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<\/a> Figure 5.2.1 Making sense of MOOCs \u00a9 Giulia Forsythe, 2012 and JISC, 2012[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\r\n...nothing has more potential to enable us to reimagine higher education than the massive open online course ....For relatively little money, the U.S. could rent space in an Egyptian village, install two dozen computers and high-speed satellite Internet access, hire a local teacher as a facilitator, and invite in any Egyptian who wanted to take online courses with the best professors in the world, subtitled in Arabic...I can see a day soon where you\u2019ll create your own college degree by taking the best online courses from the best professors from around the world ....paying only the nominal fee for the certificates of completion. It will change teaching, learning and the pathway to employment.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\nMany others have referred to MOOCs as a prime example of the kind of disruptive technology that Clayton Christensen (2010<\/a>) has argued will change the world\u00a0of education. Others have argued that MOOCs are not a big deal, just a more modern version of educational broadcasting, and do not really affect the basic fundamentals of education, and in particular do not address the type of learning needed in a digital age.\r\n\r\nMOOCs can be seen then as either a major revolution in education or just another example of the overblown hyperbole often surrounding technology, particularly in the USA. I shall be arguing that MOOCs are a significant development, but they have severe limitations for\u00a0developing the knowledge and skills needed in a digital age.\r\n Activity 5.2<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n <\/p>\n Probably no development in teaching in recent years has been as controversial as the development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). In 2013, the writer\u00a0Thomas Friedman wrote in the New York Times:<\/p>\n ...nothing has more potential to enable us to reimagine higher education than the massive open online course ….For relatively little money, the U.S. could rent space in an Egyptian village, install two dozen computers and high-speed satellite Internet access, hire a local teacher as a facilitator, and invite in any Egyptian who wanted to take online courses with the best professors in the world, subtitled in Arabic…I can see a day soon where you\u2019ll create your own college degree by taking the best online courses from the best professors from around the world ….paying only the nominal fee for the certificates of completion. It will change teaching, learning and the pathway to employment.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Many others have referred to MOOCs as a prime example of the kind of disruptive technology that Clayton Christensen (2010<\/a>) has argued will change the world\u00a0of education. Others have argued that MOOCs are not a big deal, just a more modern version of educational broadcasting, and do not really affect the basic fundamentals of education, and in particular do not address the type of learning needed in a digital age.<\/p>\n MOOCs can be seen then as either a major revolution in education or just another example of the overblown hyperbole often surrounding technology, particularly in the USA. I shall be arguing that MOOCs are a significant development, but they have severe limitations for\u00a0developing the knowledge and skills needed in a digital age.<\/p>\n All MOOCs have some common features, although we shall see that the term MOOC covers an increasingly wide range of designs.<\/p>\n By 2019, Coursera<\/a> claimed over 35 million sign-ups\u00a0with its largest course claiming 240,000 participants. The huge numbers (in the hundred of thousands) enrolling in the earliest MOOCs are not\u00a0always\u00a0replicated in\u00a0later MOOCs, but the numbers are still substantial. For instance, in 2013, the University of British Columbia offered several MOOCs through Coursera, with the numbers initially signing up ranging from 25,000 to 190,000 per course (Engle, 2014<\/a>).<\/p>\n However, even more important than the actual numbers is that in principle<\/em> MOOCs have infinite scalability. <\/em>There is technically no limit to their final\u00a0size, because the marginal cost of adding each extra participant\u00a0is nil for the institutions offering MOOCs. (In practice<\/em> this is not quite true, as central technology, backup and bandwidth costs\u00a0increase, and as we shall see, there can be some knock-on costs for an\u00a0institution offering MOOCs as numbers increase. However, the cost of each additional\u00a0participant is so small,\u00a0given the very large numbers, that it can be more or less ignored). The scalability\u00a0of MOOCs is probably the characteristic that\u00a0has attracted the most attention, especially from governments, but it should be noted that this is also a\u00a0characteristic of\u00a0broadcast television and radio, so it is not unique to MOOCs.<\/p>\n At least for the initial MOOCs, access was<\/span> free for participants, although an increasing number of MOOCs are charging a fee for assessment leading to a badge or certificate or other fees<\/span>. For instance, in 2019 Coursera was charging between US$29-$99 per course.