Running head: GOT MOOC?

THE ROLE OF ONLINE COURSES IN EDUCATION

Got MOOC?
The Role of Online Courses in Education
Margaret Gruss
EDTC 515
Azusa Pacific University

GOT MOOC? THE ROLE OF ONLINE COURSES IN EDUCATION

Got MOOC? The Role of Online Courses in Education

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are the modern version of distance learning.
Prior to technology, people could take correspondence courses through the mail. Eventually as
radio and television developed, so did opportunities to learn. With the advent of computer
technology, a whole new form of learning has evolved as the MOOC (Wikipedia, 2015, para.3).
MOOC Defined and Explained
The term MOOC was developed as a descriptor for the online courses that resulted from
the development of the internet and personal computing. The M stands for Massive. The intent
with these courses is for large numbers of students to access them. The first O stands for Open.
According to Marques (2013) in MOOC News and Reviews, there were three ideas behind the
word Open. Open refers primarily to the idea that these courses require no fee and no application
to take them. Currently some courses do require a fee, especially for a certificate or as part of a
degree program. However, Open could also mean that the material be non-copyrighted and free
to be changed. Another idea behind Open is to open the flow of information between the teacher
and student to allow information to flow both ways. The last two concepts are not really
happening at this point. The second O stands for Online. Currently the courses exist online,
although many are used for a hybrid model of instruction called blended learning. The MOOCs
can be thought of as content, which, like a textbook, can be used in a class (Pope, 2014, para.10).
Finally, the C stands for Course. A MOOC is a course as opposed to just an online video in that
it has the components of an actual course. There are assignments and evaluations, the lessons are

GOT MOOC? THE ROLE OF ONLINE COURSES IN EDUCATION

linked to a broader topic, and these courses do come to an end. These classes are generally selfpaced and a-synchronous, but they can be synchronous.
MOOCs started up in 2008 and in 2012 were declared to be the revolutionary of higher
education (Lapowski, 2014, para.1, Wikipedia, 2015, para.1). By that point several providers had
emerged to host these online classes. Coursera and edX are two of the largest.
People take MOOCs for a variety of reasons (Riddell, 2015, para.6). Some people take
them for personal learning or enrichment. MOOCs allow for lifelong learning. Others take them
for career reasons. It might be to get a certificate or learn specific skills needed to keep their job
or advance to a new one. Due to the different motivations it is good that the courses are free and
flexible. People can make the courses what they want them to be, personalizing the learning for
themselves. This is one reason that some people dont complete the courses. Students learn what
they want and or need and dont spend time on the rest (Pope, 2014, para.10). College prep is
another reason some people take the courses. Some universities have begun to offer AP courses
since some school districts have cut them due to budget restraints. EdX also provides courses to
help students with college admission (Lapowski, 2014, para.12 13).
There are several benefits to the Universities that offer MOOCs. One advantage for those
schools is an increased awareness of the school. Another benefit is to help students be better
prepared for courses that are offered on campus. However, the largest benefit is the ability to
analyze large amounts of data. (Negrea, 2013, para.3) By the end of 2014 Pope reported that
Coursera and edX are up to nearly 13 million users and more than 1,200 courses between
them (2014, para.4). The impact of this massive data will be discussed more in the following
section.

GOT MOOC? THE ROLE OF ONLINE COURSES IN EDUCATION

World Impact
MOOCs are having an impact on learning in profound ways. One way that MOOCs are
doing this is by providing educational opportunities to people who otherwise might not have
access to higher learning (Koller, 2012, min.18). The low or no cost of courses, combined with
the flexibility and personalization, allows people to take the courses in ways that are manageable
to their life circumstances. Higher learning is now available to more people than ever before.
Secondly, MOOCs are increasing the quality of on campus, face-to-face educations.
Colleges and universities are having to consider their cost of providing an education (Pope, 2014,
para.15). If high quality learning can be had for free or little cost, what is the advantage of an on
campus education? The end result should be an increase in the quality of those educations
provided on campus.
Thirdly, MOOCs enable and validate life long learning to occur (Koller, 2012, min.19,
EDUCAUSE, 2013, min.1). With the built in flexibility, people can fit learning into their busy
lives. Additionally, since most MOOCs are free or low cost, people can learn what they want and
move on to a new course as soon as they are ready.
Fourthly, the data that is collected through MOOCs allows for learning to be
personalized. Since data is collected much more easily from digital learning than through
traditional classes, online learning can be much more responsive to individual needs. Also,
students can follow a path of their choosing within a course (Koller, 2012, min.7).
Lastly, MOOCs are changing our understanding of how people learn best and in turn
changing the way that teachers are teaching (Lapowski, 2014, para.10). Due to the massive
amounts of data collected, teachers are able to determine the most effective methods of teaching

GOT MOOC? THE ROLE OF ONLINE COURSES IN EDUCATION

for their content. edX has even launched A/B testing on its site, allowing professors to try out
different methods of teaching and comparing student outcomes (Lapowski, 2014, para.11). This
allows professors to experiment with different pedagogy with real data to compare.
Personal Experience
My experience with taking a MOOC has been very positive. The number of courses
offered made it easy to find a course of interest. Actually, it was difficult to narrow my decision
down to one. I chose to take the class The World of Wine since my husband and I enjoy wine. I
did not pay to receive a certificate at the end since I have no need for it. This particular class is asynchronous and self-paced. The material was easy to learn in a relaxed setting. Particularly
enjoyable was being able to take the course with my husband as our schedules allowed. The
lessons were clearly laid out and easy to follow. Extra learning materials, such as charts, were
provided. Also included were several hands on activities. These are very important to make sure
that we have more than just head knowledge about wine. Due to time constraints these past
weeks, I have not completed the course, although I fully intend to. This is an excellent way to
learn and I plan to continue to take courses in this manner.

GOT MOOC? THE ROLE OF ONLINE COURSES IN EDUCATION

References
EDUCAUSE. [Video]. (2013). What is a MOOC? Retrieved from
http://www.educause.edu/library/massive-open-online-course-mooc
Johnson, J. (2012). What in the world is a MOOC? The Washington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/campus-overload/post/what-in-the-world-is-amooc/2012/09/24/50751600-0662-11e2-858a-5311df86ab04_blog.html
Koller, D. (2012). [Video]. What were learning from online education. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6FvJ6jMGHU
Lapowski, I. (2014). Why free online classes are still the future of education. WIRED. Retrieved
from http://www.wired.com/2014/09/free-online-classes-still-future-education/
Marques, J. (2013). What is a Massive Open Online Course anyway? MOOC News and Reviews.
Retrieved from http://moocnewsandreviews.com/what-is-a-massive-open-online-courseanyway-attempting-definition/
Negrea, S. (2013). Colleges and universities begin to assess the benefits of MOOCs. University
Business. Retrieved from http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/colleges-anduniversities-begin-assess-benefits-moocs
Pappano, L. (2012). The year of the MOOC. The New York Times, Nov. 2, 2012, Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/education/edlife/massive-open-online-courses-aremultiplying-at-a-rapid-pace.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1

Pope, J. (2014). What are MOOCs good for? MIT Review. Retrieved from
http://www.technologyreview.com/review/533406/what-are-moocs-good-for/

GOT MOOC? THE ROLE OF ONLINE COURSES IN EDUCATION

Riddel, R. (2015). Courseras Stiglitz: MOOC revolution is just beginning. Education
Dive. Retrieved from: http://www.educationdive.com/news/courseras-stiglitz-moocrevolution-is-just-beginning-sxswedu-2015/374642/
Wikipedia. (2015). Massive Open Online Classes. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course