Title: Benefits of MOOCs
Course: Digivisio DEMO: Planning and creating a MOOC > Section: Starting points for planning a MOOC

Before you start creating a MOOC, you should stop and think for a moment about why you are doing it. What are the benefits of the MOOC and for whom?

You should not create MOOCs just because you want to create one, or because everyone else does. MOOCs are also not a mechanism for saving teachers’ resources in higher education institutions or a solution that replaces all teaching. However, MOOCs are one way among many of delivering education and pedagogically well-planned MOOCs have many advantages, which is why they are worth creating.

One of the advantages of MOOCs is that as studies are fully implemented online, they make it possible to offer diverse and flexible learning opportunities that adapt to the individual needs of large groups of learners at the same time. MOOCs typically also require fewer resources and have lower costs than traditional contact teaching. However, you should remember that a pedagogically meaningful MOOC does not build itself, and creating a MOOC also takes up time and resources.

In the following, you will learn more about the benefits of MOOCs from different perspectives: those of learners, teachers, higher education institutions (HEI’s) and tools.

Learner:
A fully online MOOC offers the learner a flexible option for studying, as they can participate wherever they are, as long as they have an internet connection and a suitable terminal device. Some MOOCs can also be completed whenever it suits the learner best. Versatile digital tools and applications are also available online that can be used to adapt the studies to suit different learners.

Teacher:

When planning a MOOC, teachers can use such pedagogical solutions as automated assessment, enabling the teacher to make optimal use of their personal resources. For example, a teacher can plan a MOOC which learners can take whenever and wherever they are and in which automated assessment is used. No teacher is needed during the studies, which means that the teacher can use their resources to interact with learners on another course, for example.

HEI:

MOOCs, especially those in which fully automated assessment is used, are highly scalable. In practice, this means that hundreds and even thousands of learners can be offered learning opportunities relying on the same teacher’s work input. The teacher's resources that this frees up can be flexibly allocated to other teaching tasks. Scalability also means income for the higher education institution in the form of completed credits.

Tools:

Various learning platforms offer different tools for learners. The tools can be used to create a pedagogically and visually relevant and accessible learning environment for learners. Most learning platforms also offer tools that enable automated assessment, including different tests and mechanisms for monitoring progress in studies. This means that the teacher’s resources are freed up and can be used for other teaching tasks rather than online assessment.

References

Bates, A. 2015. Teaching in a digital age. Available: https://www.tonybates.ca/teaching-in-a-digital-age/

Boman, N., Huczkowski, P., Lepola, S. & Pekkarinen, V. 2021. Opiskelua verkossa Mikrojen ja MOOCien avulla. Teoksessa Harmoinen, P. & Ruotsalainen, A-L. (toim.) Avointa ja Digiä! – opettajan ohjekirja opetuksen suunnitteluun ja kehittämiseen. Laurea julkaisut 160, 18–33. Available only in Finnish: https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/415213/Laurea%20Julkaisut%20160.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y

Pekkarinen, V. 2021. Rakentaisinko MOOCin vai en? Siinäpä vasta kysymys. Laurea Journal. Available only in Finnish: https://journal.laurea.fi/rakentaisinko-moocin-vai-en-siinapa-vasta-kysymys/#559440e0

Pekkarinen, V. & Tolonen, T. 2022. Automatisoitu, vuorovaikutteinen ja pelillinen – monenlaiset MOOCit opetuksessa. Laurea Journal. Available only in Finnish https://journal.laurea.fi/automatisoitu-vuorovaikutteinen-ja-pelillinen-monenlaiset-moocit-opetuksessa/#ddb35e78

Porter, S. 2015. To MOOC or not to MOOC: How can online learning help to build the future of higher education? Waltham: Chandos Publishing.

Image: Virve Pekkarinen, using DALL.E AI application