“There’s no turning back technology and how it’s going to impact our relationship with our students, and how our students relate to the material,” said Natalie Solverson, UW-L director of institutional research.
Both Hoar and Solverson will research last winter’s MOOC. Officials hope to have a preliminary report ready by December, in time for the national MOOC Research Conference at the University of Texas in Arlington. Research is scheduled to finish by April.
UW-L researchers will be able to track every quiz, every assignment, every click from last year’s pilot, comparing MOOC students from a wide a variety of backgrounds to see how they performed, Hoar said.
Students ranged in age from 11 to 85. Some signed up for the refresher in college-level math. Others came out of curiosity, or to learn enough geometry and algebra to help with homework, Hoar said.
“There was a wide range of reasons why people wanted in,” Hoar said. “That’s one of the things we’re going to try to break down.”
Researchers will compare a student’s performance with his background and reasons for taking the class, Solverson said.
“We can start looking at how those patterns might come together,” Solverson said.
The university developed the MOOC pilot with grant funding, but has continued to offer the free online course. People can still sign up for the summer-fall MOOC currently in session or for future classes on the university’s website.
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