The document provides an overview of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), including their definition, origin, characteristics, and variations such as connectivist MOOCs (cMOOCs) and content-based MOOCs (xMOOCs). It outlines the benefits of MOOCs in increasing access to higher education, their structure, and the challenges faced, while also predicting future developments in the landscape of online education. The role of MOOCs in democratizing education and addressing sustainable development goals is also discussed, particularly their impact on global learning accessibility.

1. What is MOOC?
The term “MOOC” (Massive Open Online Course) was coined by David Cormier in
2008 (Cormier & Siemens, 2010) to describe a twelve-week online course,
Connectivism and Connected Knowledge, designed by George Siemens and Stephen
Downes and offered at the University of Manitoba, Canada, in Fall semester 2008.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are courses provided over the Internet. They
are provided free of charge to a large number of people and are accessed by the user
logging into a website and signing up. MOOCs differ from traditional university
studies, firstly by their open access. As a point of departure, participation merely
requires an Internet connection. Secondly, MOOCs are characterized by scalability;
the courses are organized so that they can easily be scaled in line with the number of
participants.
THE HISTORY AND KEY FEATURES OF MOOCS
Following on from the development of Open Education Resources and the Open
Education movement (Yuan, et al., 2008), the term Massive Open Online Courses
(MOOCs) was first introduced in 2008 by Dave Cormier to describe Siemens and
Downes’ “Connectivism and Connective Knowledge” course. This online course was
initially designed for a group of twenty five enrolled, fee paying students to study for
credit and at the same time was opened up to registered only learners worldwide. As a
result, over 2,300 people participated in the course without paying fees or gaining
credit (Wikipedia, 2012).
In 2011, Sebastian Thrun and his colleagues at Stanford opened access to the course
they were teaching at the university, “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence”, and
attracted 160,000 learners in more than 190 countries (Wikipedia, 2012). Since then,
MOOCs have become a label for many recent online course initiatives from
institutions, individuals and commercial organizations. The original aim of MOOCs
was to open up education and provide free access to university level education for as
many students as possible. In contrast to traditional university online courses,
MOOCs have two key features (Wikipedia, 2012):
Open access - anyone can participate in an online course for free 2. Scalability -
courses are designed to support an indefinite number of participants

2. Structure of a MOOC
The common duration of a MOOC is from 6 to 12 weeks. A MOOC is accessible 24
hours a day, 7 days a week. The majority of the content is delivered asynchronously
(meaning students can access it in their own time and at their own pace). However,
sometimes there can be optional synchronous events such as 'live' webinars
(interactive sessions) which require participants to join in at specific dates/times.
A standard class becomes in a MOOC a set of videos of 5-10 minutes each.
The learning of students in a MOOC is usually assessed by multiple-choice questions.
An important component of MOOCs is assignments. Student have to upload
assignment solutions into the MOOC platform. Assignments can be evaluated and
graded:
 Automatically when possible.
 Peer-to-peer: students evaluate and grade themselves.
Another component is the forum, where students post questions that other students
can answer.
Usually, there are no pre-requisites for taking a MOOC, apart from having access to a
computer with an internet connection. Most of the time, the educational or academic
background of students isn't important.

