Running Head: MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES 1

Massive Open Online Courses

Exsa Y. Smith

Northern Arizona University

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Massive Open Online Courses

Currently at this school, open enrollment is the policy. By implementing Massive Open

Online Courses (MOOCs) it can increase enrollment which can be a great benefit for the school.

They also provide the uniqueness of attracting a large diversity of students. MOOCs have the

potential to engage a large number of students even thousands to take a single course. Stanford is

an excellent example of using MOOCs as they offered a course on artificial intelligence, taught

by two celebrity professors, and attracted 150,000 students. The class size may be intimidating

to instructors, and the common tasks of regular interaction and evaluation are almost impossible;

however, a recent report demonstrates the massiveness of MOOCs is a net boon, because it can

energize students and faculty experiences (North, Richardson, & North, 2014 p. 70).

MOOCs are unique in many ways. For instance they provide diversity and disparity for

colleges. Students who are taking MOOC courses inherently represent wider and larger diversity

compared with traditional structured curriculum courses. MOOCs experience a wider variety of

elements such as background education, specific knowledge and skill. While like the traditional

online courses, students geographically present disparity, naturally the magnitude is much larger

with the MOOCs offerings (North, Richardson, & North, 2014 p. 70). A MOOC may be

patterned on a college or university course or may be less structured. Although MOOCs don't

always offer academic credits, they provide education that may enable certification, employment

or further studies (Wigmore, 2013).

MOOCs show evidence that they can be effective but can also have challenges. Russian

universities are introducing the practice of replacing courses taught in person by a teacher in

front of a classroom with online courses (Semenova & Rudakova, 2016, p. 231). Discussion
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forums became productive spaces of engagement for participants as they participated in MOOCs

(McCorkle, Halasek, Clinnin, & Selfe, 2016, p. 60).

However, online courses are primarily viewed not as a replacement for traditional

courses, but as a means of acquiring additional education and advanced training Semenova &

Rudakova, 2016, p. 231). It can be difficult with MOOCs because of a typical college course has

about thirty-five hours devoted to instruction. A typical MOOC includes videos totaling less than

half that time. Reducing a fifty-minute class to one or two five-to fifteen-minute videos is

difficult. They leave out a lot of time and may leave students with unanswered questions

(Bonevac, 2016, p. 64).

A way to help with the challenges of MOOCs is by watching MOOCs in groups because

it provides highly satisfying learning experience as learners feel connected and interactions

among them are enabled. It was identified that synchronicity while watching video lectures is a

desirable attribute of collaborative video watching (Li et al., 2014, p. 231).

One of the notable features of MOOCs is their flexibility from the standpoint of the

student (Eisenberg & Fischer, n.d.). The learning outcomes can also be implausible. Some

students may only want to acquire basic knowledge and skills without concern for credit. Others

want to develop higher order skills such as problem-solving abilities, mental models and the

desire for lifelong learning, expand social networks and/or advance to formal study. All of these

possible outcomes should be accommodated in MOOC design and delivery when implementing

MOOCs (Park, Jung, & Reeves, 2015, p. 75).

There are many steps to follow when implementing an MOOC. It can cause some

headache to get started. Selecting a MOOC provider can be difficult if will probably involve a lot
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of work and likely wont play to the strengths of the school. It can be beneficial to use an

existing platform/provider (Manallack & Yuriev, 2016, p. 2). A wider ecosystem of non-

university providers, operating in a mixed global economy of higher learning, could even

dismantle the universitys widely accepted societal role at the centre of advanced knowledge

(Sharrock, 2015, p. 606).

Another step being aware of MOOC performance and success rates: MOOC instructors,

online course designers, administrators overseeing an institutions digital offerings, the

administration and faculty at large, and institutional governing boards all have a vested interest

in understanding the effects of MOOCs on student outcomes (Evans & Baker, 2016, p. 71).

Those involved with the implementation need to be included in the decision making.

It is important to ask the question, Why do you want to develop a MOOC? Is it merely

fashionable to have one or is there a serious educational imperative? A major appeal of MOOCs

is that they provide education to a multitude of people across the planet (usually without cost).

Instead of lecturing to a class of 100 individuals, the school can reach many thousands of people,

often on a topic close to their heart. It is important to keep in mind the broad diversity of

participants who will differ considerably in their educational background, age, and culture. In

some cases, the MOOC is oriented to showcasing the educational strengths of an institution and

represents, in effect, a branding exercise (Manallack & Yuriev, 2016, p. 1).

Given that all MOOCs suffer from a rapid drop-off in numbers throughout the course, the

school would need to consider how to maintain the interest of the participants. Getting involved

in a MOOC will allow the school to understand what works and which platforms are appealing

(Manallack & Yuriev, 2016, p. 1). This can be a key as the MOOC is implemented. Deciding on
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a subject matter is key in for the MOOC as it is showcasing the school (Manallack & Yuriev,

2016, p. 2).

