Redefining dropping out in online higher education: a case study from the UOC

In recent years, studies into the reasons for dropping out of higher education (including online education) have been undertaken with greater regularity, parallel to the rise in the relative weight of this type of education, compared with brick-and-mortar education. However, the work invested in characterising the students who drop out of education, compared with those who do not, appears not to have had the same relevance as that invested in the analysis of the causes. The definition of dropping out is very sensitive to the context. In this article, we reach a purely empirical definition of student dropping out, based on the probability of not continuing a specific academic programme following several consecutive semesters of "theoretical break". Dropping out should be properly defined before analysing its causes, as well as comparing the drop-out rates between the different online programmes, or between online and on-campus ones. Our results show that there are significant differences among programmes, depending on their theoretical extension, but not their domain of knowledge.

¿Es eficaz especializar la actividad de tutoria? Análisis de una experiencia online

En un entorno online la actividad de tutoría de los estudiantes juega un papel fundamental. Su eje central es el acompañamiento del estudiante a lo largo del programa académico que curse, desde el momento en que muestra su interés en matricularse hasta que se titula. La literatura disponible sobre cómo organizar la actividad tutorial en entornos virtuales es escasa. En esta comunicación, basada en la experiencia de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), se analizan dos niveles de especialización de la acción tutorial online. En un primer nivel organizativo, se presenta y evalúa una especialización de la coordinación de la tutoría en función del tipo de conocimiento necesario para ejercerla, académico o administrativo. Esto genera una estructura organizativa de tipo matricial que aporta flexibilidad y conocimiento especializado a la actividad tutorial, y que es valorada muy positivamente por las partes implicadas. En un segundo nivel, se analiza la separación de dos tipos de tutoría especializadas, una de inicio y otra de seguimiento, en función de la antigüedad del estudiante tutorizado. Los resultados de los análisis cualitativos y cuantitativos realizados no permiten concluir que esta segunda forma de especialización contribuya claramente a la mejora de los objetivos de la función tutorial.

Evaluating teaching and management innovations in an online university: the case of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) is an online university that has innovation as a transversal feature in all its activities and processes. Therefore, innovation is present in the annual objectives of all the academic and management departments in order to increase student satisfaction. UOC stimulates innovation by funding strategic projects as well as organizing regular internal calls for small projects which brings about innovative academic and management proposals. In this paper we present the method for evaluating teaching and management innovations through internal calls (APLICA), by selecting which initiatives are suitable to become strategic innovative projects (INNOVA) or which features should compose any application available at the OpenApps platform. Besides, general indicators used by the Innovation Program to evaluate the activities carried out are also reported.

The tension between academic knowledge production and online peer production

Peer-reviewed

Associations between online pornography and sexual behavior among adolescents: myth or reality?

This study aimed to compare the sexual behavior of adolescents who were or were not exposed to online pornography, to assess to what extent the willingness of exposure changed these possible associations, and to determine the profiles of youths who were exposed to online pornography. Data were drawn from the 2002 Swiss Multicenter Adolescent Survey on Health, a self-administered cross-sectional, paper and pencil questionnaire. From the 7529 adolescents aged 16-20 years, 6054 (3283 males) used the Internet during the previous month and were eligible for our study. Males were divided into three groups (wanted exposure, 29.2%; unwanted exposure, 46.7%; no exposure, 24.1%) whereas females were divided into two groups (exposure, 35.9%; no exposure, 64.1%). The principal outcome measures were demographic characteristics, Internet use parameters and risky sexual behaviors. Risky sexual behaviors were not associated with online pornography exposure in any of the groups, except that males who were exposed (deliberately or not) had higher odds of not having used a condom at last intercourse. Bi/homosexual orientation and Internet use parameters were not associated either. Additionally, males in the wanted exposure group were more likely to be sensation-seekers. On the other hand, exposed girls were more likely to be students, higher sensation-seekers, early maturers, and to have a highly educated father. We conclude that pornography exposure is not associated with risky sexual behaviors and that the willingness of exposure does not seem to have an impact on risky sexual behaviors among adolescents.

Tradução online

Um desafio estratégico no mundo globalizado atual é superar a barreira da língua através da tecnologia. Na Europa, um projeto está avaliando e desenvolvendo uma plataforma que poderá traduzir a enorme quantidade de dados (orais e escritos) produzidos pelas pessoas, num processo chamado "tradução online". Conheça a seguir os detalhes do estudo.

Designing online interaction to address disciplinary competencies: A cross-country comparison of faculty perspectives

This study was conducted at colleges in three countries (United States, Venezuela, and Spain) and across three academic disciplines (engineering, education, and business), to examine how experienced faculty define competencies for their discipline, and design instructional interaction for online courses. A qualitative research design employing in-depth interviews was selected. Results show that disciplinary knowledge takes precedence when faculty members select competencies to be developed in online courses for their respective professions. In all three disciplines, the design of interaction to correspond with disciplinary competencies was often influenced by contextual factors that modify faculty intention. Therefore, instructional design will vary across countries in the same discipline to address the local context, such as the needs and expectations of the learners, faculty perspectives, beliefs and values, and the needs of the institution, the community, and country. The three disciplines from the three countries agreed on the importance of the following competencies: knowledge of the field, higher order cognitive processes such as critical thinking, analysis, problem solving, transfer of knowledge, oral and written communication skills, team work, decision making, leadership and management skills, indicating far more similarities in competencies than differences between the three different applied disciplines. We found a lack of correspondence between faculty¿s intent to develop collaborative learning skills and the actual development of them. Contextual factors such as faculty prior experience in design, student reluctance to engage in collaborative learning, and institutional assessment systems that focus on individual performance were some of these reasons.

