Authors:
Lisa Michael
and
Irene-Angelica Chounta
Affiliation:
Colaps Research Group, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany
Keyword(s):
Online Learning, Course Design, Engagement, Exploratory Study, Logfile Analysis.
Abstract:
In this paper, we explored the impact of course design elements that aim to support and sustain students’ engagement during a 12-week online course. The course we analyzed targeted higher education, master-level students of Computer Science and Educational Technologies, and took place fully online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The course was facilitated by a Learning Management System (LMS), and due to
the circumstances, the instructor’s primary goal was to motivate students to actively participate during the course’s duration. To that end, the instructor implemented a course design focused on integrating elements
such as interactive activities, short quizzes, hidden “easter eggs,” and real-time webinars. To study the impact of these elements on students’ activity, we carried out an exploratory analysis of students’ activity as recorded by the log files of the LMS and the qualitative feedback that students provided to the instructor. Our results suggest that the course’s design suppo
rted sustaining students’ engagement. The level of students’ activity varied for the learning materials and resources, but we confirmed a high usage of the quizzes over the course’s duration.
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