<\/span><\/p>\n There are no pre-requisites for participants other than access to a computer\/mobile device and the Internet. However, broadband access is essential\u00a0for MOOCs that use video streaming, which severely limits their potential for widening access to higher education in the least developed countries<\/span>.<\/p>\n There is another significant way in which MOOCs through Coursera and some other MOOC platforms<\/span> are not fully open (see Chapter 11<\/a>\u00a0for more on what constitutes ‘open’ in education).\u00a0Coursera owns the rights to the materials, so they cannot be repurposed or reused without permission, and the material may be removed from the Coursera site when the course ends. Also, Coursera decides which institutions can host MOOCs on its platform\u00a0– this is not an open access for institutions. On the other hand, edX is an open source platform, so any institution that joins edX can develop their own MOOCs with their own rules regarding rights to the material. cMOOCs are generally completely open,\u00a0but since individual participants of cMOOCs create a lot if not all of the material it is not always clear whether they own the rights and how long the MOOC materials will remain available.<\/p>\n Indeed, there are many other kinds of online material that are also open and free over the Internet, such as open textbooks and open educational resources<\/span>,\u00a0often in ways that are more accessible for\u00a0reuse than MOOC material\u00a0(see <\/a>Chapter 11<\/a>)<\/a><\/a>.<\/p>\n MOOCs are offered at least initially wholly online, but increasingly institutions are negotiating with the rights holders to use MOOC materials in a blended format for use on campus. In other words, the institution provides learner support for the MOOC materials through the use of campus-based instructors. For instance at San Jose State University,\u00a0on-campus students used MOOC materials from Udacity courses, including lectures, readings and quizzes,\u00a0and then instructors\u00a0spent\u00a0classroom time on\u00a0small-group activities, projects and quizzes to check progress (Collins, 2013<\/a>). More variations in the design of MOOCs will be discussed in more detail in Section 5.3<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Again though it should be noted that MOOCs are not unique in offering courses online.\u00a0In 2017, there were<\/span>\u00a06.3 million<\/span> students in the USA alone taking online courses for credit<\/em>, as part of regular degree programs (Seaman et. al, 2018<\/a>).<\/p>\n One characteristic\u00a0that distinguishes MOOCs from most other open educational resources is that they are organized into a whole course. However, what this actually means for participants is not exactly clear. Although many MOOCs offer certificates or badges for successful completion of a course, to date these have not in most cases<\/span> been accepted for admission to universities or <\/span>for advanced standing or credit, even (or especially) by the institutions offering the MOOCs.<\/p>\n It can be seen that all the key characteristics of MOOCs exist in some form or other outside MOOCs. What makes MOOCs unique though is the combination of the four key\u00a0characteristics, and in particular the fact that they scale massively and are open for participants (although not always free).<\/p>\n Christensen, C. (2010) <\/span>Disrupting Class, Expanded Edition: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World<\/a> Learns<\/em> New York: McGraw-Hill<\/span><\/p>\n Collins, E. (2013) <\/span>SJSU Plus Augmented Online Learning Environment Pilot Project Report<\/em><\/a> San Jose CA: San Jose State University<\/span><\/p>\n Engle, W. (2104)\u00a0UBC MOOC Pilot: Design and Delivery<\/em><\/a>\u00a0Vancouver BC: University of British Columbia<\/p>\n Friedman, T. (2013) Revolution Hits the Universities <\/span>New York Times<\/em>,<\/a> January 26<\/span><\/p>\n5.2.2 Key characteristics<\/h2>\r\nAll MOOCs have some common features, although we shall see that the term MOOC covers an increasingly wide range of designs.\r\n
5.2.2.1 Massive<\/h3>\r\nBy 2019, Coursera<\/a> claimed over 35 million sign-ups\u00a0with its largest course claiming 240,000 participants. The huge numbers (in the hundred of thousands) enrolling in the earliest MOOCs are not\u00a0always\u00a0replicated in\u00a0later MOOCs, but the numbers are still substantial. For instance, in 2013, the University of British Columbia offered several MOOCs through Coursera, with the numbers initially signing up ranging from 25,000 to 190,000 per course (Engle, 2014<\/a>).\r\n\r\nHowever, even more important than the actual numbers is that in principle<\/em> MOOCs have infinite scalability. <\/em>There is technically no limit to their final\u00a0size, because the marginal cost of adding each extra participant\u00a0is nil for the institutions offering MOOCs. (In practice<\/em> this is not quite true, as central technology, backup and bandwidth costs\u00a0increase, and as we shall see, there can be some knock-on costs for an\u00a0institution offering MOOCs as numbers increase. However, the cost of each additional\u00a0participant is so small,\u00a0given the very large numbers, that it can be more or less ignored). The scalability\u00a0of MOOCs is probably the characteristic that\u00a0has attracted the most attention, especially from governments, but it should be noted that this is also a\u00a0characteristic of\u00a0broadcast television and radio, so it is not unique to MOOCs.\r\n
