Learning analytics research in China： A review of Chinese journal publications （2007-2017）

Menglei Li， Shuang Li and Xinyi Shen

Learning analytics， one of the hot issues in educational technology research， has been developing rapidly in the last decade. This study aims to depict the development of learning analytics research between 2007 and 2017 in China using the research instruments of bibliometrics， visual analytics and content analysis. 204 articles about learning analytics published during 2007-2017 in five key journals， including China Educational Technology and Distance Education in China， were analyzed and reviewed in terms of research type， annual high frequency keywords， researchers and their institutions， research data， technology and tools used in research， and main research topics. Four development trends were identified： first， changing from a technology- and data-driven approach towards education needs-driven one； second， data collection tending to be diversified， multimodal and with high quality； third， more and more cross-disciplinary and technology-integrated， and fourth， learning analytics playing a bigger role in every aspect of education. It is hoped that such a depiction of ten years learning analytics research can provide reference for future practice and studies.

Keywords： learning analytics； education data； big data in education； bibliometrics； visual analytics； content analysis； development trend

An empirical study on the influence mechanism of teacher trainees learning behaviors in online education

Lei Chen

In the big data era with education transformation driven by data analytics， it can be of great research value to construct， through educational data mining， related models of teaching variables and explore the influence mechanism of learners behaviors. This study focuses on the teacher trainees in a provincial MOOC platform. Using online data analysis tools and learning analytics technology such as raw data integration， clustering structure transformation， visualization， regression analysis and so on， this study analyzed through data mining the online records of the platform and the learners learning behaviors from three dimensions： resources usage， search words relevance analysis and interactive block relevance， aiming to formulate the influence mechanism of these trainees learning behaviors. The findings can provide reference for quantitative evaluation of online learning behaviors， effectiveness of these behaviors and learning support services.

Keywords： online education； quadrant； learning behavior； data mining； dimension； regression analysis； interactive block； relevance； optimization

Exploring four decades of research in Computers & Education

Olaf Zawacki-Richter and Colin Latchem

A content analysis of abstracts and titles of 3，674 full papers in Computers & Education published between 1976 and 2016 was conducted in order to identify and analyze： a） their thematic and conceptual flow， b） how these reflected the evolving technologies and theories and c） how the research topics and concepts semantically related to each other. Abstracts and titles can be considered appropriate for such conceptual analysis since they are lexically dense and focus on the core issues presented in articles. Based on a relational concept analysis using a text-mining tool， the study revealed that over the course of these 40 years， the articles progressed through four distinct stages， reflecting major developments in educational technology and theories of learning with media： the advancement and growth of computer-based instruction （1976-1986）； stand-alone multimedia learning （1987-1996）； networked computers as tools for collaborative learning （1997-2006）； and online learning in a digital age （2007-2016）. The paper concludes by suggesting that such mapping and analysis of the literature in this and other fields of educational technology， including non-English language journals， books and conference proceedings， can provide a valuable overview of research and scholarship for communities of practice and inquiry around the globe.

Keywords： educational technology； research； content analysis； text-mining

The positioning dilemma of community education in China

Zunmin Wu and Hua Zhao

Community education （CE）， as an important part of the national strategic plan for education development and reform， has been drawing greater and greater attention. Accelerating CE development and deepening CE reform has been playing a more and more significant role in promoting citizenship literacy， innovating social governance and purifying social environments. However， three dilemmas have been the bottleneck for CE development： first， lack of governmental legal definition； second， lack of effective financial mechanism； and third， lack of channels for professional development. This study concludes that CE legalization should be accelerated， educational channels for CE professionals development should be normalized， and a steady financial mechanism should be implemented.

Keywords： community education； legalization； financing； teaching professionals； education plan

A flat structured teaching and management mode： The case of Beijing Open University

Chunyin Li and Sicong You

In order to cope with the long-tailed program enrolments and loosely scattered management structure， a flat structured teaching and management mode needs to be reconstructed to promote the development of open and distance education. Adopting a learner-centered quality-oriented approach， this brand new flat mode should be targeted at an innovative structure， cross-leveled， cross-regional and cross-branched， and supported by an effective online teaching environment， a well-organized team， quality digital learning resources and personalized learner support， so as to enhance learning interaction， resources convenience， immediacy and effectiveness of learning support. This new mode can better satisfy leaners needs and follow the development of “the Internet + education”.

Keywords： open university； flat structured； teaching and management； online interaction； team operation； course development and application； support service

（英文目錄、摘要译者：刘占荣）