what is a mooc course

by Monte Hudson 10 min read

What is a MOOC and how does it work?

MOOCs are massive open online courses. The concept, spearheaded by edX, began as an opportunity for organizations to offer online courses to …

Who should take a MOOC?

May 10, 2021 · A massive open online course (MOOC) is a free web-based distance learning program that is designed for large numbers of geographically dispersed students. A MOOC may be patterned on a college or university course or be less structured.

How do I create a MOOC?

The term “MOOC” stands for Massive Open Online Course. Essentially, a MOOC is an online course that is open to anyone who wants to enroll. Potential learners don’t need any sort of specialized degree or other qualifications to enroll in a MOOC.

What does MOOC stand for?

How do MOOC courses work?

MOOCs usually have a specific start and finish date, they run a couple of times a year, and last for weeks rather than the months or years that traditional university courses do. During a MOOC, you'll use a wide range of online media and interactive tools to interact with university educators and other learners.Mar 11, 2016

What are examples of MOOCs?

What are the best MOOC platforms to take online courses? Here are our top 10:Canvas Network.iversity.Cognitive Class.Kadenze.Coursera.Khan Academy.edX.Udacity.More items...•Apr 1, 2020

How is MOOC different from taking a course from a college?

MOOCs are often taught by the same professors that teach online college classes. MOOC course materials are often exactly the same as the course materials provided to college students taking online classes. MOOCs are sometimes offered in partnership with colleges and universities.

What is MOOC in simple words?

A MOOC is a course of study made available over the Internet without charge to a very large number of people. Anyone who decides to take a MOOC simply logs on to the website and signs up. In other words, a MOOC is a massive open online course.Sep 2, 2013

Is Khan Academy a MOOC?

Khan Academy is not a MOOC provider Rather than being set up as individual courses, the videos are arranged by subject. Students can choose what to explore and work at their own pace.Mar 6, 2018

What is the disadvantage of MOOC?

One of the biggest disadvantages is that students are not interested in completing the course. This is because they don't have the inclination to do so because they have not paid any fees. When the attrition rate was studied in some Massive Open Online Courses, it was found to be high.Dec 5, 2020

Should I replace MOOC textbook?

Online and MOOC Content Can Strengthen, But Not Replace, Traditional Education. MOOC content will not replace traditional education, but will instead create supporting content that strengthens the complete education experience.Jul 7, 2015

Are MOOCs free?

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online courses available for anyone to enroll. MOOCs provide an affordable and flexible way to learn new skills, advance your career and deliver quality educational experiences at scale.

What makes MOOC a new trend in education?

Since MOOCs are taught by actual professors, students gain insight to the quality of teaching and the level of learning expectations college demands. This allows students a glimpse of life as a major in a certain discipline, and how that differs from being a major in a different discipline.Jul 7, 2016

What does massive mean regarding a MOOCs?

Massive: designed for in theory unlimited number of participants. This means that the course is designed such that the efforts of all services does not increase significantly as the number of participants increases. Open: access to the course is free without entry qualifications.

What is Unisa MOOC?

All first-time Unisa applicants to Unisa must complete the First-Year Experience MOOC (FYE massive open online course). Remember to use your Unisa student number to register for the MOOC. You will only be able accept Unisa's offer for the 2022 academic year once you have completed the FYE MOOC 101.

Is SkillShare a MOOC?

There are nearly 6 million people taking an online course today. Platforms like Coursera, edX, Udemy, SkillShare and Shaw Academy offered the online course with convenience, cost-effective and user-friendly. Let's dig into details of what are the advantages of it.Apr 26, 2019

What is a MOOC?

The traditional classroom is limited in how many students it can serve, but millions of people around the world want — and need — quality education. MOOCs are massive open online courses. The concept, spearheaded by edX, began as an opportunity for organizations to offer online courses to students all over the world, in the millions, for free.

What are the benefits of MOOCs?

By opening the classroom through MOOCs, edX brings the best courses from the best schools to millions of learners around the world. The edX platform is built so that teachers can deliver education at scale that is the same or better quality as on-campus learning.

What are examples of MOOC courses?

edX offers courses in a range of subjects, from architecture to business & management, computer science, data analysis & statistics, engineering, food and nutrition, law, literature, math, philosophy, science, and more.

Do MOOCs help you get into university?

In 2015, for the first time ever, learners earned college credit for MOOCs on edX. Since then, edX and our partner universities have increased the number of programs around the world that recognize learners’ accomplishments in MOOCs and offer credit pathways into degree programs.

Do MOOCs certifications help your job search?

When searching for a new hire, different employers look for different things, but they’re all trying to answer the same overarching question: can this individual add value to my business? It can be a difficult task to set yourself apart from the crowd, but showcasing your completion of relevant online courses is a great starting point.

What are some of the success stories of MOOC students?

Explore edX’s collection of learner stories and a compilation of advice, reviews, and words of encouragement from edX’s 21 million+ online learners who have successfully completed programs and advanced skills in disciplines from data science to marketing.

What is MOOC in college?

What is a MOOC? A massive open online course (MOOC) is a free web-based distance learning program that is designed for large numbers of geographically dispersed students . A MOOC may be patterned on a college or university course or be less structured.

What is MOOC in education?

MOOCs are online courses that a student accesses through the internet. Typically, these courses consist of traditional class materials made accessible online, which may include the following: interaction with other students via forums. Typically, each MOOC will include a course provider and a course platform.

Which universities offer online courses?

Top educational institutions and universities, such as Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford, are leading providers of online courses. Corporations such as Microsoft and Accenture also provide publicly available online courses.

What is a course provider?

