MOOCS, Students, Higher Education and Their Paradoxes

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) have attracted a great deal of attention in the media. Some of this coverage has promoted myths to the effect that MOOCS are completely new (not a continuation of previous practices in education), monolithic, and inevitable. They are not. The author provides an extensive discussion of how MOOCS have developed from previous practices of distance education, lifelong learning, and open educational resources. She then explains why MOOCS are "fragile," mainly because they are in clear danger of not living up to the hype that has surrounded them. And they are not monolithic: various types have emerged, and more continue to emerge. The author concludes with the observation that the MOOC movement is one of many "wicked paradoxes" that will be very challenging for higher educational institutions to address.