3. Students usually don't need to buy any books for these courses, because all reading is
either be provided within the MOOC content or is linked to open access texts.
Types of MOOC
CMOOCS VS. XMOOCS
Different ideologies have driven MOOCs in two distinct pedagogical directions: the
connectivist MOOCs (cMOOC) which are based on a connectivism theory of learning
with networks developed informally; and content-based MOOCs (xMOOCs), which
follow a more behaviorist approach. In many ways, this is the same learning process
versus learning content debate that educationalists have had for many decades and
failed to resolve.
cMOOCs emphasize connected, collaborative learning and the courses are built
around a group of like-minded ‘individuals’ who are relatively free from institutional
constraints. cMOOCs provide a platform to explore new pedagogies beyond
traditional classroom settings and, as such, tend to exist on the radical fringe of HE.
On the other hand, the instructional model (xMOOCs) is essentially an extension of
the pedagogical models practiced within the institutions themselves, which is
arguably dominated by the “drill and grill” instructional methods with video
presentations, short quizzes and testing.
A further division of xMOOCs into two models can be identified: profit and non-
profit to serve different purposes. xMOOCs can be seen as part of MITs continued
development of their Open Courseware initiative offering the opportunity to learners
from different parts of the world to access high quality teaching and learning for free.
However, the opportunity for branding and marketing for institutions is also
recognized and seen to be valuable. In addition, venture capitalists are interested in
the financial capital that can be generated by xMOOCs and have set up commercial
companies to help universities to offer xMOOCs for profit, e.g. Coursera and Udacity
xMOOC vs. cMOOC Characteristics
xMOOCs cMOOCs
• Pre-determined, instructor-led, structured and
sequenced weekly activities
• Short, content-based videos, readings, problem sets
• Quizzes (auto-graded), peer-graded assessments
• Discussion forum participation optional
• Delivered via third party platform provider (e.g.,
Coursera, edX)
• “social, technical system of learning where the teacher’s
voice is not an essential hub but a node in an overall network”
(Siemens).
• Creation/exploration of topic area in “atelier” environment
• Unique products created by students (blog posts, images,
diagrams, videos)
• Discussion forums, Diigo groups, Twitter and other social
networking are key
• Facilitator aggregates, reviews, summarizes and reflects on
activity in daily/weekly newsletter
• “Boot-strapped” platform and collaboration tools
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

4. 3. The time and effort required from participants may exceed what students are
willing to commit to a free online course
4. Once the course is released, content will be reshaped and reinterpreted by the
massive student body, making the course trajectory difficult for instructors to
control
5. Participants must self-regulate and set their own goals
6. Language and translation barriers
These general challenges in effective MOOC development are accompanied by
criticism by journalists and academics.
Benefits
Improving access to Higher Education
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 democratization of HE, not only locally or regionally but globally as well.
MOOCs can help democratize content and make knowledge reachable for everyone.
Students are able to access complete courses offered by universities all over the
world, something previously unattainable. With the availability of affordable
technologies, MOOCs increase access to an extraordinary number of courses offered
by world-renowned institutions and teachers.
Providing an affordable alternative to formal education
The costs of tertiary education continue to increase because institutions tend to bundle
too many services. With MOOCs, some of these services can be transferred to other
suitable players in the public or private sector. MOOCs are for large numbers of
participants, can be accessed by anyone anywhere as long as they have an Internet
connection, are open to everyone without entry qualifications and offer a
full/complete course experience online for free.
Sustainable Development Goals
MOOCs can be seen as a form of open education offered for free through online
platforms. The (initial) philosophy of MOOCs is to open up quality Higher Education
to a wider audience. As such, MOOCs are an important tool to achieve Goal 4 of the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Criteria "Law of MOOC" ?????
Where can we put our MOOC?
General definition International MOOC
4 examples
MOOC Arab World
On May November 2013, the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and
Development (QRF) of Jordan, established by Queen Rania al Abdallah of Jordan,
launched a non-profitmassive open online course (MOOC) portal, Edraak, for the
promotion of knowledge in the Arab world. Edraak uses the open-source edX
platform by edX, which also used by two global MOOC
providers: XuetangX in China and the French Université Numérique.

