Abstract
The paper focuses on MOOC (massive open online courses) that are considered to be a revolution in education. These courses currently enjoy great popularity, universities that joined this concept declare million of students enrolled. Following the initiative of the European Union, MOOC have grown rapidly, today offering access to courses to those interested in some of the largest universities in the world, created by top researchers and industry experts from all fields. Initially, these courses were served to deepen students' knowledge and were used in the tutoring system. MOOC have become an alternative to paid courses for many categories of people: students, pupils, parents, teachers, counselors, tutors, adults, pensioners, the unemployed. The paper also deals with the advantages and disadvantages of MOOC. The next part of the paper presents the three platforms that offer such courses: Coursera, Edx, Udacity. MOOC courses are generally offered by top universities and their content reaches high standards. Not everybody is allowed to launch MOOC on the recognized platforms, there are certain guarantees of quality. Coursera provides universal access to the world's best education, partnering with top universities and organizations to offer courses online. Edx offers high-quality education to everyone, regardless of their location, social status or income. Edx courses are a great way to learn new skills, foster a love of lifelong learning and get an insider's look into celebrated universities. Udacity offers nanodegree programs and credentials, designed so that professionals become web developers, data analysts, mobile developers.
For the moment MOOC courses are at the beginning worldwide. In time, new business models will develop which means that we will see increasingly more courses that will provide formal university training. This effect of liberalization and openness of education will represent the revolution in education of this decade. Faced with these new challenges, schools, colleges and universities will have to rethink their strategies and remain competitive. |
Keywords
massive open online courses, online learning, education, platform, information technology, university |