The Maturing of the MOOC

The Maturing of the MOOC
UK Universities, therefore, need to evaluate their strategies and develop responses. The
agenda for reflection and response is presented under the headings of Sustainability,
Pedagogy, Credit and Capacity.
In addition to its rehearsal of MOOC history development, the UniversitiesUK report
highlights the trends which capture its diagnosis of MOOCs as the “digital moment” for UK
HE. These include:
a) Increasing emphasis in professional development as a MOOC application. The use
of vocational content, badges, validation and the involvement of recruitment
services as sponsors testify to this
b) Segmenting of courses by ability – such as Udacity’s tiered system and the entrylevel
courses conducted by Community Colleges
c) A growing trend for students to exchange reviews and judgments about courses,
leading to rapid circulation of opinion about design and materials, and responses
from course organisers
d) A blurring of the boundaries between different kinds of MOOC (the xMOOC and
cMOOC distinction is “breaking down” and MOOCs are increasingly run alongside
campus traditional courses
e) Increasing focus on formal recognition of MOOC learning as a priority for policy
makers and institutions. Methods for accrediting such learning will include badges
and adoption of validation techniques such as keyboard tracking and honour codes.
The lack of any systematic credit recognition policy in any UK MOOC is noted.
1. Supporting educational missions. Taking as a model the way news publishers
have supported their titles through online versions, the report cites evidence that
open educational resources drive up paid course enrolments by around 10%.
Market leaders are particularly well placed to attract new students from a strong
free web presence. Expanding a University’s footprint in the digital space is less
risky, less costly and faster than doing so in the real world.
2. Driving Internationalisation. Noting that international participation in MOOCs is
much higher than other forms of HE, Universities UK recommends MOOCs both as
a lower cost alternative to some Trans National Education (TNE) arrangements,
and as a way of delivering preparation and induction to students prior to embarking
on TNE arrangements.
3. Diversified learning pathways. MOOCs offer a new and flexible pathway in
learning. To take advantage, faculties are urged to join MOOCs experimentally,
along with their students; and to audit the IP of their content with a view to clearing
copyright for MOOC publication in due course.
4. Cost restructuring. Citing again the experience of news publishers, whose cost
model has been re-invented by the internet, UniversitiesUK advises that the free
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