What a MOOC is
MOOC stands for massive open online course. The four words describe the intended features. The course is delivered online. It is designed for large numbers of participants, “massive” being a loose term with no fixed threshold. And it is “open” in some sense. That last word is where most of the confusion lies, because the course may be open in some ways and closed in others.
MOOCs attracted wide public attention in the early 2010s, when a number of courses enrolled very large numbers of people and press coverage was enthusiastic. Expectations ran high, and later assessments have been more measured.
The different meanings of “open”
When a course is called open, it can mean one or more of several things. Keeping them apart is the key to understanding where MOOCs sit within open education.
- Open to enroll. Anyone can sign up, often without entry requirements or admission. This is the most common meaning in MOOCs.
- Free to access. The course can be followed at no charge, at least in a basic form. Some providers charge for extras, such as assessment feedback or a certificate.
- Open licensing. The materials carry a license that lets others copy, adapt and share them. This is the meaning most central to open education, and many MOOCs do not meet it. Their content is often protected and may only be viewed on the provider’s site, perhaps for a limited time.
- Open in practice. Open formats, the ability to download, and the freedom to reuse in other settings. Again this varies widely.
A course can satisfy the first two and fail the third. That is why some commentators say that many MOOCs are open in access but not open in license.
Where MOOCs fit
MOOCs belong to the wider open education story in several ways.
They widened awareness. They brought the idea of free, online, university-style learning to a large public audience and encouraged many institutions to experiment.
They extended reach. Learners without nearby institutions, or without the means to enroll, have been able to study subjects they otherwise could not. Many participants are already well educated, though, which tempers the claim that MOOCs mainly reach those previously excluded.
They demonstrated scale. They showed that a single course could serve a very large audience, and prompted work on automated assessment and peer interaction at scale.
They sit alongside OER. Some MOOCs are built from, or release, openly licensed material, and some open resources are used inside them. The overlap exists but is not guaranteed.
Where they do not fit
Licensing. Where content is not openly licensed, the MOOC does not enable the reuse and adaptation that define open educational resources. A teacher cannot freely repurpose it.
Sustainability. Courses can be withdrawn or changed, and access to materials may end. That undermines the durability that open licensing is meant to provide.
Pedagogy. Many MOOCs follow a fairly traditional model of lectures, quizzes and forums. This is useful for some learners but does not necessarily embody the participatory, learner-created approach sometimes associated with open pedagogy.
Completion and support. Reported completion rates for MOOCs are often low, and figures differ depending on how they are defined and measured. Without personal support, many learners drop out, though some enroll only to browse and do not intend to finish.
Business models. Providers must earn money somehow, for example through certificates, subscriptions or partnerships. The model influences what stays free, so the word free should always be checked against the details.
Recognition. Certificates from MOOCs are accepted differently by different employers and institutions.
How to judge a particular course
Before enrolling in, or recommending, a MOOC, it helps to check:
- What is actually free, and what costs money or requires payment for a certificate?
- Can you keep the materials after the course ends?
- What license applies to the content, if any? If you want to reuse something, this is critical.
- Is the course self-paced or on a schedule with deadlines?
- What kind of support, feedback and assessment is available?
- What credential is offered, and does anyone you care about recognize it?
Later developments
After the first wave of excitement, the picture became more varied. Providers experimented with shorter courses, bundles of courses, professional certificates and partnerships with employers and institutions. Many courses moved from fully free to partially paid. Some people refer to this period as the time after the MOOC boom. Meanwhile, interest in open textbooks and other freely licensed resources continued, partly because they offered the reusable content that many MOOCs did not.
A measured conclusion
MOOCs are best understood as one part of a broader landscape that also includes open textbooks, shared lesson materials and open course collections. They contribute to openness mainly through open enrollment and, in many cases, free access, and less consistently through open licensing. For a learner, a MOOC can be a useful way to study a subject. For a teacher or course builder looking for material to reuse, a MOOC is only useful if its license allows reuse, and that is something to confirm rather than assume.