Several people will have been involved from the earliest decisions of an MOOC

development. For efficiency, there needs to be an established team with clearly defined roles.

This will need to include several academics to both write and present material, a videographer

and video editor, a graphics artist, project manager, text editor, and solicitor (where needed).

Budgets and schedules must be assembled including tasks to be completed, meeting dates, etc.

Even more important is communication, via email and shared document areas. MOOC providers

can be extremely useful to map out tasks, ensure quality control, monitor intellectual property,

facilitate dialogue, and set up deadlines. The lines of communication also need to be stated, such

as who will liaise with the MOOC provider. Having a release date certainly sharpens the mind

(Manallack & Yuriev, 2016, p. 2).

When it is time to design the MOOC, depending on the MOOC provider, they are likely

to have a set format for their courses. This is an advantage, as it specifies valuable guidelines on

videos, quizzes, discussion boards, polls, and so forth (Manallack & Yuriev, 2016, p. 2).

There will be challenges with MOOCs. A fundamental problem associated with MOOCs

(and arguably with online education in general) is the overwhelmingly "virtual", screen-based

nature of the presentation channel. The difficulty of bridging the gap between MOOCs and the

wide range of models (beyond the lecture hall) of undergraduate education connects with several

running themes and traditions in learning sciences research (Eisenberg & Fischer, n.d.).

Another challenge is the issues of privacy and control over user-produced content

potentially come into conflict with data collection goals; these goals can have both educational
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and economic purposes, depending on the aims and emphasis of the MOOC provider.

Reconciling technological advances with the requirements of FERPA, partnerships between

institutions and third party providers, and the lack of clarity over the student status of MOOC

enrollees raises multiple issues related to user privacy and FERPA (Hutchens & Hulbert, 2016,

p. 59).

Retention can be a challenge. One of the major challenges of MOOCs is drop rate. Since

students do not invest any financial resources, it is easy for them to drop a course at any time

without any of the consequences that they would have faced with traditional courses (North,

Richardson, & North, 2014 p. 70). Plagiarism and cheating related to the online courses are also

challenges (North, Richardson, & North, 2014 p. 70).

Time can be a challenge. Students who did not complete the courses, said lack of time

was the top reason. However students that were surveyed reported a positive learning experience,

but lack of feedback and/or poor quality were reported as negative experiences (Liu et al, 2014).

Given the self-directed structure of MOOCs, one important question concerns how these

environments may alter childrens study patterns and habits. An early study of students

navigation patterns shows that children and youth engage MOOCs differently than their older

peers (Yin, Adams, Goble, & Francisco Vargas Madriz, 2015, p. 90).

A way to assist with the challenges can be easily resolved by using the common-sense

practices that have been working for traditional online courses in the past. Other simple

alternative strategies may be to have students to take a challenge test to validate their learning

outcome (North, Richardson, & North, 2014 p. 72). Students learn differently and some may not
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perform well taking classes online. By having students participate in a challenge test before

taking online classes can assist with issues that could arise.

It is important to have staff and faculty involved with students progress. Engagement is

promoted when the course staff is accessible and shows passion in teaching the course. Instructor

accessibility may be defined as the extent an instructor is willing to interact with course

participants (Hew, 2016, p. 331).

The growing popularity of MOOCs is evident in the millions (e.g. over thirteen million

on Coursera in spring 2015) of students across the globe who have registered for the courses, in

the growing number of courses offered, and in their breadth of subject areas. MOOCs are distinct

from most other forms of online higher education in that they are free, simultaneously reach tens

of thousands of students, and have support from top tier institutions which grants them an air of

legitimacy that online courses have never previously achieved (Evans, Baker, & Dee, 2016, p.

207). As MOOCs have risen in prominence, scale, and scope, there has also been limited, but

widely publicized, descriptive evidence that surprisingly large numbers of registrants fail to

finish these courses (Evans et al., 2016, p. 207).

MOOCs may be considered a new kind of distance education, a kind that has taken

universities in North America and elsewhere by storm. Since 2011, major American universities

have hastened to join the new gold rush, and universities around the globe are increasingly

embracing this innovative delivery mode. In fact, the numbers are troubling (Karsenti, 2013, 24).

Because so many have embraced, it will be important to keep up if we want to stay up with

competition and enrollment.

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Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been hailed as an educational revolution

that has the potential to override borders, race, gender, class and income. A survey of active

MOOC users in more than 200 countries and territories has revealed that most students on these

courses are already well educated and that they are predominantly young males seeking to

advance their careers (Emanuel, 2013, p. 342). MOOCs have rapidly become the new black for

online learning (Manallack & Yuriev, 2016, p. 1).

