this year 7th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation in Sevilla, Spain is now online available.
Abstract:

Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, are a modern phenomenon. Education for anyone, anytime and also from anywhere is the goal of various well-known MOOC platforms. On the one hand there is the noble idea to bring free education to society, but on the other hand there is the interesting question of who should pay for it. This research deals with the following research question: How should a business model for a MOOC platform look like. First, the models of the worldwide leading providers are described. Afterwards, a first cost model of the Austrian platform is presented. In the final section, possible revenues streams are discussed. It is concluded that a working business model will not be an easy task, but will be absolutely necessary for the future of (online) education.

REVENUE VS. COSTS OF MOOC PLATFORMS. DISCUSSION OF BUSINESS MODELS FOR XMOOC PROVIDERS, BASED ON EMPIRICAL… by Martin

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Reference: H. Fischer, S. Dreisiebner, O. Franken, M. Ebner, M. Kopp, T. Köhler (2014). REVENUE VS. COSTS OF MOOC PLATFORMS. DISCUSSION OF BUSINESS MODELS FOR XMOOC PROVIDERS, BASED ON EMPIRICAL FINDINGS AND EXPERIENCES DURING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT IMOOX
(pp. 2991-3000), ICERI2014 Proceedings, 7th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, Seville (Spain) 17-19 November, 2014: IATED. (ISBN: 978-84-617-2484-0)

[publication] What are we tweeting about? Providing Context for Twitter Analysis

Our publication about „What are we tweeting about? Providing Context for Twitter Analysis“ is now published in the International Journal of Computer and Information Technology.
Abstract:

Twitter is a medium, which is primarily used for real-time communication. Due to the limitations of retrieving older tweets, archiving them is necessary to enable users to access and analyze old tweets. When analyzing tweet archives, more contexts can lead to better results. This research work aims to determine the value of context for an analysis of tweet archives. First of all the current state of the art of Twitter analysis research is discussed. Afterwards a tool called TweetCollector is introduced, which provides archiving capabilities. Additionally, a further tool for Twitter analysis called TwitterStat is developed. Finally a real-world use case is performed and discussed in depth. The research study points out that providing this context leads to better understanding of the analysis results.

Reference: Ebner, M., Altmann, T. (2014) What are we tweeting about? Providing Context for Twitter Analysis, International Journal of Computer and Information Technology, 3/6, pp. 1390 – 1397

[Link to full article]

[publication] Mining and Visualizing Trends from Educational Systems using Linked Data

Our contribution about „Mining and Visualizing Trends from Educational Systems using Linked Data“ at this year European Immersive Education Summit is now online available.
Abstract:

This work introduces a case study on usage of semantic context modelling and creation of Linked Data from logs in educational systems like a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) with purpose on improvements in generally with respect to social and semantic analysis of the parameters on user and activity centric level [3]. Sample case study demonstrates the usage of semantic modelling of the activity context using adequate domain specific ontologies and semantic technologies and visualization of such data as result of analysis of such modelled data represented in the form of Linked Data. This approach implies the easy interfacing and extensibility on machine or human level offering fast insight on statistical trends.

Reference: Softic, S., Taraghi, B., Ebner, M. (2014) Mining and Visualizing Trends from Educational Systems using Linked Data, European Immersive Education Summit, 2014, Vienna, pp. 164 – 169 [Link to article]

[publication] Determining the Causing Factors of Errors for Multiplication Problems

Our contribution about „Determining the Causing Factors of Errors for Multiplication Problems“ at this year European Immersive Education Summit is now online available.
Abstract:

Literature in the area of psychology and education provides domain knowledge to learning applications. This work detects the difficulty levels within a set of multiplication problems and analyses the dataset on different error types as described and determined in several pedagogical surveys and investigations. Our research sheds light to the impact of each error type in simple multiplication problems and the course of error types in problem-size.

Reference: Taraghi, B., Frey, M., Saranti, A., Ebner, M., Müller, V. & Großmann, A. (2014) Determining the Causing Factors of Errors for Multiplication Problems, European Immersive Education Summit, 2014, Vienna, pp. 144 – 153 [Link to article]

[publication] A Contribution to Collaborative Learning Using iPads for School Children

Our contribution about „A Contribution to Collaborative Learning Using iPads for School Children“ at this year European Immersive Education Summit is now online available.
Abstract:

Collaboration has a very positive effect on students’ learning experiences as well as their social interactions. Our research study aims towards enhancing the learning experience, stimulating communication and cooperative behavior to improve learning. Making use of recent technological advancements (tablets) and gaming as a motivational factor, a prototype application in form of a multiplayer learning game for iPads was designed and developed. In a face-to-face setting, connecting up to four devices, the players (learners) have to solve word puzzles in a collaborative way. Furthermore, a web-interface for teachers provides the possibility to create custom content as well as to receive feedback of the children’s performance. A first field study at two primary schools in Graz showed promising results for the learning behavior of school children.

Reference: Ebner, M., Kienleitner, B. (2014) A Contribution to Collaborative Learning Using iPads for School Children, European Immersive Education Summit, 2014, Vienna, pp. 87-97 [Link to article]

[publication] Evaluation of Augmented Reality Frameworks for Android Development

Our publication about „Evaluation of Augmented Reality Frameworks for Android Development“ has been published in the International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies.

