Design patterns for promoting peer interaction in discussion forums in MOOCs

Design patterns are a way of sharing evidence-based solutions to educational design problems. The design patterns presented in this paper were produced through a series of workshops, which aimed to identify Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) design principles from workshop participants’ experiences of designing, teaching and learning on these courses. MOOCs present a challenge for the existing pedagogy of online learning, particularly as it relates to promoting peer interaction and discussion. MOOC cohort sizes, participation patterns and diversity of learners mean that discussions can remain superficial, become difficult to navigate, or never develop beyond isolated posts. In addition, MOOC platforms may not provide sufficient tools to support moderation. This paper draws on four case studies of designing and teaching on a range of MOOCs presenting seven design narratives relating to the experience in these MOOCs. Evidence presented in the narratives is abstracted in the form of three design patterns created through a collaborative process using techniques similar to those used in collective autoethnography. The patterns: “Special Interest Discussions”, “Celebrity Touch” and “Look and Engage”, draw together shared lessons and present possible solutions to the problem of creating, managing and facilitating meaningful discussion in MOOCs through the careful use of staged learning activities and facilitation strategies.

Phylogeny of South American Pogonieae (Orchidaceae, Vanilloideae) based on sequences of nuclear ribosomal (ITS) and chloroplast (psaB, rbcL, rps16, and trnL-F) DNA, with emphasis on Cleistes and discussion of biogeographic implications

Tribe Pogonieae (Orchidaceae), as Currently known, comprises live genera distributed from South to North America and Eastern Asia. Phylogenetic inferences within Cleistes and among genera of tribe Pogonieae were made based oil nrDNA (ITS) and cpDNA (trnL-F, rps16, rbcL, and psaB) Sequence data and maximum parsimony. Eighteen species of Cleistes, members of all other genera of Pogonieae, and outgroups were sampled. Analyses based oil individual DNA regions provided similar topologies. All evidence indicates that Cleistes is paraphyletic. The North American C. divaricata and C bifaria are more closely related to the temperate genera Isotria and Pogonia than to their Central and South American congeners, the latter Constituting a monophyletic group characterized by the production of nectar as reward, tuberous roots, and their distribution in Central and South America. The Amazonian Duckeella is sister to the remainder of Pogonieae. Taxonomic and biogeographic implications are discussed, and morphological synapomorphies are given For clades obtained in the inferred molecular phylogeny. (C) 2008 Gesellschaft fur Biologische Systematik. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Two new species of Loricariidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes) from main channels of the upper and middle Amazon Basin, with discussion of deep water specialization in loricariids

Hemiancistrus pankimpuju, new species, and Panaque bathyphilus, new species, are described from the main channel of the upper (Maranon) and middle (Solimoes)Amazon River, respectively. Both species are diagnosed by having a nearly white body, long filamentous extensions of both simple caudal-fin rays, small eyes, absence of an iris operculum and unique combinations of morphometrics. The coloration and morphology of these species, unique within Loricariidae, are hypothesized to be apomorphies associated with life in the dark, turbid depths of the Amazon mainstem. Extreme elongation of the caudal filaments in these and a variety of other main channel catfishes is hypothesized to have a mechanosensory function associated with predator detection.

Is the unfolding of the group discussion off-pattern? Improving coordination support in educational forums using mobile devices

A forum is a valuable tool to foster reflection in an in-depth discussion; however, it forces the course mediator to continually pay close attention in order to coordinate learners` activities. Moreover, monitoring a forum is time consuming given that it is impossible to know in advance when new messages are going to be posted. Additionally, a forum may be inactive for a long period and suddenly receive a burst of messages forcing forum mediators to frequently log on in order to know how the discussion is unfolding to intervene whenever it is necessary. Mediators also need to deal with a large amount of messages to identify off-pattern situations. This work presents a piece of action research that investigates how to improve coordination support in a forum using mobile devices for mitigating mediator`s difficulties in following the status of a forum. Based on summarized information extracted from message meta-data, mediators consult visual information summaries on PDAs and receive textual notifications in their mobile phone. This investigation revealed that mediators used the mobile-based coordination support to keep informed on what is taking place within the forum without the need to log on their desktop computer. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Discussion of Globalization Theories - Through International Consumer Perceptions

