To MOOC or Not to MOOC

To MOOC or Not to MOOC

by Sarah Porter
Released May 2015
Publisher(s): Chandos Publishing
ISBN: 9780081000618

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Book description

Scarcely a week goes by without coverage in the UK and international media about the latest MOOC revelation. Despite some significant initiatives in the dotcom era, online learning has somehow never delivered on its promise to revolutionize education. To MOOC or not to MOOC explores the history of MOOCs and analyses the current MOOC context by describing six institutions and the story of their engagement with MOOCs. Looking at each of the different type of institution in turn, it analyses the processes behind their decision to engage with online learning and MOOCs, how the MOOC project is managed and led, and discusses issues such as quality assurance, governance and partnerships. Chapters draw together and analyse the data and draw out advice for institutions, to help them make choices about how to respond to MOOCs and other high-impact changes in digital education. The book contains checklists and planning tools to support strategy and planning, and concludes with a future look at MOOCs  exploring some of the possible trends that may impact upon higher education, such as business models, data and analytics, learning design and competitors in the MOOC marketplace.



  • Aimed at higher educational professionals who are interested in the strategic importance and potential of online learning
  • Written from an understanding of the strategic context for senior managers in universities
  • Focus upon a major trend in technology and education illustrated by concrete examples of real practice in institutions
  • Implement case studies to draw out conclusions not only about online learning but also decision-making and innovation

Table of contents

  1. Cover image
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Chandos
  5. Copyright
  6. List of tables
  7. Biography
  8. Introduction
  9. Part One
    1. 1. What are MOOCs?
      1. Introduction
      2. Definitions
      3. Where did MOOCs come from?
      4. The growth of MOOCs
      5. Criticism of MOOCs
    2. 2. The MOOCosphere
      1. Introduction
      2. Other MOOC providers
      3. Notes
    3. 3. Examples of MOOCs
      1. Introduction
      2. Digital storytelling, DS106, University of Mary Washington
      3. Phonar, photography MOOC
      4. Understanding Dementia MOOC, University of Tasmania
      5. Buddhism and Modern Psychology, Princeton University
      6. Conclusion
    4. 4. Introduction to the case studies
    5. 5. The confident entrepreneurs
      1. The MOOC story so far
      2. Imperatives for investing in MOOCs
      3. Context: strategic investment in online and distance learning
      4. Governance and decision making
      5. Resourcing
      6. Quality assurance
      7. Accreditation
      8. Partnerships
      9. Future strategy
      10. Key points
    6. 6. The old hands: experts in online and distance learning
      1. The MOOC story so far
      2. Imperatives for investing in MOOCs
      3. Resourcing
      4. Quality assurance
      5. Student experience
      6. Accreditation
      7. Partnerships
      8. Future strategy
      9. Key points
    7. 7. The institutional innovators
      1. MOOC platforms
      2. Governance and decision making
      3. Resourcing
      4. Quality assurance
      5. Future strategy
      6. Key points
    8. 8. The opportunists
      1. Imperatives for investing in MOOCs
      2. MOOC activities to date
      3. Governance and decision making
      4. Resourcing
      5. Quality assurance
      6. Student experience
      7. Accreditation
      8. Partnerships
      9. Future strategy
      10. Key points
    9. 9. The cautious experimenters
      1. MOOC activities to date
      2. Governance and decision making
      3. Resourcing (including funding)
      4. Quality assurance
      5. Student experience
      6. Accreditation
      7. Partnerships
      8. Future strategy
      9. Key points
    10. 10. The old guard
      1. Open education
      2. MOOCs
      3. Key points
    11. 11. Key issues that emerged from the case studies
      1. Imperatives for engagement in MOOCs
      2. Governance and decision making
      3. Quality assurance
      4. Partnerships and MOOC models
      5. Costs and business models
    12. 12. Planning the MOOC project
      1. Introduction
      2. Stage 1: initial planning (project initiation)
      3. Stage 2: planning
      4. Stage 3: running the MOOC project
    13. 13. Planning your MOOC—costings
      1. Content creation
      2. Copyright clearance and legal advice
      3. Governance
      4. Additional costs that are specific to in-house MOOCs
      5. Additional costs from working with an external MOOC platform
    14. 14. Business models for MOOCs
      1. Udacity business models
      2. What is in it for the university partner?
      3. Coursera monetization options
      4. What is in it for the university partner?
      5. edX financial arrangement options
      6. What is in it for the university partner?
      7. What is in it for the university partner?
      8. FutureLearn business models
      9. What is in it for the university partner?
      10. Revenue generation options for universities who provide MOOCs
    15. 15. Additional benefits of MOOCs
      1. Developing markets and building relationships with new customers
      2. Developing new markets through more flexible courses
      3. Bespoke course development with partners
      4. Conclusion
  10. Part Two. Looking to the future
    1. Introduction
    2. 16. Understanding your market—the learner as consumer
      1. Introduction
      2. Understanding learner motivation
      3. Learning design
      4. Learner support
      5. MOOC content and flipping the classroom
      6. Conclusion
    3. 17. Data and analytics
      1. MOOCs and analytics
      2. Analytics in MOOCs
    4. 18. The developing MOOC market
      1. For-profit online providers of higher education
      2. Publishers
      3. Software and systems service providers
      4. Implications for universities in the future
  11. Appendix A. Understanding your MOOC-i-vation
  12. Appendix B. Checklist of costs for developing MOOCs
  13. Appendix C. Framework for the design and evaluation of MOOCs, Lytics Lab, Stanford University
  14. Index

Product information

  • Title: To MOOC or Not to MOOC
  • Author(s): Sarah Porter
  • Release date: May 2015
  • Publisher(s): Chandos Publishing
  • ISBN: 9780081000618