Indicators for Cooperative, Online-Based Learning and Their Role in Quality Management of Online Learning

Abstract

Learning is a constructive and social process that works best in interaction with others. From this perspective, interaction and cooperation are seen as essential for learning especially in online-based learning environments. The objective of this chapter is to propose and test indicators for cooperative online-based learning. The indicators focus on three areas: presence of participants (indicators: access index, access pattern index), participation of participants (reading index, contribution index, completion index), and interaction of participants (answer contribution index, connectivity index, reciprocity index). The indicators can be applied both to students and instructors. The indicators were applied to three online-based courses in higher education. Log data from the learning management system was used. Also, success rates, student evaluations, and workload analysis were conducted. Results show that the indicators can be calculated automatically and can provide meaningful information for students' and instructors' dashboards. The presented indicators are tailored to cooperative online-based learning environments, where interaction and cooperation are means of fostering higher levels of learning.