Globalization has developed more and more within the business world as well as private life during the last decades. Globalization has influenced the way companies are conducting business and their approach towards the consumers which can have an influence on their way of purchasing. Consumers nowadays have more than ever the possibility to get involved and gather experiences from abroad, as well as companies are taking advantage of this globalization. Within this thesis the following question will be discussed: Do consumers see the value companies try to create for them with an identical offer the same way in different markets? This idea is based on Theodore Levitt’s theory of globalization which comprises standardization of an offer since consumer needs are homogenizing globally. Douglas & Wind instead state that segmentation with adaptations is necessary to fulfill all consumer needs. Within this elaboration the question whether standardization is accepted and liked by the consumers is discussed and analyzed by including an empirical research. This research is based on Zeithaml’s model of the Perceived Quality Components, which was the fundamental base behind formulating the survey questions. These were submitted in Germany, the Republic of Ireland and Sweden to be able to discuss and visualize how the consumers of these different markets perceive different aspects of a company’s offer. One particular company, which is seen as doing business globally, was chosen as a test object. Based on the test object Lidl - which consumers were questioned about in the survey - it was possible to conduct a comparison of consumers’ general expectations against components of Lidl’s offer such as price, weekly specials, product range, etc. where differences and similarities between the three countries of Lidl’s fulfillment of these expectations were achieved. They were analyzed to discover to which extent globalization is present. Resulting from the comparison it was concluded that nowadays segmentation is important but developing with time globalization seems to increase in significance. Recommendations for further research about topics which were omitted due to limited resources are presented.

Principles of High Quality Documentation for Provenance: A Philosophical Discussion

Computer technology enables the creation of detailed documentation about the processes that create or affect entities (data, objects, etc.). Such documentation of the past can be used to answer various kinds of questions regarding the processes that led to the creation or modification of a particular entity. The answer to such questions is known as an entity's provenance. In this paper, we derive a number of principles for documenting the past, grounded in work from philosophy and history, which allow for provenance questions to be answered within a computational context. These principles lead us to argue that an interaction-based model is particularly suited for representing high quality documentation of the past.

"Vox Populi, Vox Dei" - A Discussion of Dissent Within the Modern Catholic Church

The final question is: what happens in the meantime? Is it effective to dissent while conservatives hold power and clearty are not about to make any major changes? What good does it do to repeatedly bang one's head against the wall when progress is not being made? There is no one simple answer to this question, but rather several applicable ones. The first possible answer is that dissent currently does little good. The conservative hierarchy is still the dominant force within Catholicism. This hierarchy has made a habit, evidenced by the birth control debate, of pressing its conservative agenda despite popular opposition. Many people think, that if this hierarchy has not given in to the mass of opinion against it yet, dissent is futile and useless. Why argue with someone who does not listen to your argument?

The BoP approach and its links to main related research fields: sense-making of the current discussion

A Base-da-Pirâmide (Base ofthePyramid- BoP) é referida na literatura como sendo o segmento sócio-econômico mais baixo em termos de paridade do poder de compra. Esse segmento encontrase geralmente excluído do sistema capitalista global. Esta tese analisa o tema BoP e discute dentro de um contexto sócio-econômico, como essa abordagem se relaciona com outras áreas de pesquisa, assim como a teoria do desenvolvimento internacional e a teoria de negócios internacionais. Estas duas teorias são identificadas como tendo uma relação mais forte com BoP. No que se segue, a abordagem BoP é incorporada nessas duas teorias com o objetivo de tornar este conceito mais claro e abrangente. Seguindo este raciocínio a abordagem BoP vem identificar contribuições no tocante a cada uma dessas abordagens teóricas. O argumento principal da tese é que a abordagem BoP é capaz de ligar essas duas teorias (teoria do desenvolvimento internacional e a teoria de negócios internacionais) em um só modelo teórico, mostrando assim que essas duas abordagens teóricas distintas podem na realidade serem complementares.

