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PurposeThis paper examines the pedagogical features of massive open online courses (MOOCs) for language learning–known as language MOOCs. The mainstream pedagogy of MOOCs typically involves the provision of short videos and reading materials for self-study; discussion forums, mostly for peer-to-peer interaction on course content; and machine-graded quizzes for self-assessment. For language learning, which has been conventionally understood as skill development, the pedagogical features of relevant MOOCs have yet to be comprehensively surveyed.Design/methodology/approachThis study surveyed a total of 123 language MOOCs from the major MOOC platforms. The pedagogical features shown in these courses were identified and categorised according to the types of course materials and learning activities as well as the participation of learners and instructors.FindingsEnglish was the most common language taught in the courses. Over 80% of the courses took not more than six hours to complete. Most of these courses followed the typical approach of xMOOC delivery, with video watching, reading and auto-graded assessment being the most common learning activities. Less than half of the courses included discussion as part of learning, and instructors were involved in less than 30% of the discussion.Originality/valueThe findings show that, despite the technological advances in course delivery, current language MOOCs do not differ substantially from conventional distance language learning. Yet, the utilisation of computer-assisted language learning technology and the massive student base of MOOCs for creating a virtual social community are opportunities for developing learners' language proficiency on this learning environment.

Purpose Open online courses have expanded opportunities for people to learn remotely. However, few online experiences offer participants ways to create projects and actively engage with course materials while developing meaningful personal connections with one another. The purpose of this paper is to share strategies implemented in a large online course and community, Learning Creative Learning (LCL), to foster a creative, connected community of learners, particularly important at a time when many people are isolated in their homes. Design/methodology/approach LCL is a free, open, online, six-week course and ongoing community for educators and others who are interested in exploring the ideas and practices of creative learning. This paper describes the course design and highlights effective strategies for cultivating a course community, including making activities personal; creating opportunities to connect, share and reflect; engaging participants as facilitators; and supporting a global, multilingual community of learners. Findings The authors discuss how these strategies have engaged participants in connecting and contributing to the growing course community, providing examples from observations and feedback of course participants. Originality/value Supporting a connected community of learners is particularly relevant in current times of isolation and remote learning. This paper illustrates and discusses strategies to design online learning experiences where participants can connect, create, collaborate and contribute to community building themselves.

PurposeThe cost of course materials to the individual student has increased over the past decade, contributing to educational inequity. Open educational resources (OERs) may be a solution and research validates their positive impact on student success outcomes (Colvardet al., 2018; Feldsteinet al., 2012). Few studies, however, examine the role that library collections play in addressing course materials cost and student success. This paper aims to investigate whether materials costs are a significant factor in course pass rate and whether the library has a positive impact on pass rates.Design/methodology/approachUsing required texts listed in syllabi for select undergraduate courses at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), the authors compare course materials costs for each course to the pass rate. The authors then measure the impact of course materials cost on the achievement gap between Pell Grant eligible and non-eligible students.FindingsThis study confirms previous research indicating that reduced course materials costs have a measurable impact on student success, in that the total minimum cost of required materials has a statistically significant effect on the percentage of students who pass a course. However, course reserves slightly increase the disparity between high-income and low-income students, suggesting that course reserves are a less effective way of supporting the latter compared to OERs.Originality/valueThis study is unique in examining the effect of the cost of course materials on students, regardless of the source of cost reductions. Most literature focuses on the qualitative efficacy of OERs instead of measured impact or the relationship between the cost of course materials and student success. The authors investigate the connection between OERs, library engagement and student success.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a reciprocal peer review approach that resembled the scholarly peer review process using the Moodle e-learning system. The authors investigated interrelations among engagement in providing peer feedback, engagement in responding to peer feedback, learner-content interaction and learning outcomes. Design/methodology/approach An experimental intervention study was designed. A total of 45 students who enroled in an undergraduate research methods course completed the assigned project. Reciprocal peer review was adopted, in which the participants provided a peer review report on a randomly assigned peer’s research proposal. Subsequently, participants revised and submitted their proposal along with a response letter that highlighted the revisions. Findings This study highlights that the engagement in providing peer feedback exerts an indirect effect on learning outcomes through learner-content interaction. Learner-content interaction fully mediates the causal relationship between engagement in providing peer feedback and learning outcomes. Practical implications Learner-content interaction fully mediates the causal relationship between engagement in providing peer feedback and learning outcomes. Thus, e-learning practitioners who engage in peer review should first construct high-quality course materials to enhance learning outcomes. Originality/value Learning outcomes can be enhanced if there is a high level of engagement in providing peer feedback among learners. However, learner-content interaction fully mediates the positive effect of engagement in providing peer feedback on learning outcomes. Furthermore, engagement in providing peer feedback will enhance the learner’s motivation to intensify his or her learning from the course material.

