How do you connect?: analysis of social capital accumulation in connectivist MOOCs

Connections established between learners via interactions are seen as fundamental for connectivist pedagogy. Connections can also be viewed as learning outcomes, i.e. learners' social capital accumulated through distributed learning environments. We applied linear mixed effects modeling to investigate whether the social capital accumulation interpreted through learners' centrality to course interaction networks, is influenced by the language learners use to express and communicate in two connectivist MOOCs. Interactions were distributed across the three social media, namely Twitter, blog and Facebook. Results showed that learners in a cMOOC connect easier with the individuals who use a more informal, narrative style, but still maintain a deeper cohesive structure to their communication.

[1]  Jeremy Knox,et al.  Digital culture clash: “massive” education in the E-learning and Digital Cultures MOOC , 2014 .

[2]  George Siemens,et al.  Analytics to literacies: The development of a learning analytics framework for multiliteracies assessment , 2014 .

[3]  Eric R. Ziegel,et al.  The Elements of Statistical Learning , 2003, Technometrics.

[4]  D. Bates,et al.  Linear Mixed-Effects Models using 'Eigen' and S4 , 2015 .

[5]  Sarah A. Webster,et al.  Learner Participation and Engagement in Open Online Courses: Insights from the Peer 2 Peer University , 2013 .

[6]  Arthur C. Graesser,et al.  Computational Analyses of Multilevel Discourse Comprehension , 2011, Top. Cogn. Sci..

[7]  L. Freeman.  Centrality in social networks conceptual clarification , 1978 .

[8]  Elisabeth Dévière,et al.  Analyzing linguistic data: a practical introduction to statistics using R , 2009 .

[9]  John Scott,et al.  The SAGE Handbook of Social Network Analysis , 2011 .

[10]  R. Xu.  Measuring explained variation in linear mixed effects models , 2003, Statistics in medicine.

[11]  D. Gašević,et al.  “Choose Your Classmates, Your GPA Is at Stake!” , 2013 .

[12]  W. Marsden.  I and J , 2012 .

[13]  Luis M. Vaquero,et al.  The rich club phenomenon in the classroom , 2013, Scientific Reports.

[14]  Manuel Cebrián,et al.  The Weakness of Weak Ties in the Classroom , 2012, ArXiv.

[15]  George Siemens,et al.  The MOOC model for digital practice , 2010 .

[16]  Marek Hatala,et al.  What is the Source of Social Capital? The Association between Social Network Position and Social Presence in Communities of Inquiry , 2014, EDM.

[17]  Shane Dawson,et al.  Improving academic outcomes: does participating in online discussion forums payoff? , 2013 .

[18]  Helene Fournier,et al.  A pedagogy of abundance or a pedagogy to support human beings? Participant support on massive open online courses , 2011 .

[19]  Robert M. Bernard,et al.  Are contextual and designed student–student interaction treatments equally effective in distance education? , 2012 .

[20]  Arthur C. Graesser,et al.  Automated Evaluation of Text and Discourse with Coh-Metrix: Introduction , 2014 .

[21]  Arthur C. Graesser,et al.  Coh-Metrix , 2011 .

[22]  Kerry Cook,et al.  Networked Learning , 2014, Encyclopedia of Social Network Analysis and Mining.

[23]  Stanley Wasserman,et al.  Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications , 1994, Structural analysis in the social sciences.

[24]  Anthony S. Bryk,et al.  Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods , 1992 .

[25]  Rita Kop,et al.  The Challenges to Connectivist Learning on Open Online Networks: Learning Experiences during a Massive Open Online Course , 2011 .

[26]  Allison Littlejohn,et al.  Merlot Journal of Online Learning and Teaching Patterns of Engagement in Connectivist Moocs , 2022 .

[27]  Andrew J. Scholand,et al.  Assessing Group Interaction with Social Language Network Analysis , 2010, SBP.

[28]  Alain Degenne.  Social capital: a theory of social structure and action , 2004 .

[29]  Walter Kintsch,et al.  Comprehension: A Paradigm for Cognition , 1998 .

[30]  Arthur C. Graesser,et al.  Automated Evaluation of Text and Discourse with Coh-Metrix: Coh-Metrix Measures , 2014 .

[31]  Antonio Fini,et al.  The Technological Dimension of a Massive Open Online Course: The Case of the CCK08 Course Tools , 2009 .

[32]  Gábor Csárdi,et al.  The igraph software package for complex network research , 2006 .

[33]  D. Bates,et al.  Mixed-Effects Models in S and S-PLUS , 2001 .

[34]  Dragan Gasevic,et al.  Roles of Course Facilitators, Learners, and Technology in the Flow of Information of a CMOOC , 2015 .

[35]  Arthur C. Graesser,et al.  What Works: Creating Adaptive and Intelligent Systems for Collaborative Learning Support , 2014, Intelligent Tutoring Systems.

[36]  Nataša Golubovi,et al.  NETWORK STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL , 2010 .

[37]  Robert M. Bernard,et al.  A Meta-Analysis of Three Types of Interaction Treatments in Distance Education , 2009 .