Massively Open Online Courses

Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been around the higher-ed space for years in various forms, but this year, MOOC is the big buzzword. Many major universities are jumping on the MOOC bandwagon, and are seeing people from across the globe flock to their open courses. As a recent NY Times article stated, “The shimmery hope is that free courses can bring the best education in the world to the most remote corners of the planet… (Pappano)”

For those of you caught a little off-guard by this concept, a MOOC is an online course that is a mashup of education and social networking. Taught by seasoned professors from prestigious universities, MOOCs offer online course content, social support of learning by peers, homework, and even exams, all for free. You don’t even have to enroll in the university! The catch? There is no course credit at the end of the road.

Why would universities go down this road? Continue reading