Purpose Following is an overview of the open and affordable textbooks (OAT) program, strategies for outreach, as well as discuss approaches that faculty awardees have taken to designing their courses. This paper aims to address a couple issues such as the effectiveness of open educational resources (OER) resources, the process of creating OER resources and how faculty and instructors have updated their courses and adjusted their pedagogy. Design/methodology/approach This paper describes five cases where the faculty adopted open pedagogy. They include a general chemistry course, psychiatry clerkship, microbiology lab, a medical Spanish course and a radiology elective in a medical school. Findings The use of open pedagogy promotes two things: up-to-date resources and practical experience. Since the creation of the Rutgers OAT program, faculty and instructors have been rethinking how they teach their courses. Students enjoy the content more and faculty loves the increase in engagement. As the program continues to grow, the creativity fostered by open pedagogy improves education for everyone involved. Originality/value The paper offers a general overview of an effective open and affordable program at a public research university. It demonstrated the effectiveness of the program while also offering examples of novel course materials for interested librarians and faculty. It opens the possibility from just finding resources to creating them and how they improve education.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce a survey instrument to measure three components of students’ perceptions of open and affordable course materials – quality, integration, and experience – and discuss its reliability and predictive validity. Design/methodology/approach The authors distributed an end-of-semester online survey to students enrolled in sections of 12 courses that adopted OER in Fall 2016, as well as conducting a within-interview survey with the instructors of those courses. The authors calculated the descriptive statistics from the responses to the student survey, as well as examining the inter-item and inter-rater reliability of the instrument. Finally, explored correlations in the data gathered through both the student and faculty surveys were explored. Findings The authors found that both students and faculty were generally pleased with the quality and experience of using open and affordable digital materials. The authors also found that our three survey subscales had strong inter-item reliability, and that the quality and experience subscales had predictive validity in terms of whether students would choose a traditional or digital text in future courses. Originality/value In addition to providing evidence in terms of the full survey instrument’s reliability and predictive validity, factor analysis indicates that a short scale of quality and experience Likert scale items could be used by practitioners to effectively assess satisfaction of digital materials among traditionally aged undergraduate students.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to survey the factors which facilitate effective teaching through massive open online courses (MOOCs). Design/methodology/approach A descriptive meta-analysis was conducted to first examine the literature covering the characteristics of teaching in MOOCs, the profile of participants, the instructional design of course materials and/or the course assessment methods – and then to summarise the factors which are conducive to the teaching effectiveness of MOOCs. A random sample of MOOCs was then reviewed to sort out the extent to which the factors can be identified in these courses. Findings The factors leading to effective teaching of MOOCs revolve around six areas according to the stages of course delivery, namely, preparation, attraction, participation, interaction, consolidation and post-course support. They address the application of technology to achieve educational purposes, while coping with the potentials and constraints of the MOOC environment. In practice, however, existing MOOCs show varying degrees of the implementation of the factors. Research limitations/implications As this is an exploratory study summarising and categorising the factors, further work should be done, in particular on the proper adoption of these factors in teaching, their effectiveness and ways of assessing such effectiveness. Originality/value The factors identified will help institutions and academics who plan to offer MOOCs to be aware of how teaching can be best delivered to promote effective student learning.