Abstract:

Augmented Reality (AR) is the evolution of the concept of Virtual Reality (VR). Its goal is to enhance a person’s perception of the surrounding world. AR is a fast growing state of the art technology and a variety of implementation tools thereof exist today. Due to the heterogeneity of available technologies, the choice of the appropriate framework for a mobile application is difficult to make. These frameworks implement different tracking techniques and have to provide support to various constraints. This publication aims to point out that the choice of the appropriate framework depends on the context of the app to be developed. As expected, it is accurate that no framework is entirely the best, but rather that each exhibits strong and weak points. Our results demonstrate that given a set of constraints, one framework can outperform others. We anticipate our research to be the starting point for testing of other frameworks, given various constraints. The frameworks evaluated here are open- source or have been purchased under Academic License.

Reference: Marneanu, I., Ebner, M., Rössler, T. (2014) Evaluation of Augmented Reality Frameworks for Android Development. In: International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies. Vol. 8 (4), pp. 37-44 [Link to the Article]

[publication] Do You Mind NSA Affair? Does the Global Surveillance Disclosure Impact Our Students?

Our contribution at this year ED-MEDIA conference in Tampere, Finnland about „Do You Mind NSA Affair? Does the Global Surveillance Disclosure Impact Our Students?“ is now online available. The slides have alreday been published here.
Abstract:

In summer 2013 the discussion about security and Internet peaked when the ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden uncovered secret details about his former employer NSA. Since then bad news and stories about government surveillance have come along daily worldwide. But did they change anything according to our way of working and living with the Internet? We wanted to know, whether there is a change of Internet behavior to be determined among freshmen coming to Graz University of Technology. On base of an annual questionnaire that is carried out by the Department of Social Learning at TU Graz since 2007 we found out that although a quarter of polled students are influenced by those disclosures there is no decrease in Internet usage to be realized compared to former years results; quite the reverse: applications working on cloud-principle like Dropbox are strongly upcoming. Apart from that, the long term survey generally mirrors new media competences and Internet usage of TU Graz freshmen. This paper discusses this year´s results and progressions of the survey.

Do You Mind NSA Affair? Does the Global Surveillance Disclosure Impact Our Students? by Martin

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Reference: Ebner, M., Nagler, W. & Schön, M. (2014). Do You Mind NSA Affair?Does the Global Surveillance Disclosure Impact Our Students?. In Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2014 (pp. 2307-2312). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

[publication] Adaptive Learner Profiling Provides the Optimal Sequence of Posed Basic Mathematical Problems

Our publication about „Adaptive Learner Profiling Provides the Optimal Sequence of Posed Basic Mathematical Problems“ at this year EC-TEL conference is now available.
Abstract:

Applications that try to enhance learners’ knowledge can profit by the creation and analysis of learner profiles. This work deals with the derivation of an optimal sequence of questions by comparing similar learning behaviour of users of a mathematics training application. The adaptation of the learners’ clusters to the answers of the revised optimal question sequence improves learning

Reference: Taraghi, B., Saranti, A., Ebner, M., Großmann, A., Müller, V. (2014) Adaptive Learner Profiling Provides the Optimal Sequence of Posed Basic Mathematical Problems. In: Open Learning and Teaching in Educational Communities. Rensing, C., de Freitas, S., Ley, T., Muñoz-Merino, P. J. (Ed.). Lecture Notes in Computer Science Volume 8719, Springer 2014, pp. 592-59

[Link to .pdf at Springer]

[publication] The Maker Movement. Implications of new digital gadgets, fabrication tools and spaces for creative learning and teaching

Our article about „The Maker Movement. Implications of new digital gadgets, fabrication tools and spaces for creative learning and teaching“ got republished in the Special Issue „Transforming Education through Innovation and Technology“ of the elearning papers.
Abstract:

The “Maker Movement” deals with innovative forms of production and do-it-yourself work. It is not only a way for new business models and developments, e.g. using 3D print or other new digital tools and gizmos, but also influencing education. This paper introduces several diverse terms (from FabLabs to Hackerspaces) and gives insights into background, practice and existing experiences from Maker Movement in educational settings amongst all age groups. As a conclusion, the authors present reasons why practitioners and researcher should consider its educational potential. Besides its creative and technological impacts, learning by making is an important component of problem- solving and relating educational content to the real world. Besides this, digital tools for making are not expensive, for example apps for mobile devices or rents for 3D printer (compared with desktops in 1:1 settings). The Maker Movement is seen as an inspiring and creative way to deal with our world, it is aware of ecological challenges and of course, and it is able to develop technological interest and competences casually. Finally, the authors give recommendation for reading for all who got interested in making.

Reference: Schön, Sandra; Ebner, Martin & Kurma, Swapna (2014). The Maker Movement. Implications of new digital gadgets, fabrication tools and spaces for creative learning and teaching [Republished in special issue] . In: eLearning Papers, eLearning Papers Special edition 2014 “Transforming Education through Innovation and Technology, September 2014, pp. 86-100. [.pdf]