Karmijn van de Oudeweetering, Jeremy Knox, Mathias Decuypere
{"title":"Problematizing feedback loops: ‘on’, ‘with’, and ‘beyond’ analytics dashboards in MOOCs","authors":"Karmijn van de Oudeweetering, Jeremy Knox, Mathias Decuypere","doi":"10.1080/17439884.2023.2264188","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTThis paper examines the enactment of feedback in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), focusing on analytics dashboards. Building on scholarship that recognizes data practices as entangled and ‘messy’, the paper problematizes the model of the feedback loop that assumes that analytics dashboards ‘feed back’ data to instructors and/or learners through a singular flow of data processing. By setting out an empirical study that focuses on four MOOCs, in two universities and on two platforms, the paper maps where, when, and how design teams, instructors, and learners are involved in the enactment of feedback through and beyond analytics dashboards. The findings draw on visualizations that highlight complex relations among people and technologies, which include multiple ‘loops’. The paper concludes with questioning the need to capture feedback in a singular loop and suggests prioritizing continued attention to the roles and responsibilities of people – educational designers, instructors, and learners – in MOOCs.KEYWORDS: Analytics dashboardsfeedbackMOOCstopologydata infrastructures AcknowledgmentsWe want to thank Lizzy Garner-Foy, Rachael Mfoafo, and other members of the Online Course Production Service at the University of Edinburgh, and Lien Castelein, Elke Van der Stappen, Jeroen Buntinx, and Kenny Verbeke of the MOOC Team at the KU Leuven for their contributions. We would also like to thank the instructors of ‘Beer: The Science of Brewing’ and ‘Sustainable Business Models’, including Casper Van Cleemput, and the instructors of ‘Climate Solutions’: Dave Reay and Erika Warnatzsch. Furthermore, we would like to thank the learners, including Carol Lewis, Richard Nyoni, Wei Wenyang, Ines Kadangwe, and Alina Liapota. Last but not least, a big thanks to the anonymous contributions of learners, instructors, and staff members.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) under Grant K208722N.","PeriodicalId":47502,"journal":{"name":"Learning Media and Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Learning Media and Technology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2023.2264188","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACTThis paper examines the enactment of feedback in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), focusing on analytics dashboards. Building on scholarship that recognizes data practices as entangled and ‘messy’, the paper problematizes the model of the feedback loop that assumes that analytics dashboards ‘feed back’ data to instructors and/or learners through a singular flow of data processing. By setting out an empirical study that focuses on four MOOCs, in two universities and on two platforms, the paper maps where, when, and how design teams, instructors, and learners are involved in the enactment of feedback through and beyond analytics dashboards. The findings draw on visualizations that highlight complex relations among people and technologies, which include multiple ‘loops’. The paper concludes with questioning the need to capture feedback in a singular loop and suggests prioritizing continued attention to the roles and responsibilities of people – educational designers, instructors, and learners – in MOOCs.KEYWORDS: Analytics dashboardsfeedbackMOOCstopologydata infrastructures AcknowledgmentsWe want to thank Lizzy Garner-Foy, Rachael Mfoafo, and other members of the Online Course Production Service at the University of Edinburgh, and Lien Castelein, Elke Van der Stappen, Jeroen Buntinx, and Kenny Verbeke of the MOOC Team at the KU Leuven for their contributions. We would also like to thank the instructors of ‘Beer: The Science of Brewing’ and ‘Sustainable Business Models’, including Casper Van Cleemput, and the instructors of ‘Climate Solutions’: Dave Reay and Erika Warnatzsch. Furthermore, we would like to thank the learners, including Carol Lewis, Richard Nyoni, Wei Wenyang, Ines Kadangwe, and Alina Liapota. Last but not least, a big thanks to the anonymous contributions of learners, instructors, and staff members.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) under Grant K208722N.
期刊介绍:
Learning, Media and Technology aims to stimulate debate on digital media, digital technology and digital cultures in education. The journal seeks to include submissions that take a critical approach towards all aspects of education and learning, digital media and digital technology - primarily from the perspective of the social sciences, humanities and arts. The journal has a long heritage in the areas of media education, media and cultural studies, film and television, communications studies, design studies and general education studies. As such, Learning, Media and Technology is not a generic ‘Ed Tech’ journal. We are not looking to publish context-free studies of individual technologies in individual institutional settings, ‘how-to’ guides for the practical use of technologies in the classroom, or speculation on the future potential of technology in education. Instead we invite submissions which build on contemporary debates such as: -The ways in which digital media interact with learning environments, educational institutions and educational cultures -The changing nature of knowledge, learning and pedagogy in the digital age -Digital media production, consumption and creativity in educational contexts -How digital media are shaping (and being shaped by) educational practices in local, national and global contexts -The social, cultural, economic and political nature of educational media and technology -The ways in which digital media in education interact with issues of democracy and equity, social justice and public good. Learning, Media and Technology analyses such questions from a global, interdisciplinary perspective in contributions of the very highest quality from scholars and practitioners in the social sciences, communication and media studies, cultural studies, philosophy, history as well as in the information and computer sciences.