Citizen Science: The Ring to Rule Them All?
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Authors
Van Biljon, Judy
Van der Merwe, Ronell
Issue Date
2018
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
E-learning , learning analytics , data science , citizen science
Alternative Title
Abstract
There are many uncertainties about the future of e-Learning, but one thing is certain: e-Learning will be more data-driven in the future. The automation of data capturing, analysis and presentation, together with economic constraints that require evidence-based proof of impact, compels this data focus. On the other hand, the importance of community involvement in learning analytics and educational data mining is an accepted fact. Citizen science, at the nexus of community engagement, and data science can bridge the divide between data-driven and community-driven approaches to policy and content development. The rationale for this paper is the investigation of citizen science as an approach to collecting data for learning analytics in the field of e-Learning. Capturing data for policy and content development for learning analytics through citizen science projects is novel in the e-Learning field. Like any other new area, citizen science needs to be mapped in terms of the existing parent fields of data science and education so that differences and potential overlaps can be made explicit. This is important when considering conceptual or functional definitions, research tools and methodologies. A preliminary review of the literature has not provided any conceptual positioning of citizen science in relation to the research topics of learning analytics, data science, big data and visualisation in the e-Learning environment. The intent of this paper is firstly to present an overview of citizen science and the related research topics in the academic and practitioner literature based on a systematic literature review. Secondly, we propose a model that represents the relationship between citizen science and other salient concepts and shows how citizen science projects can be positioned in the e-Learning environment. Finally, we suggest research opportunities involving citizen science projects in the field of e-Learning.
Description
Citation
Ronell van der Merwe and Judy van Biljon (2018) Citizen Science: The Ring to Rule Them All? ICEL 2018 13th International Conference on e-Learning. Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa, 5-6 July 2018, p 471
Publisher
Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited