Benefiting from MOOC
Youdan Dai Zhang
Learning and Teaching Centre
British Columbia Institute of Technology
youdan_zhang@bcit.ca
Abstract: The development of MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) has attracted public attention
since 2012 by setting its goal to provide high quality education at low cost. This paper explores some
ways of integrating existing MOOCs into post-secondary curricula from an instructional designer’s
perspective, and discusses the curriculum and instructional design supports needed to benefit from the
educational innovation. Existing MOOCs could be integrated in post-secondary curricula in several
ways: 1) Using MOOC components as learning objects; 2) Flipping classroom with MOOCs; 3)
Developing challenge courses for MOOCs; 4) Transferring credits from MOOCs; 5) Providing learner
services to MOOC participants.
Introduction
The idea of MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) has attracted public attention since 2012, when
universities such as Harvard and MIT, started developing and delivering MOOCs. The innovation carries the
hope of giving access to high quality education for free or at a very low cost. At the beginning of 2013, major
MOOC providers have developed more than 250 free online courses, and the number is increasing. While
those elite universities could invest in MOOC for reputation and revenue, the second or third tier institutions
may join the adventure to reduce their delivery costs (Matkin, 2012). This paper explores some ways of
integrating existing MOOCs into post-secondary curricula from an instructional designer’s perspective, and
discusses various types of pedagogical support that an institute needs to provide for its programs and faculty
to benefit from this educational innovation.
History of MOOC
In 2008, George Siemens and Stephen Downes offered a course to 25 regular students at University of
Manitoba and other 2300 online learners who took the course for free. Three years later, Thrun, a professor at
Stanford University attracted over 160,000 online enrollees in his Artificial Intelligence course. Thrun then
left his university in 2012 to launch Udacity, a learning organization to pursue his MOOC dream. The year of
2012 was called “the year of MOOC” by the New York Times. It witnessed the rises of several major MOOC
providers: Udacity, Coursera, edX. Behind them are some elite universities such as Harvard, Stanford and
MIT. Entering 2013, more universities, organizations, and individual have joined the MOOC trend. The
major providers started seeking a fee-based pathway to traditional credentials for MOOCs. The interest in
MOOC is peaking and the development is believed to be “at the intersection of Wall Street and Silicon
Valley” (Caulfield, 2012). Watters had a good summary of the development of MOOC in her blog:
http://hackeducation.com/2012/12/03/top-ed-tech-trends-of-2012-moocs/.
The rises of major MOOC providers in the United States blur the memory of early exploration in
Canada. The MOOC offered by Siemens and Downes in 2008 had significant differences in design from
those that made headlines in 2012. Downes called his course “cMOOC”, distinguishing it from “xMOOCs”
offered by Udacity, Coursera, edX and others. cMOOCs are built upon the philosophy of Connectivism and
follow the practices of open learning and online network that connect people across a common topic or field
of discourse. Content in cMOOCs “serves merely as a catalyst, a mechanism for getting our projects,
discussions and interactions off the ground. It may be useful to some people, but it isn’t the end product, and
goodness knows we don’t want people memorizing it” (Downes, 2011). In a word, a cMOOC is a start point
for further exploration. xMOOCs, on the other end, look more like a regular post-secondary course with
emphasis on their content (usually are lecture videos and multiple choice tests). They rely primarily on
“information transmission, computer-marked assignment and peer assessment” (Bates, 2012, Roscorla, 2012).
Issues of MOOC
Given the development of MOOC is still at its early stage, many educators have expressed their
concerns about the quality of MOOCs, especially that of xMOOCs. Some concerns are summarized here:

Some educators have critiqued the design of xMOOCs. Bates (2012) points out that most xMOOCs
are built upon an old concept of pedagogy, Behaviorism. Their design supports information
transmission rather than higher order thinking. Armstrong (2102) reports that the Coursera courses
he observed were basically typical college lecture, chunked into 15-minute segments, and the
creators seemed to have no working knowledge of educational research. Daniel (2012) concerns
that those elite universities whose strength is research may not be good at online teaching.

Bates (2012) challenges one of the Coursera founders about her statement that computers
personalize learning in xMOOCs. To him, computers may provide alternative learning paths
through material and automated feedback; it is the “online intervention and presence in the form of
discussion, encouragement, and an understanding of an individual student’s needs” that give
students a sense of being treated as an individual. However, such strategies are largely missed in
xMOOCs.

Cheating and plagiarism in MOOCs is a threat to quality. In a Coursera MOOC, alleged
incidences of plagiarism were so rife that the professor pleaded with the students to stop
plagiarizing (Gibbs, 2012a; Young, 2012). edX has partnered with Pearson’s testing centers to
offer proctored exams to boost the credibility of student achievement (Kolowich, 2012).

