Abstract
In this chapter, I examine potential contribution of massive open online courses (MOOCs) to universities and their students. Rather than speaking about MOOCs in the abstract, I examine actual MOOCs that point to future developments. I locate three areas where MOOCs can make positive contributions: return on investment, new revenue streams, and revolutionary new course and credential formats. The first two contribute to university students, faculty, and administrative leaders within the entrenched university. The new formats indicate a shift from that paradigm to a “Higher Education 2.0” paradigm—the revolution of access to online learning where outcomes can be documented through badges, certificates, and nanodiplomas. Higher Education 2.0 offers a pathway to employment that by-passes conventional universities and their degree programs.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Other organizations such as ALISON had previously offered free online courses, but these were not labeled “MOOCs” until the term came into general use after 2012.
- 2.
See the MOOC platform Coursmos, https://coursmos.com/
- 3.
- 4.
References
Agarwal, A. (2013). Why massively open online courses still matter. Ted talk June 2013 at TED2013. Free online AP courses debut on edX website. https://www.ted.com/talks/anant_agarwal_why_massively_open_online_courses_still_matter?language=en
Anderson, N. (2014, October 20). Free online AP courses debut on edX website. Washington Posthttps://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/free-online-ap-courses-debut-on-edx-web-site/2014/10/20/6b16c204-5883-11e4-b812-38518ae74c67_story.html?utm_term=.c885110743e9
Anderson, C. (2015, March 6). Georgetown joins area colleges and universities in the 21st century badging challenge. Designing the Future(s) of the University. Online at https://futures.georgetown.edu/georgetown-joins-area-colleges-and-universities-in-the-21st-century-skills-badging-challenge/
Bernhard, M. G., & Rothberg, M. V. (2014, September 26). Amidst competition, HarvardX turns to new marketing strategies. The Harvard Crimson. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/9/26/HarvardX-new-marketing-MOOCS/
Biemiller, L. (2014, January 26). Quickwire: For profit university will accept MOOC credits. Chronicle of Higher Education. http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/quickwire-for-profit-university-will-accept-mooc-credits/49805
British Council. (n.d.). Educating the world through massive open online courses. http://www.britishcouncil.in/educating-world-through-massive-open-online-courses
Canning, J. (2014, August). Birmingham-Southern College Showcases Faculty in MOOC World. Private University Products and News.http://www.pupnmag.com/article/detail/6347/birmingham-southern-college-showcases-faculty-in-mooc-world
Chafkin, M. (2013, November 14). Udacity’s Sebastian Thrun, godfather of free online education, changes course. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/3021473/udacity-sebastian-thrun-uphill-climb
Charles Sturt University. (2014). New MOOC will promote tertiary education. http://news.csu.edu.au/latest-news/education/higher-education/new-mooc-will-promote-tertiary-education2
Choi, A. S. (2014, February 6). Online education has a loneliness problem. Can Harvard fix it? Bloomberg Business Week. Online at http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-06/harvard-offers-health-care-innovation-online-course
Colman, D. (2014, September 16). “The Civil War and reconstruction,” a new MOOC by Pulitzer-Prize winning historian Eric Foner. Open Culture. http://www.openculture.com/2014/09/the-civil-war-and-reconstruction-a-new-mooc-by-pulitzer-prize-winning-historian-eric-foner.html
Corcoran, B. (2013, April 15). Adding collaboration to massive online courses. Tech Crunch. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2013-04-15-adding-collaboration-to-massive-online-courses
Coughlan, S. (2013, August 1). Dinosaur experts launch online university course. BBC News. http://www.bbc.com/news/education-23538721
Coy, P. M. (2010, January 7). The disposable worker. Bloomberg Business Week (Cover Story), Online at http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_03/b4163032935448.htm
Davidson, C. N. (2013, May 21). Are MOOCs really the future of the university? EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2013-05-21-opinion-are-moocs-really-the-future-of-the-university
Downes, S. (2012, April 23). The rise of moocs. Knowledge, Learning, Community.http://www.downes.ca/post/57911
Downes, S. (2013, April 9). What the ‘x’ in ‘xmooc’ stands for? https://plus.google.com/+StephenDownes/posts/LEwaKxL2MaM
Education News. (2014, September 29). Marks and Spencer, Leeds University team up for MOOC. http://www.educationnews.org/online-schools/marks-and-spencer-leeds-university-team-up-for-mooc/
Empson, R. (2013, April 15). Stanford’s NovoEd brings collaboration and group learning to MOOCs to help fight attrition. Tech Crunch. Online at http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/15/stanfords-novoed-brings-collaboration-and-group-learning-to-moocs-to-help-fight-attrition/
Enis, M. (2014, May 7). NYPL partners with Coursera. Library Journal. http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2014/05/ed-tech/nypl-partners-with-coursera/
Fain, P. (2012, June 15). Making it count. Inside Higher Education. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/06/15/earning-college-credit-moocs-through-prior-learning-assessment
Fain, P. (2016, August 9). Digital, verified and less open. Inside Higher Education. Online at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/08/09/digital-badging-spreads-more-colleges-use-vendors-create-alternative-credentials
Fox, C. (2013). City of Boston teams with edX to create BostonX. Online Learning Update.http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/onlinelearning/?p=8689
FutureLearn. (2015, May 14). [Updated] FutureLearn delivers the largest MOOC ever as more than 440,000 learners convene for English language learning (Press release). https://about.futurelearn.com/press-releases/futurelearn-delivers-the-largest-mooc-ever-as-nearly-400000-learners-convene-for-english-language-learning/
Georgia Tech. (2014, January 15). Georgia Tech launches world’s first Massive Online Degree Program (Press release). http://www.news.gatech.edu/2014/01/15/georgia-tech-launches-worlds-first-massive-online-degree-program
Ghadiri, K., Qayoumi, M., Junn, E., Hsu, P., & Sujitparapitaya, S. (n.d.). MIT edX’s 6.002x online MOOC content combined with student team-based learning in class. Online at https://www.edx.org/sites/default/files/upload/ed-tech-paper.pdf
Green, T. F. (1980). Predicting the behavior of the educational system. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
Haber, J. (2014, February 2). My year of MOOCs. Slate.http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2014/02/degree_of_freedom_project_earning_a_one_year_b_a_through_moocs.single.html
High, P. (2013, December 16). For the world’s largest MOOC broader is better. Forbes.
