MOOCS: Digesting the facts
| Published | May 2014 |
| Journal | Distance Education Volume 35, Issue 2, Pages 159 - 163 |
ABSTRACT
The techniques used in massive open online courses (MOOCs) are compared with supersizing in the fast food industry. Similarities include the profit motives, marketing techniques, criticisms, industry defences, and evolution of the two controversies. While fast food restaurants strategically increase the size of their meal courses and consumer base, MOOC providers increase the size of their student enrolments and the amounts of online course material they provide for the students to consume. In the two contexts, franchise owners and educational administrators deliver the supersized courses to their customers with apparent disregard for their widening negative effects. Educational institutions are encouraged to consider the ethics of these practices in order to prevent the unmonitored spread of junk education.| Keywords | junk food · marketing strategies · massive open online courses · MOOCs · profit motive · supersizing |
| ISSN | 1475-0198 |
| Refereed | Yes |
| Rights | Copyright © 2016 Informa UK Limited |
| DOI | 10.1080/01587919.2014.919710 |
| Other information | Distance Education |
| Export options | BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar |
Viewed by 104 distinct readers
CLOUD COMMUNITY REVIEWS
The evaluations below represent the judgements of our readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cloud editors.
Click a star to be the first to rate this document
▶ POST A COMMENT
SIMILAR RECORDS
Massive open online courses: A review of usage and evaluation
Sinclair, Jane; Boyatt, Russell; Rocks, Claire; Joy, Mike
The massive open online course (MOOC) has seen a dramatic rise in prominence over the last five years and is heralded by some as disrupting existing pedagogy and practices within the education sector, while others are ...
Match: massive open online courses; MOOCs
Motivations, achievements, and challenges of self-directed informal learners in open educational environments and MOOCs
Bonk, Curtis; Lee, Mimi
This research targeted the learning preferences, goals and motivations, achievements, challenges, and possibilities for life change of self-directed online learners enrolled in a massive open online course (MOOC) ...
Match: massive open online courses; MOOCs
Teaching Massive, Open, Online, Courses (MOOCs): Tales from the front line
Lowenthal, Patrick; Snelson, Chareen; Perkins, Ross
Very little research has been conducted about what it is like to teach a MOOC. Given this, a mixed methods study, involving a survey of 186 MOOC instructors and 15 follow-up interviews, was conducted to explore the ...
Match: massive open online courses; MOOCs
Community tracking in a cMOOC and nomadic learner behaviour identification on a connectivist rhizomatic learning network
Bozkurt, Aras; Honeychurch, Sarah; Caines, Autumm; Bali, Maha; et al.
This article contributes to the literature on connectivism, connectivist MOOCs (cMOOCs) and rhizomatic learning by examining participant interactions, community formation and nomadic learner behavior in a particular ...
Match: massive open online courses; MOOCs
Metaliteracy as pedagogical framework for learner-centered design in three MOOC platforms: Connectivist, Coursera and Canvas
O'Brien, Kelsey; Forte, Michele; Mackey, Thomas; Jacobson, Trudi
This article examines metaliteracy as a pedagogical model that leverages the assets of MOOC platforms to enhance self-regulated and self-empowered learning. Between 2013 and 2015, a collaborative teaching team within ...
Match: massive open online courses; MOOCs
Advancing teaching with massive open online courses: A review of case studies
Li, Kam Cheong; Wong, Billy Tak Ming
This paper reviews the adoption of massive open online courses (MOOCs) by higher education institutions for teaching on-campus courses, and summarises the good practices from relevant case studies. From a total of 28 ...
Match: massive open online courses; MOOCs
What research says about MOOCs – An explorative content analysis
Zawacki-Richter, Olaf; Bozkurt, Aras; Alturki, Uthman; Aldraiweesh, Ahmed
Since the first offering of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in 2008, the body of literature on this new phenomenon of open learning has grown tremendously. In this regard, this article intends to identify and map ...
Match: massive open online courses; MOOCs
Leveraging Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for Increased Access and Quality Education in Nigeria
Yunusa, Abdullahi Abubakar; Umar, Irfan Naufal; Ussher, James
The growing demand for higher education across the educational landscape in different contexts is impacting research in innovative ideas that may potentially transform the higher education system for increased access ...
Match: massive open online courses; MOOCs
An Analysis of Course Characteristics, Learner Characteristics, and Certification Rates in MITx MOOCs
Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil; Cagiltay, Kursat; Celik, Berkan
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), capable of providing free (or low cost) courses for millions of learners anytime and anywhere, have gained the attention of researchers, educational institutions, and learners ...
Match: massive open online courses; MOOCs
An examination of xMOOCs: An embedded single case study based on Conole’s 12 dimensions
Kocdar, Serpil; Okur, Recep M.; Bozkurt, Aras
This study intends to examine the xMOOCs offered by one of the mainstream MOOC platforms in Conole’s 12 dimensions. For this purpose, the research employed an embedded single case study using heuristic inquiry to ...
Match: massive open online courses; MOOCs
