Abstracts
Abstract
The network is a key concept which has been highly valued in connectivism. Research about the static characteristics of social networks in connectivist learning has been carried out in recent years, however, little knowledge exists regarding the principles of network evolution from a dynamic perspective. This article chose the first connectivist massive open and online course (cMOOC) in China, “Internet plus Education: Dialogue between Theory and Practice” as the research object, using the dynamic analysis method of social networks which is based on stochastic actor-oriented models, to reveal the influence of the individual attributes and network structural attributes on the dynamic evolution of social networks in a cMOOC. We found that: 1) the learners with the same sex, the same social identity, and the same type of behaviour tendency found it much easier to interact with each other; 2) there is a heterogeneous phenomenon with course identity, meaning that compared to communicating with other learners, learners are more inclined to reply to a facilitator; and 3) the reciprocity and transitivity have significant effects on social network evolution. This study is valuable for understanding the network evolution and has implications for the improvement of cMOOC design, in turn improving the online learning experience for cMOOC learners.
Keywords:
- cMOOC,
- social network,
- SIENA,
- evolution,
- interaction,
- connectivism
Résumé
Le réseau est un concept essentiel qui a été fortement valorisé dans le connectivisme. Quelques recherches ont été menées ces dernières années sur les caractéristiques statiques des réseaux sociaux dans l'apprentissage connectiviste. Cependant, il existe peu de connaissances sur les principes d'évolution des réseaux d'un point de vue dynamique. Cet article a choisi le premier cours connectiviste de formation en ligne ouverte à tous (cMOOC) en Chine, "Internet plus Éducation : Dialogue entre la théorie et la pratique" comme objet de recherche, en utilisant la méthode d'analyse dynamique des réseaux sociaux qui est basée sur des modèles stochastiques orientés vers les acteurs, pour révéler l'influence des attributs individuels et celles des attributs structurels du réseau sur l'évolution dynamique des réseaux sociaux dans un cMOOC. Nous avons constaté que : (1) les apprenants ayant le même sexe, la même identité sociale et le même type de tendance comportementale trouvent qu'il est beaucoup plus facile d'interagir les uns avec les autres ; (2) il existe un phénomène hétérogène avec l'identité du cours, ce qui signifie que par rapport à la communication avec d'autres apprenants, les apprenants sont plus susceptibles de répondre à un facilitateur ; (3) la réciprocité et la transitivité ont des effets significatifs sur l'évolution des réseaux sociaux. Cette étude est utile pour comprendre l'évolution du réseau et a des implications pour l'amélioration de la conception du cMOOC, améliorant à son tour l'expérience d'apprentissage en ligne pour les apprenants du cMOOC.
Mots-clés :
- cMOOC,
- réseau social,
- SIENA,
- connectivisme,
- interaction,
- évolution
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