Research Grant: Automated Analysis of MOOC Discussion Content to Support Personalised Learning, K. Falkner, Google MOOC Focused Research Awards. ($50,000 US) (2015-2016)

Discussion forums or communities form a significant component of many MOOCs and the interaction between MOOC participants is essential in assisting their learning. However, participants reportedly struggle with the overwhelming abundance of information and the requirement of self-directed learning common within MOOC environments, making it difficult to identify useful discussion content and contribute effectively.

The workload required to manage the magnitude of existing discussions in any massive participant environment, along with the fact that discussions may develop around any course topic at any point in time, makes it difficult for teaching staff to effectively focus their attention and support for learners. The objective of this research is to develop an open-source discussion analytics platform to assist in personalised learning at large scale, containing a suite of analysis and visualisation tools, and operating on discussion data imported from the discussion forums or communities associated with MOOCs.