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The Second Year of The MOOC: 2020 Saw a Rush to Large-Scale Online Courses

Edsurge

This was the year that more people learned what a MOOC is. As millions suddenly found themselves with free time on their hands during the pandemic, many turned to online courses—especially, to free courses known as MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses. 2012, the “ Year of the MOOC ” was characterized by media hype.

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Online Degrees Slowdown: A Review of MOOC Stats and Trends in 2019

Edsurge

Last year, MOOC providers announced about 30 new online degrees. This wave of activity and spending by MOOC providers and universities gave me a feeling of deja vu: it reminded me of the 2012 MOOC hype. That is why I called the rise of online degrees the second wave of MOOC-hype and 2018, the year of MOOC-based degrees.

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More MOOC Madness? UK’s FutureLearn Raises $65M to Expand Global Footprint

Edsurge

Less than a week after its announced lead in Coursera’s $103 million Series E round , SEEK is at it again with £50 million (about $65 million) in London-based MOOC platform FutureLearn. This funding is “vindication for Open University betting on a MOOC platform, for investing in a non-U.S. audiences).

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Harvard and MIT Launch Nonprofit to Increase College Access

Edsurge

An Unusual Backstory When MIT and Harvard each invested $30 million to start edX back in 2012, it was surprising news. The founding came at the height of public excitement around free online courses known as MOOCs, which stands for Massive Open Online Courses. In fact, a New York Times piece declared 2012 “ the year of the MOOC.”

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Much Ado About MOOCs: Where Are We in the Evolution of Online Courses?

Edsurge

A lot has changed since 2012 or, the year the New York Times dubbed the "Year of the MOOC." Today, many MOOC providers now charge a fee. And popular providers like Coursera and edX are increasingly partnering with colleges and universities to offer MOOC-based degrees online. And how are universities responding?

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Elite Colleges Started EdX as a Nonprofit Alternative to Coursera. How Is It Doing?

Edsurge

It was 2012, and online learning was suddenly booming. It has the most users of any provider of MOOCs (as the large-scale online courses are sometimes called), claiming more than 77 million learners. Dhawal Shaw, founder of MOOC-discovery platform Class Central. Downsides of Openness?

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Moving From 5% to 85% Completion Rates for Online Courses

Edsurge

MOOCs, shorthand for massive open online courses, have been widely critiqued for their miniscule completion rates. This does not necessarily make MOOCs a failure. That’s a far cry from five years ago, when only 5 percent of the students were finishing the MOOCs I was designing. Use the power of peer pressure.

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