According to an assignment writing service, MOOCs can be divided into two types; cMOOCs and xMOOCs. cMOOCs are MOOCs that take into consideration dynamic improvement of study material. That is, rather than having a pre-arranged arrangement of understanding materials and coursework, the material will be created through online conversations and joint efforts among students taking the course over the globe. xMOOCs, involves the regular methodology where the courses are very much organized with pre-chosen perusing and reference materials.
Many massive online open courses are free while many of them are charged. Some MOOC providers charge full fee for each course while others provide free learning and charge fee for certificates or admission only. University of Maryland and University College were the first educational institutions that offered massive online open courses. From 2014 onwards other institutions also started to provide massive online open courses. Universities offer these massive online open courses for many reasons. A free online course can help to introduce the university throughout the world university which can result in greater number of admissions for full time enrolment.
Benefits of Massive Online Open Courses:
These courses are very beneficial for those students who are not able to attend the university or college on a regular basis due to their job or any other factor. These courses are less expensive than the regular courses taught at universities. This is very helpful for those students who can’t afford university fees. Many students wish to get admission in international universities but it is difficult for them to travel to another country and bear the cost of living as well as cost of education. Hence massive online open courses provide them with an opportunity to get online education from their desired university while living in their hometown. The lecture in university on a certain topic is for once during your whole degree. There is no time for repetition of lectures.
If you have missed any important topic you have to request your professor to repeat it or give you an extra session or you will ask your friend for help. But in massive online open courses, there are video based lectures and you can view them again whenever you want. Courses are offered free of cost and access to these courses is presented by professors of the top universities. Courses are accessible to a huge and assorted crowd over the globe. Students' presentation can be observed effectively utilizing the information caught during the beginning of courses. The two teachers and students get overall presentation, in this manner improving educational methods and information sharing. Massive online open courses can be utilized as an apparatus in a mixed learning program, where students can get to more data than what is given in the class.
Challenges for Massive Online Open Courses:
Besides so many benefits massive online open courses still have some challenges to face. Quality, time, consistency and reliability are still the points which are questionable. Quality of content, as well as the instructor, is very important. Monitoring and measuring quality and accuracy is still a big question. Ensuring that all students have a common goal and full concentration of students throughout the course is very vital as well as difficult. Reliability is one of the biggest questions because most of the massive online open courses do not require a student to sit an exam. Instead, they use online tools for accessing and evaluating the learners. Massive online open courses can't accommodate customized courseware and consideration from a guide. It is hard to monitor student tasks and contributions. Students with disabilities and a helpless Internet association can't utilize MOOCs. Language can be a boundary while offering MOOCs. MOOCs can't be utilized as a credit-procuring course at colleges and universities.