This paper describes a small research project undertaken in a technical college in Qatar on the use of iPads in the classroom. iPads were trialed for a semester each in mathematics and physics classes; students completed pre- and post-surveys. Classroom observations were carried out and interviews were conducted with both faculty (N=3) and students (N=19). Over 80% of students reported positively on the iPad as being “helpful” to “very helpful” for learning new things and course materials, for increasing their interaction with online course materials and getting course information and for exploring additional material related to course topics. Faculty perceptions of iPad use in class were also positive.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there are common conceptions of high performance organizations (HPOs) among business in South Africa and Tanzania. This is important to know because their perceptions will not only influence the nature and scope of topics, syllabi and course materials used in teaching, but will also influence the priority of organizational decisions which are going to be made by the students when they are managers. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by means of a questionnaire from a sample of 357 second and third year business students who were asked to rate the 35 items contained in the HPO Framework (Waal, 2012) on a seven-point Likert-scale. Findings – Factor analysis revealed that South African and Tanzania business students put priority on three of the original five HPO factors: continuous improvement and renewal, long-term orientation, high quality management, comprising 16 of the original 35 HPO characteristics. A bivariate correlation between the HPO factors and Hofstede’s dimensions of cultural values revealed a significant relationship between the HPO factor long-term orientation and three of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, for both cultures. Originality/value – The value of the study is that it adds to the HPO literature by focussing on cultural implications and Hofstede’s dimensions. The answer to the research question are there similarities or differences among business students from South Africa and Tanzania in their perceptions of what the priority should be in regard to strengthening specific characteristics in the HPO Framework? is affirmative: yes, there are differences in high performance priority-setting per country and these differences can be explained by cultural differences. The findings of this study thus form a basis for the understanding of the effects of national cultures on the creation of HPOs.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the development and delivery of a self‐management and peer support intervention for people with severe mental health diagnoses.Design/methodology/approachThere was a gap in the provision of a self‐management intervention designed and delivered by people with psychiatric diagnoses. In total, 24 people with the experience of severe mental ill‐health took part in developing the model and course materials for a new self‐management intervention. A three‐stage intervention was designed: two‐day training, six follow‐up sessions, and on‐going peer support.FindingsBetween 2009 and 2012, over six hundred participants across Wales were trained. In total, 35 of the new courses and 27 of the Bipolar UK courses have been delivered. Currently, 15 peer support groups are still meeting regularly and many people are receiving on‐going support. At present, the effectiveness of the intervention is being evaluated; data are being collected at baseline, and at six and 12‐month follow‐up.Originality/valueMost self‐management strategies developed in the past have been focused on physical health conditions and developed and delivered by clinicians. This new self‐management intervention is based on the needs and experiences of the target beneficiaries. It was developed and is being delivered by people who have a psychiatric diagnosis, and have come through the training themselves.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present evidence that academic and school libraries can serve users by offering readings in phone‐compatible files, and describe how to use readily available tools to cleanly and effectively format various types of documents for mobile devices.Design/methodology/approachA survey was made of a variety of utilities for preparing texts to accommodate mobile reading and the products were tested on several types of phones – from the least sophisticated to popular smartphones.FindingsCell phones are effective, convenient appliances for use as text readers. Though US subscribers have been slower than others to embrace their phones as readers, a fast‐growing segment of users is doing so. Course materials traditionally offered as reserves can easily be made available to students on a device that is familiar and comfortable.Practical implicationsFurnishing content in relevant formats increases user convenience and positions libraries to respond to technological change. Providing readings on mobile phones is a move toward the mainstream of today's networked mobile environment.Social implicationsIn the USA, people of color and youths have led others in internet access by phone. Libraries, in acknowledging the primacy of mobile devices in people's information universe and providing them with genuinely usable texts, can claim a place in users' pockets, as the commercial sector has already done.Originality/valueThe techniques presented in this paper are within the capabilities of all libraries and can dramatically broaden their service profile, enabling them to bring materials to readers in new, perhaps unexpected ways.

