What are Massively Open Online Courses?

One of the hottest trends in distance learning over the last few years have been massively open online courses (MOOC). Many people believe they are going to revolutionize not just online learning but the entire education system. There is a long way to go before that happens but it is still a good idea to know just what these courses are.

Massively open online courses are intended to have the broadest level of participation possible, this usually means that they are taught over the internet and in most cases are free. As the name implies they also have open enrolment, meaning that anybody who wants to enrol can.

The part that attracts the attention of most people is the free part, yes it is possible to take online university courses for free. There is however a major catch, you don't earn university credit for them. You will however get a certificate of completion that you can use to prove that you have taken and passed the course.

Who Offers Massively Open Online Courses?

There are a number of places that you can take MOOC's, the big ones are Udacity and Coursera. Both are are private companies that offer courses that are taught by some of the top universities in the world. One of fastest growing MOOC provider is edX which was started by MIT but now includes participation from several top universities like Harvard and Stanford. There are lots of other providers that offer courses, a quick online search will bring up dozens of them.

Who Takes Massively Open Online Courses?

There are all kinds of people who take courses through MOOC providers, the most common are people who simply have an interest in the subject and want to learn more. Many people also use them for career development. While you will not get university credit for the courses that you take you do get a certificate of completion. This certificate can be helpful career wise for many people. These courses tend to be best suited for people who already have a degree and want to increase the knowledge or learn new skills.

It is also pretty clear that a lot of the people who take massively open online courses are just dabblers and not all that serious about them. Statistics show that the courses have a very low completion rate with less than ten percent of people who sign up completing the course.

Getting Credit for Massively Open Online Courses

As mentioned earlier it is not normally possible to get college credit for MOOCs however this is starting to change. The downside however is that it will not be free. Udacity have partnered with San Jose State University to grant credit for at least some of their courses. In order to get the credit however you will need to take a proctored exam which costs about a hundred dollars. Still this is quite a bit cheaper than taking a regular college course.

Some of the other MOOC providers are also starting to find ways to grant credit on a limited basis. Some have had their courses recommended for college transfer credit by outside agencies for example although again this requires a proctored exam. It is also possible in many cases to use what you have learned to challenge for credit at a university, most will allow you to do this. Still if your goal is college credit massively open online courses may not be the best option.