Half of MOOC registrants are employed full-time; the remaining half are students (17%),

self-employed (12%), part-time employed (7%), unemployed (7%), or retired (7%). Most of

these students are non-traditional students (Glass, Shiokawa-Baklan, & Saltarelli, 2016, p. 43).

Hansen and Reich found that MOOC enrollments included American students living in the

nations poorest neighborhoods as well as students living in the wealthiest neighborhoods, and

included students whose parents earned advanced degrees as well as parents with no degree at

all (Glass et al., 2016 p. 43). Interest in massive open online courses (MOOCs) is continuing to

grow (Blackmon, 2016, p. 87).

There are numerous texts that emphasize the globalization possibilities that MOOCs hold

and how globalization could provide higher education access for people around the world

(Blackmon, 2016, p. 88). Postsecondary institutions across the United States provide early/

precollege opportunities for high school students and continuing education courses for anyone in

the community, and MOOCs could hold future possibilities for students in these and other

categories (Blackmon, 2016, p. 89).

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The idea of using MOOCs for professional development and credentialing is not new, but

some researchers assert that the areas of professional development and credentialing could play a

more significant role for MOOCs of the future (Blackmon, 2016, p. 90).

There are challenges related to using MOOCs but there are also many benefits. These

benefits assist the school with enrollment, get the schools name out there and help to educate

diverse students that may not otherwise be able to attend school. Considering the idea to

implement MOOCs can be very beneficial to the future of the school.

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References

Blackmon, S. J. (2016). Through the MOOCing glass: Professors perspectives on the future of

MOOCs in Higher Education. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2015(167), 87-

101.

Bonevac, D. (2016). MOOCs: The directors cut. Academic Questions, 29(1), 59-67.

Eisenberg, M., & Fischer, G. MOOCs: a perspective from the learning sciences. Department of

Computer Science and Institute of Cognitive Science. University of Colorado, Boulder

USA.

Emanuel, E. J. (2013, November 21). Online education: MOOCs taken by educated few. Nature,

50(7476).

Evans, B. J., & Baker, R. B. (2016). MOOCs and persistence: Definitions and predictors. New

Directions for Institutional Research, 2015(167), 69-85.

Evans, B. J., Baker, R. B. & Dee, T. S. (2016). Persistence patterns in massive open online

courses (MOOCs). Journal of Higher Education, 87(2), 206-242.

Glass, C. R., Shiokawa-Baklan, M. S., & Saltarelli, A. J. (2016). Who takes MOOCs?. New

Directions for Institutional Research, 2015(167), 41-55.

Hew, K. F. (2016). Promoting engagement in online courses: What strategies can we learn from

three highly rated MOOCS. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(2), 320-341.

Hutchens, N. H., & Hulbert, A. (2016). Dont forget the fine print: MOOCs and student privacy.

New Directions for Institutional Research, 2015(167), 57-68.

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Karsenti, T. (2013). The MOOC. What the research says. International Journal of Technologies

in Higher Education,10(2).

Li, N., Verma, H., Skevi, A., Zufferey, G., Blom, J., & Dillenbourg, P. (2014). Watching

MOOCs together: investigating co-located MOOC study groups. Distance Education,

35(2), 217-233.

Liu, M., Kang, J., Cao, M., Lim, M., Ko, Y., Myers, R., & Schmitz, A. (2014, August 26).

Understanding MOOCs as an emerging online learning tool: Perspectives from the

students. American Journal Of Distance Education, 28(3).

Manallack, D. T. & Yuriev, E. (2016, October 6). Ten simple rules for developing MOOC. PLos

Computational Biology. 12(10), 1-4.

McCorkle, B., Halasek, K., Clinnin, K., & Selfe, C. L. (2016). Negotiating world Englishes in a

writing-based MOOC. Composition Studies, 44(1), 53-71.

North, S. M., Richardson, R., & North, M. M. (2014).To adapt moocs, or not? That is no longer

the question. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 2(1), 69-72. Retrieved from

http://www.hrpub.org/download/20131215/UJER8-19501233.pdf

Park, Y., Jung, I., & Reeves, T. C. (2015). Learning from MOOCs: a qualitative case study from

the learners perspectives. Educational Media International, 52(2), 72-87.

Semenova, T. V., & Rudakova, L. M. (2016). Barriers to taking massive open online courses

(MOOCs). Russian Education & Society, 58(3), 228-245.

Sharrock, G. (2015). Making sense of the MOOCs debate. Journal of Higher Education Policy &

Management, 37(5), 597-609.

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Wigmore, I. (2013). WhatIs.com. Retrieved from

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/massively-open-online-course-MOOC

Yin, Y., Adams, C., Goble, E., & Francisco Vargas Madriz, L. (2015). A classroom at home:

children and the lived world of MOOCs. Educational Media International, 52(2), 88-99.