Jain, B., & Balasubramaniam, S. (2014, August 25). Massive potential of online open courses. The Hindu. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/Massive-potential-of-online-open-courses/article20851405.ece
Jordan, K. (2015). Massive open online course completion rates revisited: Assessment, length and attrition. The International Review of Open and Distributed Learning, 16, 3. http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/2112/3340
Kanani, R. (2014, June 21). EdX CEO Anant Agarwal on the future of online learning. Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/rahimkanani/2014/06/21/edx-ceo-anant-agarwal-on-the-future-of-online-learning/#20f70099838c
Lausch, B. (2013, July 10). Fox School of Business offers Temple University’s first MOOC, quantitative methods for business. Fox School of Business. (Press release). http://www.fox.temple.edu/posts/2013/07/fox-school-of-business-offers-temple-universitys-first-mooc-quantitative-methods-for-business/
Lederman, D., & Jaschik, S. (2013, August 27). Survey of faculty attitudes on technology. Inside Higher Education. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/survey/survey-faculty-attitudes-technology
Murray, B. (2014, August 2). MOOCs, the future of study? Phnom Penh Post. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/moocs-future-study
Open SAP. (n.d.). About open SAP. https://open.sap.com/pages/about
Pink, D. (2001). Free agent nation: How Americans new independent workers are transforming the way we live. New York: Warner Books.
Pinsent Masons. (2014, September 5). UK launches online course to promote security in cyber space. Out-Law.com. https://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2014/september/uk-launches-online-course-to-promote-security-in-cyber-space/
Prime Minister’s Office Singapore. (n.d.). Smart Nation. http://www.pmo.gov.sg/smartnation
Raths, D. (2014, September 15). University System of Georgia launches MOOC to imagine higher Ed’s future. Campus Technology.https://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/09/15/university-system-of-georgia-launches-mooc-to-imagine-higher-eds-future.aspx
Ries, A., & Trout, J. (1981). Positioning, the battle for your mind. New York: Warner Books/McGraw-Hill Inc.
Schaffhauser, D. (2014, February 20). U Houston system launches AP exam prep and teacher training MOOCs. The Journal.https://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/20/u-houston-system-intros-free-ap-exam-prep-and-teacher-training-moocs.aspx
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody: The power of organizing without organizations. New York: Penguin.
Trout, J. (1969). “Positioning” is a game people play in today’s me-too market place. Industrial Marketing.
Udacity. (n.d.). How to build a startup: The lean launchPad https://www.udacity.com/course/how-to-build-a-startup%2D%2Dep245
University of North Carolina College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. (n.d.). Goldstein and Thorp launch MOOC: “What’s your big idea?” http://www.unceminor.org/about/news/goldstein-and-thorp-launch-mooc-whats-your-big-idea
University of Pennsylvania. (2014, July 6). Disruption ahead: What MOOCs will mean for MBA programs. Knowledge@Wharton. (blog). http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/moocs-mba-programs-opportunities-threats/
University of Virginia Center for Politics. (2013, August 21). Enrollment opens for prof. Sabato’s free online course ‘the Kennedy Half Century’ (Press release). http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/enrollment-opens-for-sabato-free-online-course-kennedy-half-century/
University of Wisconsin at Lacrosse. (2012). Welcome: College readiness math MOOC. News Release. https://www.uwlax.edu/mathmooc/
U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). Census Atlas. Chapter 10: Education. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/censusatlas/pdf/10_Education.pdf
Yu, E. (2014, August 7). Singapore starts MOOC to train data scientists. ZDNet. http://www.zdnet.com/article/singapore-starts-mooc-to-train-data-scientists/
Warburg, P. (2015). One and done: Learn higher education’s best kept secrets, skip the student loans, and graduate college debt free – In under one year (really)! (n.p).
Zalaznick, M. (2015, September). Digital badges hit the big time in higher ed. University Business. Online at https://www.universitybusiness.com/article/digital-badges-hit-big-time-higher-ed
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Waks, L.J. (2019). Massive Open Online Courses and the Future of Higher Education. In: Adesope, O.O., Rud, A.G. (eds) Contemporary Technologies in Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89680-9_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89680-9_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-89679-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-89680-9
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)