After working in the field of Instructional Technology for almost twenty years, Ive seen many technologies that might impact higher education come and go. In the initial stages, universities often experiment with the latest gadgets or Internet services without thinking too much about the concrete, real-world applications the technologies might have.

MOOCs Massive Online Open Courses are a new model for online courses that have quickly gained interest and support among universities in recent months. We still find ourselves at the experimental stage, but its not too early to think about what kind of long-term impact MOOCs might have in higher education.

Some see MOOCs up-ending the whole model of higher education, allowing students to complete full courses of study in a non-traditional format, particularly with international students, which have made up a large part of the student body in early MOOC courses. Others see MOOCs playing a much smaller role, with the MOOC system of badges or certificates for course completion integrated into programs higher education institutions already offer.

I am much more of a pragmatist when it comes to any technology often, the promises of major change resulting from something new wind up being more subtle and nuanced. In the case of MOOCs, it is difficult to imagine that the non-classroom aspects of the undergraduate experience can be easily replaced by a computer screen.

What makes a MOOC unique and, in the short term, what role could they play in the core educational mission of universities?

Features of a MOOC

Theres nothing particularly new about MOOCs. Most universities have offered online courses for many years and the basic technologies involved video lectures, discussion forums, tests, and the like are the same we have used with on-campus and distance students. The only difference is the scale.

By their very nature large numbers of students, no direct faculty interaction with individual students, a pre-programmed course of study and assessments MOOCs would appear to have what some have called limitations when compared with a traditional face to face course or smaller online credit course with high faculty involvement. However, these arent limitations as much as features that make MOOCs unique.

MOOCs are built on efficiency of scale, giving access to the teaching of a world class professor to thousands of students at once. The lectures, assessments and activities for a course especially an online course and the expertise of the professor behind the content isnt cheap and, in many cases, is unique to a particular university. A MOOC throws open the door of the professors classroom, allowing him to teach more than just a few dozen students at a time.

Because of the scale, hands on involvement by the faculty member is limited. This shifts the responsibility for learning the material squarely on the shoulders of the individual student and their motivations to learn. It also shifts conversation and dialogue about the content to a more diverse student population that could be worldwide a community of learners.

Continued here:
Online Education: What Is a MOOC?