Abstracts
Abstract
In Saudi Arabia, gender-segregation is a known issue within higher education that often deprives female tutors from providing online learning and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). As well, students may not be getting the benefit of their experience and teaching. The purpose of this study is to develop an Avatar tool to represent a female tutor in a MOOC course with the aim of alleviating the issues of a gender-segregated society in online learning. This project will undertake and analyse a case study concerning the experience of females teaching a MOOC course on “Rwaq” the first Saudi Arabian platform, which was launched in September 2013. The literature on gender-segregation and education technology is reviewed. As an example, gender-segregated in higher education and online learning in Saudi Arabia, Virtual Learning Environments (VLE), Avatar technology in higher education, and finally the adoption of an Avatar tool in MOOCs platforms in SA are examined. One of the objectives of the study is to develop a social interaction environment with learners in online learning within MOOCs. The ultimate objective of this study is to examine if this Avatar tool could alleviate issues of gender-segregation for female lecturers in online learning courses within MOOCs in higher education in Saudi Arabia.
Keywords:
- online learning,
- MOOCs,
- Avatar,
- Rwaq,
- Saudi Arabia
Appendices
Bibliography
- Adham, R. & Lundqvist, K. (2015). MOOCs as a method of distance education in the Arab world - A review paper. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-learning, 18(1), 123-138
- Adham, R., Lundqvist, K. & Parslow, P. (2016). The use of avatars in gender segregated online learning within MOOCs in Saudi Arabia. Global Learn, 2016, 86-93
- Baki, R. (2004). Gender-segregated education in Saudi Arabia: Its impact on social norms and the Saudi labor market. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 12(28).
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 , 77-101.
- Christensen, C. M., Horn, M. B., & Johnson, C. W. (2008). Disrupting class: How disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
- Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2017). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage.
- Dede, C. (2004). Distributed-learning communities as a model for educating teachers. In Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 3-12). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
- Fabri, M., Elzouki, S. Y. A., & Moore, D. (2007, July). Emotionally expressive avatars for chatting, learning and therapeutic intervention. In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 275-285). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
- Fekula, M. J. (2010). Perpetual enrollment online courses: Advantages, administration, and caveats. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 13,(1).
- Garland, D., & Martin, B. N. (2005). Do gender and learning style play a role in how online courses should be designed. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 2, 67-81.
- González, M. A., Santos, B. S. N., Vargas, A. R., Martín-Gutiérrez, J., & Orihuela, A. R. (2013). Virtual worlds. Opportunities and challenges in the 21st century. Procedia Computer Science, 25, 330-337.
- Graham, C. R., Allen, S., & Ure, D. (2005). Benefits and challenges of blended learning environments. In Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, (1st ed.; pp. 253-259). IGI Global.
- Gulati, S. (2008). Technology-enhanced learning in developing nations: A review. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 9.
- Hamalainen, R. (2008). Designing and evaluating collaboration in a virtual game environment for vocational learning. Computers & Education, 50, 98-109.
- Hartmann, T., Fischer, M., & Haymaker, J. (2009). Implementing information systems with project teams using ethnographic-action research. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 23, 57-67.
- Jamaludin, A., Ho, C. M. L., & Chee, Y. S. (2007). Argument-based negotiation and conflict resolution through enactive role play in second life. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications, 162, 561.
- Leckey, J., & Neill, N. (2001). Quantifying quality: The importance of student feedback. Quality in Higher Education, 7, 19-32.
- Liyanagunawardena, T. R., Adams, A. A., & Williams, S. A. (2013). MOOCs: A systematic study of the published literature 2008-2012. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 14, 202-227.
- Liyanagunawardena, T., Williams, S., & Adams, A. (2013). The impact and reach of MOOCs: A developing countries' perspective. eLearning Papers, 33. Retrieved from http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/32452/1/In-depth_33_1.pdf
- Messinger, P. R., Stroulia, E., Lyons, K., Bone, M., Niu, R. H., Smirnov, K., & Perelgut, S. (2009). Virtual worlds—past, present, and future: New directions in social computing. Decision Support Systems, 47, 204-228.
- Nowak, K. L., & Rauh, C. (2005). The influence of the avatar on online perceptions of anthropomorphism, androgyny, credibility, homophily, and attraction. Journal of Computer ‐ Mediated Communication, 11, 153-178.
- Oestreicher, K., Kuzma, J., & Yen, D. (2010). Avatar supported learning in a virtual university. Worcester Journal of Learning and Teaching, (4), 1-8.
- Onsman, A. (2011). It is better to light a candle than to ban the darkness: government led academic development in Saudi Arabian universities. Higher Education, 62, 519-532.
- Rwaq (2015, October 10). Rwaq (Blog post). Retrieved from https://www.rwaq.org/articles
- Salant, P., & Dillman, D. (1994). How to conduct your own survey. Wiley.
- Savin-Baden, M., & Major, C. (2013). Qualitative research: The essential guide to research and practice. London: Routledge.
- Stopher, P. (2012). Collecting, managing, and assessing data using sample surveys. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Subbian, V. (2013, March). Role of MOOCs in integrated STEM education: A learning perspective. In Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 2013 IEEE (pp. 1-4). IEEE.
- Universities UK. (2013). Massive Open Online Course, Higher Education digital moments? Universities UK, London. Retrieved from http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Documents/2013/MassiveOpenOnlineCourses.pdf
- Yin, R. K. (2009). How to do better case studies. In L. Bickman & D. Rog (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of applied social research methods (pp. 254-282). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.