A course provider is often a university, which supplies the course materials and instructors. The platform -- such as EdX, Canvas, Coursera or Udacity -- provides the technological infrastructure for course modules, user access and other learning resources.

What is an online degree?

Online degree programs are equivalent to master's or continuing education degree programs at universities and offer comparable volume and depth of coursework. Online degree programs generally follow a traditional application and admissions process and range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.

What does MOOC mean?

The acronym is pronounced with a long oo sound, to rhyme with kook rather than book. The Oxford Dictionaries Online added "mooc" in August 2013. As technology jobs have grown in demand, online courses have grown in popularity as a means for students to gain technical skills.

Why are MOOCs used?

Typically, MOOCs are used for higher education and career advancement. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, many public school districts and undergraduate degree programs have implemented MOOCs as the new standard.

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Overview

Emergence of MOOC providers

According to The New York Times, 2012 became "the year of the MOOC" as several well-financed providers, associated with top universities, emerged, including Coursera, Udacity, and edX.
During a presentation at SXSWedu in early 2013, Instructure CEO Josh Coates suggested that MOOCs are in the midst of a hype cycle, with expectations und…

History

Before the Digital Age, distance learning appeared in the form of correspondence courses in the 1890s–1920s and later radio and television broadcast of courses and early forms of e-learning. Typically fewer than five percent of the students would complete a course. For example the Stanford Honors Cooperative Program, established in 1954, eventually offered video classes on-site at comp…

Student experience and pedagogy

By June 2012, more than 1.5 million people had registered for classes through Coursera, Udacity or edX. As of 2013, the range of students registered appears to be broad, diverse and non-traditional, but concentrated among English-speakers in rich countries. By March 2013, Coursera alone had registered about 2.8 million learners. By October 2013, Coursera enrollment continued to surge, surpassing 5 million, while edX had independently reached 1.3 million.

Information architecture

When searching for the desired course, the courses are usually organized by "most popular" or a "topical scheme". Courses planned for synchronous learning are structured as an exact organizational scheme called a chronological scheme, Courses planned for asynchronous learningare also presented as a chronological scheme, but the order the information is learned as a hybrid scheme. In this way it can be harder to understand the course content and complete, because th…

Industry

MOOCs are widely seen as a major part of a larger disruptive innovation taking place in higher education. In particular, the many services offered under traditional university business models are predicted to become unbundledand sold to students individually or in newly formed bundles. These services include research, curriculum design, content generation (such as textbooks), teaching, assessment and certification (such as granting degrees) and student placement. MOO…

Benefits

MOOCs are regarded by many as an important tool to widen access to higher education (HE) for millions of people, including those in the developing world, and ultimately enhance their quality of life. MOOCs may be regarded as contributing to the democratisation of HE, not only locally or regionally but globally as well. MOOCs can help democratise content and make knowledge reachable for everyone. Students are able to access complete courses offered by universities al…

Challenges and criticisms

The MOOC Guide suggests six possible challenges for cMOOCs:
1. Relying on user-generated content can create a chaotic learning environment.
2. Digital literacy is necessary to make use of the online materials.
3. The time and effort required from participants may exceed what students are willing to commit to a free online course.

What Are MOOCs?

  • To further break down the meaning of MOOC, we can look at each word within the acronym: 1. Massive because enrollment is technically uncapped – there can be hundreds of thousands of students enrolled at any given time 2. Open because there is no admission process, meaning that anyone can enroll 3. Online since classes are all delivered via the internet 4. Course because it
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A Brief History of MOOCs

  • Since MOOCs are a form ofdistance learning, they inherently rely on access to technology. The primary purpose of a MOOC was to be able to provide education for all. Initially, this ideological principle was theorized by Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig of Denmark, and this idea of “education for all” transformed into the creation of folk high schools. As technology progressed, …
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Is MOOC Tuition-Free?

  • Can we call MOOCs tuition-free? While plenty of MOOC courses are completely free of cost, many courses require learners to pay. As such, MOOC is not tuition-free by definition. However, there are options to attend courses online for free. In these cases, students typically do not receive any certificate of completion (which is often offered as an additional cost and option granted by MO…
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Who Can Enroll at A MOOC?

  • When it comes to attending a MOOC, students can enroll online without submitting much more than their basic personal information. Since everything takes place online, there is virtually no limit to how many people can learn from a MOOC. Students can also start learning from a MOOC at any point in time.
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What’s The Class Size of MOOCs?

  • Since anyone can enroll in a MOOC, the class size is typically uncapped, hence the word “massive” as part of its name. This means that hundreds of thousands of students can access the often pre-recorded and uploaded materials whenever they wish to. Despite large class sizes, a key characteristic of a MOOC is the collaborative learning environment. Many MOOCs seek to mimi…
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MOOCs vs. Online Universities

  • While a MOOC is a great option to further one’s education, it is not the only option students have when learning online. In fact, online learning is gaining popularity over time. For those who wish to earn a degree online, there are options like the University of the People. University of the People is an accredited online university that provides students with access to learning materials and worl…
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The Bottom Line

  • Thanks to the innovation in technology and proliferation of the internet and internet-enabled devices, people worldwide are gaining or expanding their access to education. There are many MOOC platforms to choose from that host courses from well-known universities (including some from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, the University of California, Irvine, and more). Examples of popular …
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Benefits of Learning at University of The People

  • People who wish to advance in their career, increase their salary potential, improve their job prospects, or continue learning have an option to learn with a MOOC. Alternatively, for students who wish to maximize their earning potential, enter a new field, or grow within their current position, a degree or certificate from University of the People can make this dream a reality. Stu…
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