Peer recommender systems (PRS) in MOOCs have been shown to help re-ducing attrition and increase performance of those who use them. But who are the students using them and what are their motivations? And why are some students reluctant to use them? To answer these questions, we present a study where we implemented a chat-based PRS that has been used during a MOOC session involving 6,170 students. Our analyses indicate that PRS-users are students unsatisfied by other means of interactions already availa-ble (forums, social networks…), and that they seem to use it more to share emotions than to learn together, or to assess their progression against their peers.

1. Who wants to chat on a MOOC?
Lessons from a peer recommender system
François Bouchet, Hugues Labarthe, Rémi Bachelet & Kalina Yacef
Download this slideshow : https://goo.gl/JVoNYnMay 23rd, 2017, Madrid, Spain Read the paper online : https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01522736

2. Previous papers @eMOOCs
• eMOOCs 2015
– Does peer grading work? Comparing instructor and peer assessment
– Do MOOC students come back for more? Recurring Students
• eMOOCs 2016
– Increasing MOOC completion : social interactions
• eMOOCs 2017 (tomorrow 12:00)
– Who wants to chat on a MOOC? THIS PAPER
– Typology of MOOC activity patterns. Learners who never rest?
• ongoing (QPES 2017 – french)
– Partnering with teachers running your MOOC : paper and workshop
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3. Peer Recommendation in a MOOC
• Technology and tools:
– Recommender systems (RS) help in e-learning to choose classes
to follow, resources to read… (Manouselis et al. 2011, Klašnja-
Milićević, Ivanović & Nanopoulos 2015)
– Peer recommender systems (PRS) help on social networks, dating
websites…
• Problem:
– Attrition plagues MOOC, but students interacting with each other
have better odds to get certified (Yang, Wen & Rose, 2014) and
collaboration helps (Ferschke et al. 2015)
Solution ? A PRS for MOOCs
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4. Can a PRS help students in a MOOC?
• Yes! (Labarthe et al. 2016) on GdP6
– Increased performance
– Dropout rate reduced and happens later (if at all)
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PRS widget
in GdP6
Chat widget
in GdP6

5. Can a PRS help students in a MOOC?
• Yes! (Labarthe et al. 2016) on GdP6
• But not many use it… Why?
– Who to contact?
• Choosing can be overwhelming
• Solution: contact a group and not a single person
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6. Can a PRS help students in a MOOC?
• Yes! (Labarthe et al. 2016) on GdP6
• But not many use it… Why?
– Who to contact?
– Why are these persons suggested to me?
• Hidden algorithm parameters for experimental reasons:
random vs. sociodemography vs. progress – small benefit for socio
(Bouchet et al. 2017)
• Solution: show the recommendation strategy and let the students choose
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7. A redesigned PRS on GdP8 & 9
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Minimized by default,
click to expand
(bottom right-hand corner)

8. A redesigned PRS on GdP8 & 9
8
Blinks + sound
when a message is received

9. A redesigned PRS on GdP8 & 9
9
A click expands the PRS & chat
2-in-1 module
Show the list of threads one has created
or been invited to

10. A redesigned PRS on GdP8 & 9
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A click expands the PRS & chat
2-in-1 module
Show the list of threads one has created
or been invited to
Message creator Date of creation
Number of
messages
in the thread
First message in the thread

11. A redesigned PRS on GdP8 & 9
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A click on a thread opens it,
revealing the messages
in antichronological order
One can read messages
and contribute

12. A redesigned PRS on GdP8 & 9
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Or add someone as a favorite,
in the third tab

13. A redesigned PRS on GdP8 & 9
13
Where one can contact again
someone already known, individually

14. A redesigned PRS on GdP8 & 9
14
The second and central tab allows
to create a new discussion thread
with a group of 20 persons, chosen:
• Randomly
• Based on sociodemographics similarities
(4 questions asked the first time)
• Based on progress in the MOOC
(as shown by quizzes)

15. A redesigned PRS on GdP8 & 9
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When clicking on either button,
one chooses the topic of the conversation
(in a non restrictive list of hashtags)
and the initial message to send

16. Who wants to chat and benefits from the PRS?
Can a PRS help students in a MOOC?
• Yes! (Labarthe et al. 2016) on GdP6
• But not many use it… Why?
– Who to contact?
– Why are these persons suggested to me?
– Not everyone wants to chat…
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?

