MOOC's

A MOOC is a Massive, Open, Online Course.

MOOC's are massive: MOOC's can have 400,000 - 500,000 registered students, but the average size has been 40,000+.
By open, it usually means that you only need to provide your email address when you register; and usually, there were no prerequisites.
- Students usually register with a vendor, who forms partnerships with universities, to offer non-credit courses.
- But, more MOOC vendors are creating partnerships with universities to offer some type of verified certificate to students, that students have to pay for.
- In addition, some universities and colleges are offering different forms of course credit to students.
MOOC's have only been offered online-you must have access to the internet to take a course.
MOOC's are courses, that usually last between 4-6 weeks, though some are shorter and others longer.
- Just like other courses, MOOC's usually provide a syllabus, recommended student background, course format (videos, quizzes), and the names of the instructors.

According to A Short History of MOOC's and Distance Learning, there were two courses that used the term MOOC in 2008 and 2012:

In 2008, educators Stephen Downes and George Siemens offered the free, online course Connectivism and Connective Knowledge/2008 (CCK8), after teaching a similar credit course at the University of Manitoba, Canada. They used many different platforms to connect with over 2,000 students, such as Facebook, wiki's, blogs, and forums.
In 2012, two Stanford Professors Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig offered their course for free and online, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence. More than 160,000 students in 190 countries signed up. Based on their experience, the professors developed Udacity, a MOOC for-profit provider.

Udacity, formed in 2012, a for-profit American company, was one of the first MOOC providers. Students often have to pay for their courses.
Within one year, two more American start-ups for MOOCs appeared: Coursera and EdX.
- Coursera is also a for-profit company, which provides courses in partnership with a large range of educational institutions. Usually, their courses are free.
- EdX is a non-profit company, governed by MIT and Harvard, and according to their web site, strives to offer the "best of higher education", in person and online. Usually, their courses are free.
There are now thousands of MOOC's being offered by universities, colleges, for-profit and non-profit companies.

You can explore MOOC's by using Class Central, the MOOC List or Open Culture.
If you're interested in the best Higher Education MOOC's, check out this article, MOOCs: Top 10 Sites for Free Education With Elite Universities

Some people have tried to define MOOC's further, according to MOOC News and Review:
- xMOOCs: xMOOCs are usually offered by one or more higher educational institutions, and sometimes, a for-profit company, such as Coursera.
- cMOOCs: cMOOCs are often offered by individuals or groups of instructors, who encourage connections between students, using free online platforms, such as blogs, wikis, and social media to communicate, and share content and resources.

Provide education to the global community
Generate interest in their educational institution, sometimes referred to as branding.
Explore and research alternative education models

According to What Campus Leaders Should Know about MOOC's, it takes a great deal of resources to provide an effective MOOC:

Not all MOOC's have been successful, some have run into serious technological issues, since they are dealing with large numbers of students.

The jury is out. MOOC's have very low completion rates (5-10%), but some studies have found MOOC's to be effective:
- From EdX: Comparing Effectiveness of Learning in MOOCs and Classrooms
- From Journalist's Research: MOOCs and online learning: Research roundup

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