5. QRF contracted several regional and international scholars from prestigious
universities to design and deliver the courses. Courses typically ran between 3 – 8
weeks. Among the pioneers that joined forces with QRF was the American University
of Beirut that contributed two courses.
Courses from QRF are offered primarily in Arabic, but translations of courses from
prestigious universities like Harvard and MIT are also available. At its launching,
Edraak offered 10 courses.
 Intro to Computer Science & Programming
 Electricity & Circuits
 Journey in the Film Industry
 Children’s Mental Health
 Effective Strategies for Job Search
 Shopping Yourself in the Job Market
 A Successful CV
 Confidence Awareness
 Citizenship in the Arab World
 Arabs: Where from and Where to?
 Business Communication
 Innovation in the Government
 Basic Skills for First Aid
Edraak is also seen as an employee training and recruitment platform for companies
in the region. The varied nature of the online courses provides companies the
opportunity to upgrade employee skills as workplace demands continuously increases.
Through removing the language barriers and making knowledge accessible, Edraak
may contribute to decreasing Arab's lagging behind the western world in education in
knowledge and digital fluency.

6. The relation between MOOC and ODL

7. Future of MOOC
The future of MOOCsis unclear,consideringthe rapiddevelopmentof MOOCsfrom
obscurityinlate 2012 to mainstreamattentionin 2017. The OER movementisquickly
evolving,asare software,contentandplatformproviders.Mediaattentionproclaims
disruptionforeducation.Regardlessof whatthe future holdsforopenonline courses,a
critical needexistsforlearnersfromaroundthe worldtobe able toaccess qualitylearning
contentand learningexperiences.Asthe MOOChype subsides,it isimportantforthe OER
movementtocontinue toadvocate foropenness,accessandlearner-focus.
Where are MOOCs Going over the Next Five Years?
The final twoopen-endedquestionsof ourinterviewprotocol invitedintervieweestopredict
howthe MOOC phenomenonmightplayoutoverthe nextfive years:
• Where do you see you see thingsgoing with MOOCsoverthe nextfive years?(Generally,
and at yourinstitution).
• Howdo you see MOOCshelping yourinstitution meet its goalsover the nextfiveyears?
Most intervieweeswere willingtospeculate abouthow MOOCsmightevolve overthe next
fewyearsandhow theymightfitintothe changinglandscape of highereducation.We begin
thissectionbysummarizingexpectationsaboutmore general changesinhighereducation
and subsequentlypresentspecificideasraisedregardingMOOCsof the future.Ourgoal was
to surface a varietyof ideasas opposedtodevelopingarigorousfrequencyreportona listof
possibilitiesfromastratifiedsample of participants.Accordingly,we provide some ideaof

8. the “popularity”of eachideaby looselyindicatinghow manyintervieweesmentionedit,
usingtermssuch as “many,some,several,afew,acouple,one.”Giventhe open-ended
nature of the questionsandvarietyof interviewee roles,we cautionreadersagainstfocusing
too muchon thisquantification.
Thefuture ofhighereducation
Many intervieweesenvisagedafuture of more “unbundling”of educational services,more
choice forstudentsinhowtheireducationisdelivered,greaterprice competitionamong
providers,andgreateruse of technologyineducation.AsBenDaniel fromCornellUniversity
observed“Universityeducation isreaching a pointof diminishing returnsasthe cost of
universitystaffing isgrowing unsustainably….something willchange.”Several questioned
whethertwo- orfour-yeardegreesare the mostuseful waytoacquire aneducationand
suggestedthatwhile collegesanduniversitiesmaycontinuetoprovide foundational skills
and knowledge,the flexibilityof online educationwill allow formore “just-in-time”learning
experiencesthroughoutanindividual’scareer.Several intervieweessubscribedtothe
notion,oftenattributedtoPresidentRafael Reif atMIT,that four-yearresidentialeducation
mightsomedaybe replacedwiththree yearsof residential coursesandone yearof online
learning.Overall,the needforflexibilityof educational optionswasoftenrepeated,as
typifiedbyRoyal atInverHillsCommunityCollege:“Weshould havea series of different
educationalenvironmentsthatsuitthediversity of ourstudentbase.”
Most intervieweesbelievedthathighereducationwillbe increasinglypressuredtoshift
towardscompetency-basedmodelsof credentialing.Several foresaw the possibilitythatthe
emphasisonearningadegree will dwindle infavorof anemphasisondemonstrating
capabilitiesneededbyemployers.AsKirschneratMacaulay HonorsCollege asserted,the
burdenof showingwhata studentcando will “shiftaway fromthedegreeas a proxy”
because forsome employers,highereducationhas“failed to makethe degree stand for
something.”Concomitantly,Catorof Digital Promisefavorsashiftinfederal fundingfor
postsecondaryeducationawayfromsimplypayingforaccessandtowardspayingforthe
demonstrationof competencyandattainmentof credentials:“theincentivesthen would be
all around performing,producing,learning,ratherthan around getting into a class,going to
college, or notgoing.”Smith,of Straighterline,carriesthisvisionevenfurthertoa future in
whichfederal fundingforcollegeisreplacedbylife-longeducationaccountsthatindividuals
can use to selecttheirowneducational Hollands& Tirthali:MOOCs:Expectations and Reality May
2014 153

