What is a MOOC?

A massive open online course (MOOC) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. In addition to traditional course materials such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, many MOOCs provide interactive user forums to support community interactions between students teachers.

MOOCs are a recent and widely researched development in distance education^[1] which was first introduced in 2008 and emerged as a popular mode of learning in 2012.^[2][3]

Early MOOCs often emphasized open-access features, such as open licensing of content, structure and learning goals, to promote the reuse and remixing of resources. Some later MOOCs use closed licenses for their course materials while maintaining free access for students.^[4][5][6][7] Robert Zemsky (2014) argues that they have passed their peak: “They came; they conquered very little; and now they face substantially diminished prospects.”^[8]

2012 became “the year of the MOOC” as several well-financed providers, associated with top universities, emerged, including Coursera, Udacity, and edX.^[2][33] Dennis Yang, President of MOOC provider Udemy has suggested that MOOCs are in the midst of a hype cycle, with expectations undergoing a wild swing.^[34] Dennis Yang, President of MOOC provider Udemy, later made the point in an article for the Huffington Post.^[36]

Many universities scrambled to join in the “next big thing”, as did more established online education service providers such as Blackboard Inc, in what has been called a “stampede.” Dozens of universities in Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia have announced partnerships with the large American MOOC providers.^[37][38] By early 2013, questions emerged about whether academia was “MOOC’d out.”^[34][39] This trend was later confirmed in continuing analysis.^[40]

A range of other global MOOC providers have emerged.

• FutureLearn
• Coursera
• OpenLearning
• edX
• Khan Academy
• Open2Study
• Peer to Peer University

This is a small list of providers and more can be found using an internet search engine.

Information on this post was taken from the MOOC Wikipedia page.

 

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