Wherefore art thou MOOC: Defining massive open online courses
Published | December 2017 |
Journal | Online Learning Volume 21, Issue 4, Pages 195-221 |
ABSTRACT
Although MOOCs are a much-discussed topic in higher education, these conversations do not often include details regarding the nuanced nature of these courses. What do we mean when we refer to MOOCs? In the current work, we not only delve into the variations of MOOCs, but more specifically, we put a typology we previously created into practice. Our goal with this work is not only to provide an extended categorization for MOOCs, but also to apply those categories to MOOCs that are currently advertised or already available.Keywords | defining MOOCs · MOOCs · online learning · typology |
ISSN | 2472-5730 |
Other number | 4 |
Refereed | Yes |
Rights | Open Access PolicyThis journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. |
DOI | 10.24059/olj.v21i4.1272 |
URL | https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/1272 |
Export options | BibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar |
AVAILABLE FILES
Viewed by 91 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
MOOC makers: Professors’ experiences with developing and delivering MOOCs
Blackmon, Stephanie
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been described as purposeful educational resources for teaching, open educational initiatives, competency-based learning, and the like. They have also been described as an agent ...
Match: blackmon, stephanie; online learning
Towards a model of engaging online students: Lessons from MOOCs and four policy documents
Hew, Khe Foon
The paper describes a model of engaging students in fully online or blended learning environments. To do this, I first discuss the notion of student engagement and how it relates to the Self-Determination Theory of ...
Match: moocs; online learning
MOOC teaching assistants’ global-engaged learning in the US and China
Li, Yue; Armstrong, Anne; Krasny, Marianne
How can we create a “global-at-home” learning experience for university students to engage them in serving global professional communities online? This study applied global engagement surveys alongside interviews ...
Match: moocs; online learning
An empirical study on users' adoption of MOOCs from the perspective of the institutional theory
Gao, Shang; Yang, Yuhao
MOOC, which stands for massive open online course, has attracted millions of users around the world and it has a promise to be a very important element of future education. However, there is a little research on users' ...
Match: moocs; online learning
A new ecology for learning: An online ethnographic study of learners’ participation and experience in connectivist MOOCs
Saadatmand, Mohsen; Kumpulainen, Kristiina; Ilsley, Paul
This dissertation focuses on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which have emerged and heralded as new online learning environments able to serve large numbers of students. Identifying two main types of MOOCs known as ...
Match: moocs; online learning
Why do institutions offer MOOCs?
Hollands, Fiona; Tirthali, Devayani
By reviewing the literature and interviewing 83 individuals knowledgeable about massive open online courses (MOOCs), we investigate the goals of institutions of higher education that are currently developing and ...
Match: moocs; online learning
Developing self-efficacy through a massive open online course on study skills
Rodriguez, Brenda Padilla; Armellini, Alejandro
Self-efficacy is a strong predictor of academic performance, and an area of interest for higher education institutions. This paper reports on a massive open online course (MOOC) on study skills, aimed at increasing ...
Match: moocs; online learning
How MOOC-takers estimate learning success: Retrospective reflection of perceived benefits
Sablina, Svetlana; Kapliy, Natalia; Trusevich, Alexandr; Kostikova, Sofia
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have attracted a great deal of interest in recent years as a new learning technology. Since MOOCs inception, only limited research has been carried out to address how learners ...
Match: moocs; online learning
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: moocs; online learning
How directing formal students to institutionally-delivered OER supports their success
Law, Patrina
The OpenLearn platform was launched in 2006 with the aim of delivering excerpts of the Open University’s (UK) (OU) curriculum as open educational resources (OER). Now reaching over 8.5m learners a year, the platform ...
Match: moocs; online learning