9. experiences,providedeachone meetsminimumstandardsof accreditation(seeSmith,
2013). Minghua Li,Professor,School of PublicAdministrationatEast ChinaNormal
University,believesthatthe majoronline platformprovidersshouldbe collaboratingto
create a course accreditationsystemandcouldsubsequentlypressure the federal
governmentintoallowingthe applicationof financial aidtopayforonline coursesoffered
outside of college degrees,includingMOOCs.
A fewintervieweesconjecturedthat,asmore educationisofferedonline,some institutions
of highereducationcouldshrinkanddisappearwhile virtualuniversities,orvirtual
extensionsof establishedinstitutions,expand.However,manyintervieweesdoubtedthat
MOOCs woulddramaticallyaffectbrick-and-mortarcollegesanduniversities.Most
intervieweesexpectedtosee changesinpedagogicalstrategies,forexample,more flipped
classroomsandgreateremphasisonpeerlearning.Increaseduse of bothgamificationand
game-basedlearningstrategiesis expectedinsome contentareasto“hook”students
throughconstantfeedback,challenge,andcreationof asocial community.Forsome
interviewees,the social communityaspectisone of the mostpowerful thatcan be
developedinonline environments.Parker of NextThoughtenvisions“tech-enabled learning
communitiesthatwill persistbeyond theuniversity experienceproviding individualswith a
life-long networkof peersacrosstime and space.”
One concernraisedby Newfieldatthe Universityof California, SantaBarbara,amongothers,
isthat “the genie of free, qualityeducation is outof the bottle”, that is,the expectationthat
highqualityeducationalexperiencescanbe deliveredatnegligible costhascaughton,
despite the lackof evidence toshowwhetherMOOCsandsimilarexperiencesofferedat
scale can substitute some partof face-to-face education.Newfieldworriesthatwell-
intentionedpoliticiansandbusinessleaderswill continue topressfordegreescosting
$10,000 or less,andwill fail toinvestenoughinpubliceducation.SilvermanatNYITfears
that to combatescalatingcosts,institutionswill evermore aggressivelyreplace tenured
professorswithtalentedteacherstodeliverthe curriculum, butthese instructorswill not
participate inthe continuousresearchnecessarytoconstantlypushacademicdisciplines
forward.
MOOCsand the future
We categorizedthe assortmentof ideasofferedbyintervieweesregardingMOOCsinthe
future of educationintothree general topicareas:1) those thatdescribe how the courses
themselvesmightevolvefromcurrentMOOCs;2) ideasthatcapture how MOOCs mayaffect
aspectsof the currenteconomicmodel of highereducation;and3) ideasabouthow MOOCs
can facilitate relationshipsamonginstitutionsof higher education,andbetweenthese
institutionsandotherparties.We summarize the ideasinTable 13and looselyindicate the
frequencywithwhicheachideaarose.The remainderof thissectionprovidesadditional
detail oneachidea.