Executive Summary
This report details the responses of seven Israeli higher education institutions (HEIs) to survey questions about their MOOC offerings, and compares them to other European HEIs. The surveys show that the two main target groups of the Israeli MOOCs were either full time students enrolled at the institution, or "everybody". The impact of the MOOCs was strongest for online and distant students, and lowest on the HEI's management and administration.
The Israeli respondents did not feel that MOOCs are likely to cause confusion about higher education degrees in Israel, thought that MOOCs are important for institutions to learn about online pedagogy, and agreed with the statement that MOOCs are a sustainable method for offering courses. They reported that the two primary institutional objectives for MOOCs were flexible learning opportunities, and increasing the institution's visibility. Most institutions reported that it is still too early to tell whether MOOCs are helping institutions to reach their goals.
The Israeli HEIs were positive towards collaborating with other institutions on topics such as the use of MOOC platforms, learning analytics and networks/communities on MOOCs, and towards outsourcing services such as the development and use of MOOC platforms.
This is the first year that Israeli HEIs are participating in the survey. Overall, the picture revealed is quite similar to the overall picture of European HEIs. Nevertheless, an important caveat is that only a small number of institutions responded to the survey questions, and in some of the sections the respondents reported uncertainty about their answers. Future surveys should cover a larger number of institutions, and aim to reach a wider set of experts and decision makers in the institutions.

Keywords

higher education · Israel · MOOC · MOOC research · OER research