17. Research questions
1. How much did students use the provided PRS in GdP8?
2. What were the differences between students using and
not using the PRS?
3. Why did some people not want to use the PRS?
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18. Methodology: students sample
• PRS deployed on the
specialization modules
(week 4-7)
• N = 6,170 students who
logged in at least once on
this separate platform
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19. • PRS log data, 3 levels of involvement:
– opening/closing of the PRS
– opening of a discussion thread in the PRS
– sending of a message in a thread
• Research questionnaires, 7 variables considered (Likert scales):
– GoalBetterThanOthers
– FearOfBeingJudged
– WillToShareFeelings
– WillToInteractToLearn
– PerceivedSocializationUsefulness
– PerformedSocialization
– LackContactWithOthers
Methodology: data collected & treatment
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For each variable:
• Aggregation (when
multiple questions)
• Dichotomization
(removing
intermediate value)
Multiple Pearson’s
Chi-squared tests
H0 : « the use of the
PRS is independent
from each variable »

20. Result 1: use of the PRS
• 3025 (49.03%) students opened the PRS
• 570 (9.24%) opened a thread
• 206 (3.34%) sent a message
A minority of users:
– comparable to typical use of forums in MOOCs
– lower than in platforms encouraging conversational learning (e.g.
FutureLearn)
Sample large enough for inferential statistical analyses
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21. Result 2: PRS users vs. non-users
• Main motivation: sharing
feelings, more than learning
with others
• Fear of being judged:
important factor for not using
a PRS
• Used by students who were
already using other
socialization tools
• Also used by those lacking
contact with others
(sometimes the same ones)
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Opened
the chat
Opened a
thread
Sent a
message
GoalBetterThanOthers **
FearOfBeingJudged * **
WillToShareFeelings *** *** ***
WillToInteractToLearn *
PerceivedSocialization
Usefulness
*** *** ***
PerformedSocialization *** *** ***
LackContactWithOthers *** *** ***
* p<.05, ** p<.01, *** p<.001

22. Result 3: reasons of the PRS non-users
1631 students who did not use it:
– 718 have not seen it
– 406 do not remember whether
they had seen it or no
– Others: (7 possible reasons)
• mostly a lack of question to ask
• preference for forums (to reach
more? Used to the tool?)
• positive result: more ready to
contact others in the future
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23. Discussion
• ¼ of PRS non-users had no relevant question + PRS users
want to share feelings
PRS is used to reassure oneself and to assess progress of others
• Hypothesis consistent with the fact participants who feared
judgment of others opened threads as much as those who
did not fear judgment, but sent significantly less messages
– lurking behavior ?
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24. Conclusion
• A peer-recommender system:
• can help MOOC students
• is used by specific type of students
• fills a gap (no competition with available means of communication)
• seems to be used indirectly to compare oneself to others
 should a dedicated tool be developed for that?
• Limits & perspectives:
• Only during the second half of the MOOC: previous attrition, students most
interested might have dropped off before  GdP9 experiment (from day 1)
• {{todo}} Final grade not correlated
• Content of discussions not analyzed here
• Tool currently embedded in MOOC  towards an open source widget?
• EdRecSys2017@UMAP2017 Bratislava next July : Comparing peer recommendation
strategies
• Perspective : implementation on a larger scale  done now
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25. Thanks for listening!
• Twitter : @R_Bachelet, Googleplus : +Rémi Bachelet
Read the paper online : https://hal.archives-
ouvertes.fr/hal-01522736