5.2.2.2 Open<\/h3>\r\nAt least for the initial MOOCs, access was<\/span> free for participants, although an increasing number of MOOCs are charging a fee for assessment leading to a badge or certificate or other fees<\/span>. For instance, in 2019 Coursera was charging between US$29-$99 per course.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThere are no pre-requisites for participants other than access to a computer\/mobile device and the Internet. However, broadband access is essential\u00a0for MOOCs that use video streaming, which severely limits their potential for widening access to higher education in the least developed countries<\/span>.\r\n\r\nThere is another significant way in which MOOCs through Coursera and some other MOOC platforms<\/span> are not fully open (see Chapter 11<\/a>\u00a0for more on what constitutes 'open' in education).\u00a0Coursera owns the rights to the materials, so they cannot be repurposed or reused without permission, and the material may be removed from the Coursera site when the course ends. Also, Coursera decides which institutions can host MOOCs on its platform\u00a0- this is not an open access for institutions. On the other hand, edX is an open source platform, so any institution that joins edX can develop their own MOOCs with their own rules regarding rights to the material. cMOOCs are generally completely open,\u00a0but since individual participants of cMOOCs create a lot if not all of the material it is not always clear whether they own the rights and how long the MOOC materials will remain available.\r\n\r\nIndeed, there are many other kinds of online material that are also open and free over the Internet, such as open textbooks and open educational resources<\/span>,\u00a0often in ways that are more accessible for\u00a0reuse than MOOC material\u00a0(see <\/a>Chapter 11<\/a>)<\/a><\/a>.\r\n
5.2.2.3 Online<\/h3>\r\nMOOCs are offered at least initially wholly online, but increasingly institutions are negotiating with the rights holders to use MOOC materials in a blended format for use on campus. In other words, the institution provides learner support for the MOOC materials through the use of campus-based instructors. For instance at San Jose State University,\u00a0on-campus students used MOOC materials from Udacity courses, including lectures, readings and quizzes,\u00a0and then instructors\u00a0spent\u00a0classroom time on\u00a0small-group activities, projects and quizzes to check progress (Collins, 2013<\/a>). More variations in the design of MOOCs will be discussed in more detail in Section 5.3<\/a>.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAgain though it should be noted that MOOCs are not unique in offering courses online.\u00a0In 2017, there were<\/span>\u00a06.3 million<\/span> students in the USA alone taking online courses for credit<\/em>, as part of regular degree programs (Seaman et. al, 2018<\/a>).\r\n
5.2.2.4 Courses<\/h3>\r\nOne characteristic\u00a0that distinguishes MOOCs from most other open educational resources is that they are organized into a whole course. However, what this actually means for participants is not exactly clear. Although many MOOCs offer certificates or badges for successful completion of a course, to date these have not in most cases<\/span> been accepted for admission to universities or <\/span>for advanced standing or credit, even (or especially) by the institutions offering the MOOCs.\r\n
5.2.3\u00a0Summary<\/h2>\r\nIt can be seen that all the key characteristics of MOOCs exist in some form or other outside MOOCs. What makes MOOCs unique though is the combination of the four key\u00a0characteristics, and in particular the fact that they scale massively and are open for participants (although not always free).\r\n
References<\/h2>\r\nChristensen, C. (2010) <\/span>Disrupting Class, Expanded Edition: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World<\/a> Learns<\/em> New York: McGraw-Hill<\/span>\r\n\r\nCollins, E. (2013) <\/span>SJSU Plus Augmented Online Learning Environment Pilot Project Report<\/em><\/a> San Jose CA: San Jose State University<\/span>\r\n\r\nEngle, W. (2104)\u00a0UBC MOOC Pilot: Design and Delivery<\/em><\/a>\u00a0Vancouver BC: University of British Columbia\r\n\r\nFriedman, T. (2013) Revolution Hits the Universities <\/span>New York Times<\/em>,<\/a> January 26<\/span>\r\n\r\nSeaman, J.E., Allen, I.E., and Seaman, J. (2018)\u00a0<\/span>Grade Increase: Tracking Distance Education in the United States<\/em><\/a>\u00a0Wellesley MA: The Babson Survey Research Group<\/span>\r\n
\r\n\r\n \t
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n5.2.1 MOOCS: a massive disruption?<\/h2>\n
5.2.2 Key characteristics<\/h2>\n
5.2.2.1 Massive<\/h3>\n
5.2.2.2 Open<\/h3>\n
5.2.2.3 Online<\/h3>\n
5.2.2.4 Courses<\/h3>\n
5.2.3\u00a0Summary<\/h2>\n
References<\/h2>\n