Team Three’s Initial Summary of Virtual, Mixed, and Augmented Reality Delivered through Coursera and Our Approach to Critical Inquiry
Created by Rebecca Coyle, Nicole Croft, Michal Gerov & Shazia Khokhar
As part of LRNT 526, we were tasked to critically analyze a learning event on a topic delivered through a learning technology of our choosing.
Learning Event and Delivery Technology
As our learning event, we selected the “Virtual, Mixed, and Augmented Reality” module, the second module in a larger course called “New Technologies for Business Leaders” through Coursera, as the delivery technology. The module is designed for business leaders and explores the latest trends and applications of virtual, mixed, and augmented reality in various industries.
As a team, we have chosen Coursera, a global online learning platform offering paid and free course content, as our delivery technology. Coursera is a learning platform that offers Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) across different fields, including business, technology, the arts, and humanities. Learners can take courses for free or pay a fee to earn a verified certificate or even a degree. Moreover, it is a versatile tool that can meet various needs, including providing skills and credentials for employment or educational purposes, improving personal knowledge, and building capacity by expanding on prior knowledge or new interests.
Background Readings and Summary of what we Learned
Collectively, we conducted background research on various MOOC tools, such as LinkedIn Learning and Coursera, to better understand online learning platforms. We also had the opportunity to talk through the pros and cons of different media, drawing on the prior experience of some team members with micro-credentialing. We also discussed different topics of interest for each member to narrow down where we wanted to focus. Our research and discussions allowed us to identify the most suitable MOOC tool for our project, with accessibility, cost, and user experience as our key considerations. We identified that the high cost of some platforms, such as LinkedIn Learning, was a significant barrier to accessing their courses. After careful consideration, we decided to use Coursera as our learning platform because group members have previously had positive experiences using it, providing the flexibility and free access we sought. Our research helped us better understand online learning and the features we sought in a platform. After determining our learning platform, we decided to focus on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) based on previous readings and group members’ experiences and interests.
| Reading/Research | Relevance |
| Selwyn, N. (2010). Looking beyond learning: Notes towards the critical study of educational technology. Journal of computer assisted learning, 26(1), 65-73. | Looks at the micro, meso and macro levels of educational technology. Draws on a critical approach to gain perspective on technology-based education and pedagogy. |
| Fawns, T. (2022). An Entangled Pedagogy: Looking Beyond the Pedagogy—Technology Dichotomy. Postdigital Science and Education, 4(3), 711–728. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-022-00302-7 | Discusses the relationship between pedagogy and technology and introduces An “entangled pedagogy” as an aspirational way to understand the complexity of this unique dichotomy. Fawns highlight technologically and pedagogically deterministic as false dichotomies that emphasize instructors’ values over learner outcomes. |
| Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/ LinkedIn Learning: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/ | Our background research included looking at LinkedIn and Coursera and viewing different courses on both platforms. |
| Chin, M. (2021, January 29). University will stop using Proctorio remote testing after student outcry . The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/28/22254631/university-of-illinois-urbana-champaign-proctorio-online-test-proctoring-privacy | Provided background information on learner privacy concerns in regard to online learning and assessment. |
| Digital Footprint offered by The University of Edinburghhttps://www.coursera.org/learn/digital-footprint | This course teaches how to manage your digital footprint effectively, including developing an online presence, managing privacy, networking, and balancing personal and professional presences. |
| Teaching Children with Visual Impairment: Creating Empowering Classroomshttps://www.coursera.org/learn/teach-children-with-visual-impairment | This course teaches skills for creating inclusive classroom environments for visually impaired children, including curriculum differentiation strategies. |
| Leveraging Mentions and Threads in Slackhttps://www.coursera.org/projects/leveraging-mentions-and-thread-in-slack | This course teaches how to optimize organizational communications using Slack. |
| Understanding Research Methods – University of Londonhttps://www.coursera.org/learn/research-methods | This course equips learners with the essential knowledge and skills to conduct research at a postgraduate level by breaking down research methods through rigorous discussions and exercises. |
| Learning to Teach Onlinehttps://www.coursera.org/learn/teach-online#modules | This course teaches educators how to design and deliver effective online courses by incorporating educational technology and drawing on their own teaching strengths and experiences. |
Critical Inquiry
Based on our research, we will explore content, delivery, assessment, and accessibility and answer the following questions as we participate in the Coursera course:
- How can learning be assessed and measured?