Provides a critical overview of the introduction of the Postgraduate Diploma/Master of Science course in Information and Library Studies, in online distance learning mode, by the School of Information and Media at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. Includes some initial observations on the success of the distance learning approach, and on the implications of directing, and interacting with, students by remote, largely electronic means. Student response to the course materials and to the communications media utilised are discussed critically, in particular in terms of interaction, involvement and isolation. Also examines the nature of the status and personal circumstances of the students being attracted by the distance learning mode.

Focuses on some official courses, organised at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and at the University of Antwerp, in Belgium, that are all related to information literacy, mainly focusing on information retrieval. The following components of the courses and of the course materials are presented: a brief overview of the contents of each course, which is made available through the WWW in the official framework organised by the university; a document for each course, with an overview of the contents, the aims, and the evaluation procedure; a series of slides related to the course contents; questions, tasks, problems, practical exercises for the students; case studies to be carried out by each student as part of the evaluation procedure; an extensive bibliography about the subjects covered in the courses; and communication with students using electronic mail.

The introduction of sophisticated information technology to higher education is now forcing faculty and administrators to reexamine the traditional allocations of ownership interests in course materials. This article has been prepared to alert educators and administrators in higher educational institutions to the issues surrounding ownership of electronic course materials. In particular, the article focuses on the allocation of copyright ownership in electronic course materials as between faculty and their sponsoring institutions. While copyright laws vary somewhat from country to country, basic ownership issues will be common to nearly all copyright regimes. Drawing on US copyright law as an example, the article briefly reviews relevant copyright basics, the work made for hire doctrine, and options for contractual allocations of copyright. The article concludes by laying out a series of criteria that should be considered in formulating an institution’s intellectual property policy.

The Interactive Open Learning Centre and Media Archive at the Open University Library is a collection of OU‐produced audio‐visual materials. The archive is being enhanced by the cross‐campus provision of online access to a showcase of locally‐ and externally‐produced multimedia software, and (as part of Carnegie Mellon University's Informedia project) by the creation of a automatically‐indexed collection of digital OU TV broadcasts. The OU plans to create a digital archive not just of its video materials, but also of its copyright photographs and printed course materials, as it works towards the establishment of a hybrid library.

Assesses the potential of the Internet for delivering course material. Believes that the Internet will play a prominent role in education.

Reviews the lessons learned from the evaluation of the pilot of Project Business (UK), a new programme from Young Enterprise. Suggests that major successes of the programme included involvement on the part of all course participants, approval for course materials, student learning about economic issues and personal benefits for teacher and business partners. Highlights three main challenges for Young Enterprise: programme content, differentiation and management. Discusses the problems of managing these sorts of innovatory programmes at a distance to ensure that aims, ways of working and outcomes achieved are those designed for the project rather than those more locally designed. Overall the pilot was a success and more programmes of this sort are needed to enable young people to engage in a critical discourse about the world of business.

The ELINOR electronic library system is a well integrated, fully functioning system implemented at De Montfort University in 1993. The system currently contains the full contents of some 35 000‐page course materials assisting the teaching and learning of one undergraduate course. The core software for the system is PixTex/EFS, a free text retrieval system with well integrated imaging functions. A usage statistics collection and management subsystem and a printing control subsystem were developed in‐house later for copyright management and other management purposes. This paper presents the various aspects of the ELINOR electronic library system including its database, browsing, searching, printing, document capturing, managing, architecture, the user aspect, and the pros and cons of the system.

Authors or designers of international education projects are faced with a major responsibility for assuring that any given project is not simply an attempt to transplant materials, techniques, structures and information from one country to another. The entire operation of the project must be adapted to meet the needs and cultural styles of the recipient country. This requires more than a superficial retreading or facelifting. The adaptation of course materials is only one of several areas needing adaptation which will occur as part of a project. This report discusses only course adaptation, but many of the ideas may apply equally well to other project areas.