Cómo definir tu estrategia de marca personal en los medios sociales

Definir una estratègia per a la nostra marca personal com a forma d’aproximació dels nostres valors, atributs i objectius cap al nostre públic objectiu és el plantejament d’aquest projecte. Amb aquesta finalitat es desenvoluparà una estratègia de comunicació digital, per l’actor català Albert Carbó, que comprengui les seves necessitats per arribar a complir amb els seus objectius.

La actividad de los medios tradicionales en las redes Google Plus y Linkedin

L'era 2.0 ha arribat als nostres dies i amb això, les xarxes socials ja formen part de la vida diària de molts habitants del planeta. Cada dia, milions de persones es connecten i interactuen a través d'elles amb la finalitat d'entretenir-se i informar-se. Tot això ha fet que molts mitjans de comunicació tradicionals hagin hagut de renovar-se per oferir als usuaris un servei que anys enrere ni es plantejaven i que en alguns casos els ha agafat desprevinguts. Per això, el present Treball Final de Carrera analitza l'activitat dels mitjans El País, El Mundo, La Vanguardia i El Periódico de Catalunya a les xarxes socials Google+ i LinkedIn. La popularitat, la interactivitat i la influència seran factors determinants per veure quin és el mitjà que realitza un millor ús d'aquestes xarxes socials, minoritàries, que guanyen terreny en el dia a dia.

Business Plan: proyecto de venta online de productos españoles para residentes en el extranjero

Es presenta un model de negoci de venda per Internet d’ aliments típics espanyols orientat principalment a les persones que han emigrat del nostre país. El motiu que dona lloc a aquest projecte no es altre que el constant increment de espanyols que decideixen buscar oportunitats fora del país, cosa que suposa una oportunitat de negoci. Per comprovar la sostenibilitat del projecte, es realitzarà un anàlisi de totes aquelles variables externes que pugin intervenir i afectar al desenvolupament de la activitat així com un estudi de mercat, un pla estratègic i un estudi financer que serveixi per assentar les bases d’un negoci que sens dubte està ple d’oportunitats.

Magazine publishers and their online strategies

It seems as if magazine publishers have only haphazardly listed multiple goals for their websites, and have not carefully reflectedon how to achieve them. We present a framework for defining a magazine's onlinestrategy based on previous studies and on secondary data from the industry. We identify three steps in the strategy process. The first is to determine whether the magazine would actually benefit from online presence: although most magazines will never make money from their websites, a web presence may still be justified. The second step is to choose an optimal online strategy that matches the magazine's competitive strategy. Finally, we argue that magazine publishers should carefully consider to what extent they should allow their readers to be involvedin the web pages. This interactivity could be seen as a key factor in exploiting the unique nature of the Internet. It is our understanding that virtual communities could, at best, be a way of creating more value for a magazine's readers, advertisers and editors, alike. We formulate a typology of five different onlinebusiness concepts for magazines based on these three strategic steps.

Efectos del diseño de la tienda virtual en el comportamiento de compra: tipificación del consumidor online

Cuando una empresa se decide a realizar una iniciativa comercial en Internet, al igual que en el mundo físico, es necesario definir un diseño adecuado del sitio web que se ajuste a su idea de negocio y a su público objetivo. El presente trabajo trata de analizar como influye el diseño del establecimiento virtual en el desarrollo de la gestión comercial, incidiendo en los siguientes aspectos: diseño gráfico, usabilidad y accesibilidad. A partir de este análisis, se estudian los distintos grupos de consumidores con comportamientos homogéneos y se posicionan en función de sus actitudes. El análisis también permite definir la calidad del servicio prestado por este tipo de establecimientos, así como las principales dimensiones en que se despliega. En las conclusiones se citan aspectos en los que el gestor de una tienda online debe incidir para mejorar la calidad de su servicio.

La gestión del supermercado virtual: tipificación del comportamiento del cliente online

Este artículo analiza diferentes elementos que influyen en el comportamiento de compra del cliente de un supermercado online. Estos elementos están relacionados tanto con aspectos estéticos del sitio web, como con los procesos que tienen lugar en el momento de realizar la compra. A partir de este análisis, se estudian los distintos grupos de consumidores con comportamientos homogéneos y se posicionan en función de sus actitudes. El análisis también permite definir la calidad del servicio prestado por este tipo de establecimientos, así como las principales dimensiones en que se despliega. En las conclusiones se citan aspectos en los que el gestor de un supermercado online debe incidir para mejorar la calidad de su servicio.