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MoocCast: evaluating mobile-screencast for online courses

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Abstract

The progressive adoption of smartphones and interconnected devices is inspiring students to redesign their physical spaces toward a seamless shift between daily life and learning activities. In the last years, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) represent one of the key resources facilitating universal access to education as they enable students to learn across formal and informal contexts. However, there is little research exploring these alternative ways to present the content offered to learners in MOOCs for improved accessibility from personal contexts. This work presents the first study evaluating mobile-screencast technology as a means to facilitate learning processes in online courses. The contribution from this manuscript is threefold: First, preferred learning spaces for students enrolled to accomplish the activities in a MOOC are identified; second, mobile-screencast is evaluated as a solution for improved accessibility in online courses; third, an open tool for mobile-screencast and initial results from a formative evaluation are presented. This tool can be reused and adapted in further MOOC implementations. Finally, lessons learned are discussed and cues for future implementations are challenged.

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Notes

  1. Release of the main screencast technologies to the market: Google Chromecast/July 2013; Roku/March 2013; Apple TV January 2013.

  2. Google Chromecast. http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/.

  3. Roku streaming stick. http://www.roku.com/products/streaming-stick.

  4. APPLE TV streamcater. http://www.apple.com/appletv/.

  5. Google Cast SDK. https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/reference/.

  6. MoocCast in Google Play. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ounl.mooccaster.

  7. MoocCast source repository: https://github.com/btabuenca/Android/tree/master/workspaceMediaPlayer/MoocCast.

  8. Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities a voluntary open-ended partnership for international agencies, governments, businesses, academia, local authorities, nongovernmental organizations and individuals.

  9. Marine Litter MOOC portal: https://www.marinelittermooc.org/.

  10. Marine Litter MOOC APP. Released in October 2015. More than 400 downloads in Google Play. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ounl.btb.mooccaster&hl=en.

  11. Smartphone sales. Gartner Press release. May 19, 2106. http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3323017.

  12. Google Chromecast development kit—https://developers.google.com/cast/.

  13. Vimeo video repository. https://vimeo.com/.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Faculty of Management, Science and Technology of the Open University of The Netherlands.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Sistemas Informáticos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Calle de Alan Turing, s/n, 28031, Madrid, Spain

    Bernardo Tabuenca

  2. UNESCO Chair of Open Education, Faculty of Management, Science and Technology and Welten Institute, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, The Netherlands

    Marco Kalz

  3. Faculty of Management, Science and Technology, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, The Netherlands

    Ansje Löhr

Authors
  1. Bernardo Tabuenca
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  2. Marco Kalz
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  3. Ansje Löhr
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Correspondence to Bernardo Tabuenca.

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Tabuenca, B., Kalz, M. & Löhr, A. MoocCast: evaluating mobile-screencast for online courses. Univ Access Inf Soc 17, 745–753 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-017-0528-x

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