Research On Online Open Course Design And Development Model Based On The Theory Of Connectivism

Connectivism is a learning theory in the digital age and a theoretical basis for guiding learners to adapt to the development of the future era.At present,the research focus of online course design is shifting to the direction of enhancing interaction and promoting innovation.Exploring the curriculum design and development model of the specific practice of connectivism represented by cMOOC can provide new theoretical support for the design and development of online courses,which is also in line with the future development trend of distance education.In order to study the question of "how to design and develop online open courses with the guidance of the theory of connectivism ",this study divides the question into the following three sub-questions:(1)What are the characteristics of online open courses based on connectivism? What principles need to be followed in the design and development process?(2)What are the elements of an online open course based on connectivism? What are the characteristics of each element design?(3)What is the process of online open course design and development based on connectivism? What design points should be followed during design?Based on the research question,the literature review of connectivism was conducted from were summarized from the perspectives of knowledge,learning and course.It is found that connnectivist learning includes two learning objectives: "network construction" and "knowledge creation",with the characteristics of generative learning content and open curriculum form.After a detailed literature review on cMOOC,it is found that online courses based on connectivism have such characteristics as: distributed and networked learning forms,generative learning contents,interconnected and open learning environments,interactive learning activities,diverse identities and autonomous learners.Based on this,five design principles are put forward to guide the online course design of connectivism:(1)take "knowledge creation" and "network construction" as the core;(2)follow the four levels of interaction in connectivist learning during the course design;(3)follow the openness principle and provide space for the content generation of cMOOC;(4)learner-centered,taking into account the diversity and autonomy of learners;(5)follow the principle of predictability and iteration.Combined with the seven constituent elements of online courses: learning theme,learning resources,learning guidance,learning activities,learning support,learning evaluation and learning environment,a concept model of online course design based on connectivism is preliminarily constructed.Secondly,this study selected Change 11 MOOC as the case analysis object to explore the design features of the components of the cMOOC.The following design features are found : unstructured、newest and complicated learning theme;learning guidance for the purpose of transforming learning concepts and promoting connection;interactive learning activities with community characteristic;guiding and generative learning resources;connectivity and distributed learning environment;process-oriented learning support services;adaptive learning evaluation.Based on the above characteristics,the course design concept model based on connectivism is developed and improved.Next,this study designed and developed a series of cMOOC courses under the guidance of the curriculum design concept model,and collected the process data in the course construction.After three rounds of data analysis and summary,the design and development process of online open courses based on connectivism,which consists of three stages,was constructed:(1)the first stage is to carry out the overall design of the course,including determining the course theme,determining the course objectives and course positioning,detailing the module theme,designing the course learning time,and building the course team;(2)the second stage is the design and development of distributed and interconnected learning environment,including the design and construction of c-MOOC learning platform and the selection of appropriate media tools;(3)the third stage is the design and development of specific elements of the course,including two steps of "basic design and development in the early stage of the course" and "redesign and development during the course operation".Six dimensions of learning resources,learning support services and learning evaluation are launched.Finally,combined with the results of action research,the author summarizes and abstracts the design points that should be followed in the process of design and development of online open courses based on connectivism.In general,the course design and development based on connectivism is a dynamic iterative process throughout the whole stage of course design and implementation,which embodies the openness principle of the curriculum design of connectivism.This research enriches and develops the theory of online course design,and summarizes a set of operation modes that can apply connnectivist learning into practice.Eventually,a curriculum design and development model based on connectivism including three parts: design concept model、design and development process and its design essentials.It provides specific operation guidelines for researchers and practitioners of connectivism,and also provides a series of typical cases for the specific practice of cMOOC in China.