The 21st century has been marked by a great volume of technologies and changes that create a great demand for quality in higher education. Distance education and online Learning are largely mentioned as options for meeting this demand in transformation in education especially with the rise of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) and the platforms that hosts them, being presented as a revolution for e-learning.
MOOCS first gained prominence in the 2010s as a reaction to the increasing demand for accessible and affordable education. These courses are characterized by their often, free or low-cost access, more personalized learning through readings, videos, webinars, discussions, and quizzes built on a participatory approach aimed at reinforcing personal critical reflection and peer-to-peer learning mostly on a 6-8 weeks basis.
Early platforms like Coursera, Udemy, Gotocourse and edX paved the way for MOOC development. Coursera founded in 2012, partners with universities and Organizations worldwide, offering a vast catalog of multidisciplinary courses and degrees between theory and practice with certification.
According to (Lewin 2012, Wulf, Brenner, Leimeister 2014), Massive Open Online Courses has more than 400,000 individuals enrolled across 32 online courses and should be considered a means of democratizing education. MOOCs can be considered as the fifth generation of distance education and have the potential to reach and assist students with disadvantaged background and in developing countries, providing access to good education for those who would not have it any other way. However, ensuring that MOOCs provide access to satisfactory education for these students involves ensuring access to the necessary IT infrastructure. Without recognizing these fundamental economic and technological disparities, it is not possible to reach the population that most needs access to education.
The first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) was conducted in 2008 by George Siemens and Stephen Downes. MOOCs are characterized by the absence of formal requirements for enrollment and free participation, by the content being delivered entirely online in an asynchronous manner, by not requiring a link with universities and the lack of penalty for evasion. By definition, MOOCs are offered in virtual environments, with online registration and use of videos, blogs, etc. and may or may not be linked to universities. The “M” refers to “Massive”, which means that thousands of people can simultaneously take courses.
This is the characteristic that differentiates MOOCs from other e-learning experiences, since it relates to the capacity and size of the network to generate new knowledge, thus reflecting participatory learning, respecting the diversity of the large number of participants. The first “O” refers to “open”, which means that participation in courses is not restricted by geo-graphical location, age or financial resources. This aspect may include open technology, open software, open content, open evaluation process, open registration, and open educational resources. The second “O” means “online,” meaning that MOOCs are exclusively Internet-based courses. Finally, “C” refers to “Courses”.
In general, there are two formats of MOOCs: cMOOCs and xMOOCs, which have been widely adopted in the literature. The cMOOCs have a connectivist nature and are aligned with the principle of open education, they focus on the creation and generation of knowledge, emphasize connected and collaborative learning and share the notion of free worldwide participation in a non-credit course. On the other hand, xMOOCs follow a more traditional approach to learning through video conferences, short questionnaires and peer evaluations, focusing on knowledge duplication and being more structured. Despite this division, we may observe that MOOCs tend to be closer to one of the ends of this spectrum, but incorporate elements of both models.
MOOCs are an innovation for higher education as they offer a fundamentally innovative way of learning encouraging universities to rethink the curriculum development process for more open and flexible educational models, enabling lifelong autonomous learning. In this context, MOOCs bring the need to redefine concepts to describe and understand user behaviour while reaching a new audience and improving the quality of education:
Engaging and interactive educational style, technology has transformed education by making learning more engaging and interactive. Multimedia elements, educational software, gamification, and virtual simulations capture students’ attention and make learning fun. This not only increases motivation but also deepens understanding and retention of the material.
Communication and collaboration are vital in education, and IT tools facilitate both. Online discussion forums, video conferencing, and collaborative platforms enable students and educators to connect and work together, fostering a sense of community and shared learning.
Information technology is not only beneficial for students but also for educators. It offers opportunities for teacher professional development, enabling educators to enhance their teaching methods, stay updated on pedagogical trends, and access resources for more effective instruction.
In developing countries, ensuring access to quality education through MOOCs for the population necessarily involves ensuring the access to the needed hardware and IT infrastructure. It is not possible to reach the population that most needs access to education without recognizing these economic and technological disparities.
Literature on distance learning has indicated the importance of adapting technology for high quality learning, suggesting that the technological tool should not be reduced to just putting courses online, and so it should contemplate a number of features that allow access to a large number of users, technologies focused on users and their needs.
As technology continues to advance, its role in education will only become more pronounced, driving innovation and ensuring that education remains relevant, accessible, and effective for generations to come.