Abstract
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) comprise educational content developed for mass delivery through the internet, and became a mainstream educational trend in 2012. The availability of high-quality online courses free of charge challenges the traditional brick and mortar university model in a variety of ways, and particularly in their economic and pedagogical paradigms. This chapter summarises the history of MOOCs and looks into the differences between this type of online coursework and traditional e-learning content. The potential of MOOCs with respect to their target public and educational scenarios is then considered, followed by a section that discusses the advantages and disadvantages of these courses. The implications of MOOCs on higher-education teaching and learning is the subject of the closing section.
Don’t be afraid to ask, comrade!
Don’t be talked into anything.
Check for yourself!
What you do not know yourself
you don’t know.
Scrutinise the bill,
it is you who must pay it.
Put your finger on each item,
ask: how did this get there?
You must take over the leadership.
In praise of learning (Bertolt Brecht)
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Ferreira, J.M.M. (2016). Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). In: Rosa, M., Sarrico, C., Tavares, O., Amaral, A. (eds) Cross-Border Higher Education and Quality Assurance. Issues in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59472-3_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59472-3_12
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