A recepção do gênero romance na escola: práticas de leitura e formas do trabalho docente

Ce travail se propose de discuter, dans les domaines de la linguistique appliquée, focalisés dans l enseignement-apprentissage de la langue maternelle, les processus didactique-pédagogique avec lesquels se construisent, interactivement, et s organisent les pratiques de lecture et d écoute du genre roman, en tant qu objet enseigné, dans le contexte du cours de langue portugaise. On cherche ici, spécifiquement, à décrire et à interpréter les différentes manières utilisées par l enseignante pour apprendre la lecture et l écoute du roman Le Petit Prince, d Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, et, par conséquent, la réception de ce genre du discours par les apprenants, résultat des échanges interactifs entre l enseignante et les apprenants pris dans le processus de transposition de savoirs à propos de ce genre. La condition d existence de ces échanges se trouve dans les procédures didactiques de l enseignant lorsqu il propose aux apprenants des activités de la lecture et de l écoute des textes. Dans ce contexte, le corpus dont nous nous occupons se constitue des enregistrements en vidéo, audio et prises de notes dans les carnets de classe des cours de Portugais, pour la période scolaire de 2005, avec un groupe de 5ème année de la formation fondamentale d une école publique fédérale de Belém (PA). Du point de vue théorique-methodologique, nous nous inspirons des contributions de Moita-Lopes (2003) et Geertz (2006), surtout à ce qui concerne la conception et les procédures de constitution et traitement des données selon les présupposés de la recherche ethnographique. Encore du point de vue théorique et pour ce qui concerne l analyse des données, nous utilisons les contributions de Bakhtin (2003), sur les études énonciatif-discoursifs sous une conception dialogique du langage, les contributions issues des domaines des études appliquées et des études en didactiques de langues, dans la section de Psychologie et Sciences de l Éducation de l Université de Genève, coordonnée par Schneuwly, Dolz et ses collaborateurs (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 et 2005) envisageant la construction de l objet enseigné par moyen d instruments didactiques, et, finalement, Rojo (2001 et 2002), et sa discussion sur l apprentissage des capacités de lecture essentielles à la formation du lecteur et producteur à l école. L analyse des données obtenues nous a permis de relever la façon utilisée par le professeur pour enseigner le genre roman, mettant en relief l apprentissage de la lecture par les apprenants à travers les instruments didactiques capables de le faire devenir l objet enseigné

Educar para a vida: uma pedagogia da resiliência na escola

Cet étude et thème de dissertation est devenue nécessaire a partir des inquiétudes d éducateur et des pratiques pédagogiques développées aux classes d éducation physique au tour nocturne à l École Municipale Prof. Veríssimo de Melo, dont les élèves sont des jeunes et adultes que habitent au quartier Felipe Camarão. Ces jeunes cohabitent avec le stigmate de la violence que est toujours présente dans cette communauté, située a la région ouest de Natal. On peut trouvé parmi les élèves y matriculés des trajectoires de vie interrompues par facteurs de risque comme criminalité, des adolescentes enceintes et drogues. Ces faits interférent directement avec les procès d intégration sociale et augmentent la violence, reproduisant les cycles de pauvreté et ainsi, limitant les possibilités d ascension sociale. Les résultats des procédées pédagogiques utilisées pendant les classes ont montré la nécessité d approfondir cet étude problématisant cette réalité et, incitant par les pratiques corporelles et discussion, la réflexion sur des thèmes comme facteurs de risque, temporalité, projets de vie et auto-connaissance. En profitant de l intérêt de ces jeunes pour la langage cinématographique comme une façon de mettre en ouvre ces réflexions et rapportant leur connaissance formel avec le savoir et expériences du groupe on a décidé de produire un film court de 15 minutes sur le quartier, idéalisé et produit collectivement. Pour ça, ont a réalisé 10 classes-ateliers avec les élèves qui ont été connus comme « le groupe du cinéma ». Les ateliers pédagogiques qui sont ici, au même temps, référence de recherche et procédée pédagogique, réaffirment la notion de résilience: la capacité de l individu de transformer un obstacle, une adversité ou même une tragédie personnel dans une situation positive ou comme un renfort de ce que nous avons de meilleur. Dans ce sens, cet étude peut aider les professeurs de toutes les matières, que travaillent a l école publique et que se trouvent dans ce contexte, considéré vulnérable, surtout le professeur d éducation physique. Ce travail peut aussi devenir une référence pour aborder des concepts et valeurs que nos aideront à renouveler cette vision de monde étroite et déterministe, responsable pour la reproduction des cycles de pauvreté et violence. Cet étude a été fondée sur des auteurs comme Edgar Morin, Bóris Cyrulnik et Conceição Almeida parmi d autres