MOOC dropout prediction： A review of 24 Chinese and English articles

Yizhou Fan， Min Liu， Jiayu Ouyang and Qiong Wang

MOOC （Massive Open Online Course） is a course in the first place， which is why its completion and dropout rates have been top on the research agenda. Research into dropout prediction has enhanced our understanding of MOOCs. Nevertheless， we have yet to conduct a systematic review of research on this issue to gain a full picture of related findings and existing limitations and to identify directions for further research. In light of this situation， this paper aims to review high quality studies published in the last five years with the aim of answering the following three questions： Which prediction indexes are valid？ Which algorithmic models are more effective？ How do different models vary in terms of frugality and durability？ Findings concerning these research questions inform the discussion of possible methods， directions and foci of future research.

Keywords： MOOC （Massive Open Online Course）； learning analytics； dropout； prediction analysis； literature review

A comparative study on tuition fees in distance education

Dan Hao and Wenge Guo

Low tuition fee and low investment is a phenomenon characterizing traditional distance education in China. With the constant development of Internet technology and online education， it is argued that this ‘double low phenomenon has impeded pedagogical innovation and quality enhancement of Chinas distance education. This article involves seven Chinese distance education institutions （DEI） and four DEIs from the US， the UK， Canada and Australia respectively， comparing their tuition fees both in terms of absolute amount and relative amount. Results from these comparisons indicate that the tuition fees charged by the Chinese DEIs are the lowest both in absolute and relative amount. Implications of these findings for the development of distance education in China are also discussed.

Keywords： degree distance education program； tuition fee； degree fee； national income； radio and television university； online education school

The challenge of digital literacy： Beyond narrow skills to critical mindsets

Mark Brown

Most governments around the world are concerned about the need to increase the level of digital literacy amongst citizens. While digital skills are becoming increasing essential for successfully living， learning and working in the 21st Century this paper challenges narrow definitions of digital literacy. It compares and contrasts different understandings of digital skills， literacies or competencies and illustrates how the literature is littered with a plethora of flashy， flimsy and faddish models and frameworks often lacking explicit theoretical foundations. In critically reviewing a number of digital literacies frameworks across Europe， the United Kingdom （UK） and the United States （US） the paper identifies several inherent tensions. Firstly， it reveals a tension between fixed digital skills for todays needs and the fluid and rapidly changing nature of digital literacies in response to new societal and technological developments. Secondly， the paper identifies a tension between the conception of universal digital skills and the highly contextualised nature of digital literacies within complex cultural and institutional contexts. A third tension is a crucial distinction between developing functional digital skills for life， work and wider societal participation， as opposed to the transformative goal of promoting critical digital mindsets capable of reimagining and reshaping the uncomfortable reality of our inequitable， unjust and unsustainable societies. In this respect the discussion advocates a type of double vision： on one hand it recognises the near value of specific skills for living， learning and working in the digital-era； but on the other hand the paper encourages us not to lose sight of the far goal and transformative mission of digital literacies for active citizenry to help make and reshape our societies for better futures—for all. The objective from this transformative perspective is to raise greater critical awareness of the problematic nature of digital literacies and support deeper understandings of the powerful macro-level forces at play in the drive to produce more digitally skilled learners， workers and citizens.

Keywords： digital literacy； digital skills； digital competencies； model； framework； digital mindsets

Instructional interaction in distance learning： Research trends and issues of concern

Zhijun Wang， Terry Anderson， Li Chen and Yuwei Sun

This study set out to conduct a micro-level literature review of instructional interaction research and practice in distance learning， in particular online learning， with the aim of revealing new developments in the field. Put specifically， it focuses on the supporting environments for learner-content interaction （including serious games， learning artifacts and portfolios， video/audio podcasts， OERs， and MOOCs）， for learner-instructor interaction （including learning analytics， call centers， and Wikipedia）， and for learner-learner interaction （including collaborative learning and ‘out-of-class peer interaction）. The study also looks at issues of concerns for future research， namely representation and visualization of conceptual interaction， data mining-driven content-content interaction， social interaction in large-scale learner communities， AI-enhanced instructional interaction， and the structure of instructional interaction. Finally， it summarizes problems and challenges existing in previous research in such aspects as research topics， validity and reliability， data collection and analysis， cultural incongruence in the way research is conducted， and the particularity of instructional interaction research. It is hoped that findings from this study can promote research and practice of instructional interaction in distance learning.

Keywords： distance education； online learning； instructional interaction； research topic； research trend； information interaction

（英文目錄、摘要譯者：肖俊洪）