- How can virtual, mixed, and augmented reality be effectively applied in various industries to improve learning outcomes?
- Is Coursera’s delivery of digital learning effective? Can it be implemented in training, the workplace or within education effectively?
- Is it more beneficial for learners to have a comprehensive assessment at the end of a course rather than separate assessments at the end of each module, and how does this approach aid learning?
- What features are present or available in Coursera to lower barriers required for engagement?
- In what ways are learners motivated to complete course activities and achieve course outcomes?
- How are the privacy and security of learners safeguarded using Coursera and virtual and augmented realities?
We invite other teams to comment or ask questions regarding our chosen learning event and delivery technology. We will consider the feedback of others as we move toward the critical inquiry of our chosen technology.
04/26/2023
Thanks everyone for this valuable feedback. We have really appreciated it as it helped us form a new plan for our research and presentation.
04/22/2023
Team 3, Coursera is an excellent platform to study as part of your critical inquiry; there are many aspects to it and it has a long history as well as evolution from the original “connectivist” MOOCs over the past two-plus decades. It’s helpful that some of you have already engaged with the platform and that will be helpful as you conduct your exploration. You’ve identified some good questions for a critical inquiry and I’d suggest as a next step to select from the list the ones that are most feasible for study within the confines of the course timeline. You have a lot of good topics here – narrow them down and you’ll save a lot of time and also sharpen the focus of your team’s study.
04/27/2023
Hi Irwin, Coursera is interesting for sure; it’s strange to think of MOOCs as being over 20 years in existence, and yet digital micro-learning still seems like a recent learning modality. I have only begun to explore some of the history, and I can see how there is potential to cover too much rather than “sharpen the focus.” I like this term, thanks again for the valuable feedback.
04/20/2023
Thanks for your thorough thoughts regarding your Coursera course.
I agree with Gill’s previous comment; your questions are relevant and engaging, but perhaps you are trying to tackle too much for a critical inquiry. Think about delving into one of your four listed topics (assessment, content, delivery, accessibility); it could be more manageable.
I am looking forward to seeing what you uncover!
04/27/2023
Appreciate your comments Terry, yes we really want to be able to explore each topic and it’s tricky when there are so many interesting areas to explore. We are moving forward by reducing our scope, and when we started grouping questions together some really clear themes began to emerge. I am looking forward to seeing where this one takes us. I have also found Coursera to be quite engaging so far in what we have explored, I’ll be noting some of those features later on. Thanks again!
04/19/2023
Hi, Team 3- What an interesting course to take.
You have quite a few questions to address here, but can you answer them all as learners? There is a lot to cover, you may want to consider lightening the load/ scope. Maybe it is just me, but there looks like more than what you’ll be able to cram into 10 minutes.
I am also curious how you define effectiveness as that word comes up a few times. When you say learners- are you referring to the team and your experience, or are you referring to learners in general?
I am stoked to see what you come up with and hear about your experiences with the course. Also, I am interested to hear about the course content and if it is worth taking! Good luck!
04/27/2023
Thanks for the comments Gill; the next module about cryptocurrency also seems interesting; I’ll probably finish it when my time frees up a tad.
We are exploring grouping some of our questions and reevaluating to ensure we give each question enough time; we look forward to sharing our final product! Effectiveness as described by Veletsianos (2021) asks if students are meeting established learning goals and objectives? This is a fairly straightforward way to evaluate “effectiveness”, that will both work in our context and can be measured easily. Identifying details such as this will be important for the framework we are looking at. I appreciate the thought-provoking discussion.
References
Veletsianos, G. (2021, May 31). OTESSA 2021 (Congress) Keynote – effectiveness, efficiency, engagement. Where’s equity? https://www.veletsianos.com/2021/05/31/otessa-2021-congress-keynote-effectiveness-efficiency-engagement-wheres-equity/