{"id":1356,"date":"2017-11-28T13:46:04","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T18:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.scholarshipowl.com\/?p=1356"},"modified":"2022-03-30T07:48:46","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T11:48:46","slug":"everything-know-moocs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scholarshipowl.com\/blog\/college-life\/everything-know-moocs\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything to Know About MOOCs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"woman<\/a>In the digital age, educational institutes have come up with a way to provide affordable education opportunities to the masses. Behold the Massive Open Online Course: a college-level class offered entirely on the internet with little to no eligibility requirement. Just about everyone can take MOOCs, and many of them are completely free of charge. How do MOOCs work and are they a good choice for our education? Read on to find out!<\/span><\/p>\n

What Is a MOOC?<\/span><\/h2>\n

A Massive Open Online Course is a class offered completely online and open to the masses. MOOCs use traditional teaching materials, such as books and lectures, as well as forums to help students and educators communicate with one another. The “open” element of a MOOC allows for nearly an unlimited number of students to enroll in a class at any given time.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Brief History of MOOCs<\/span><\/h2>\n

MOOCs have been in development since 2006, but they experienced a huge surge in popularity in 2012. In fact, the New York Times referred to 2012 as “The Year of the MOOC.” Once a handful of high-end universities started offering free courses online, other learning institutions saw the need to jump on the bandwagon. Soon there were thousands of MOOCs available all throughout the year, and students were jumping at the chance to expand their education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, MOOCs have died down slightly in popularity. This is similar to a fad diet that becomes a huge success, followed by a dramatic downturn. After the hype subsides, popularity should rise once again until it eventually reaches a plateau.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Are MOOCs Regulated?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Many MOOCs do not provide college credit. They offer college-level information for people interested in the education, but they are not regulated like a college course. It would be impossible for a professor to grade papers for 160,000 students, but that doesn’t mean that 160,000 people cannot benefit from the information. MOOCs mostly benefit people trying to enhance their current knowledge, not those trying to earn a degree.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Types of MOOC Classes Are Available?<\/span><\/h2>\n

There are MOOC classes for almost every subject, from business management, to art, to computer science, and more. Many of these courses are broad and introductory, giving students a chance to learn a little about a subject before advancing into specific sectors of the field. For instance, if you were interested in computer programming, you could take MOOCs for several computer languages to learn the basics. Then you may consider enrolling in a university full time for a more extensive education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Popular MOOC Providers<\/span><\/h2>\n

Most MOOC providers offer courses from multiple educational institutions. For instance, Stanford University has its own MOOC provider (Stanford Online), but it also has courses on several other platforms. Some of the most popular MOOC platforms include:<\/span><\/p>\n