The current completion rate of xMOOC is 10% or less (Daniel, 2012). The completion rate has
been seen as one of the key criteria for quality assurance. Though it could mean something
differently in MOOCs (Balch, 2013), the low completion rate associated with MOOCs remains a
quality concern for some educators (Watters, 2012).

Lane and Kinser (2012) worry that the MOOC format - delivering the same course to a massive
number of students across the world could lead to the McDonaldization of higher education that
diminishes “both the diversification of the higher education sector and the advancement of globally
engaged students and institutions” (2012).
Integrating MOOCs into Curricula
The design and development of a course follows the principle of alignment. In a well-designed course,
three major curriculum components - learning outcomes, learning activities and assessments should align
with one another and reinforce one another (A learning activity includes content materials and instructions
that help students achieve certain learning outcomes or objectives.). Here, the author uses the principle of
alignment as a framework to describe some ways of integrating existing MOOCs in post-secondary curricula.
Using MOOC components as learning objects. An instructor has a regular course to teach, though it
could be delivered fully online, in a hybrid or a face-to-face format. Usually, the course has a set of
predetermined learning outcomes and an assessment plan. When developing learning activities, the instructor
may find that some components in a MOOC such as video clips or quizzes are relevant and helpful, and want
to refer students to those pieces. The instructor does not want to use a MOOC to replace his or her own
design. MOOC components are imported to the course as learning objects and they could come from more
than one MOOC. The imported objects could be a complete learning activity (e.g. trying the quizzes) or
simply learning contents used in the activities developed by the instructor (e.g. watching the recorded
lectures in MOOCs and then participating in a group discussion with guided questions created by the
instructor). When MOOC components are used as learning objects, the major learning outcomes of the
course may have few overlaps with those of the MOOCs. In this situation, the relevancy of MOOCs to the
curriculum is low, and the level of integrating MOOCs into the curriculum is low.
Flipping classroom with MOOCs. The flipped classroom model is an instructional strategy that uses
technologies to leverage learning in a face-to-face classroom. In a flipped classroom, the typical lecture and
homework elements are reversed. Students watch short video lectures at home and spend time interacting
with their instructor and peers in classroom to address misconceptions or solve real life problems. If a course
shares some of its learning outcomes with a MOOC, the instructor may benefit from such open resources.
Instead of developing his or her own content materials, the instructor can simply refer students to the relevant
MOOC content for their study at home and focus more on developing learning activities and authentic
assessment to engage students in active learning and higher-order thinking in classroom. Usually, the
structured content in those xMOOCs tends to be easy to use in a flipped classroom. Again, the content may
come from more than one MOOC.
In an experiment at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Fisher flipped his classroom using a MOOC. The first
ten weeks of the course overlapped with an existing MOOC and the final four weeks was a project, an
assessment he designed (Bruff, 2013). San Jose State University has tested this idea in one of their electrical
engineering course. The students watched edX lectures at their own time and own pace, and worked in a
group of three to solve problems in classroom. The instructor constantly monitored the group performance
and interacted with each student. The preliminary research results of this pilot have found performance
improvement - the average score of the midterm were higher than usual and coincided with that of MIT
students. Students were satisfied with their learning experiences
(http://www.sjsu.edu/at/atn/webcasting/events/presscon-101812/index.html).
Developing challenge courses for MOOCs. When a MOOC share its learning outcomes with a
traditional course, theoretically, the two courses are equivalent. An institute could replace the traditional one
with the MOOC to reduce the delivery cost. However, quality issues, such as the lack of personalized
learning (Bates, 2012) and potential cheating and plagiarism (Wukman, 2012), set up barriers for credit
transfer from MOOCs. Not all post-secondary institutes are ready or willing to accept MOOC credits. In this
case, the institutes could develop a challenge course that mainly contains assessments for the MOOC
equivalent. Students are required to take the in-house assessments if they want to claim credits for their
completion of MOOC. The additional layer of assessment could be authentic in nature to address the quality
issues of some MOOCs. A few tutorials or lab sessions may be added to the challenge course to provide
personalized feedback and hand-on experience to those who take the MOOC equivalent.
Transferring credits from MOOCs. In the history of open education, the effort to offer free no-credit
courses has failed (Daniel, 2012). Major MOOC providers are planning to associate credits with MOOCs.
This is part of their business model and monetization strategy (Daniel, 2012; Matkin 2012). Both Coursera
and Udacity offer “secure assessment” to make their certificates more credible. If MOOCs fit in the
curriculum of a post-secondary program, credit transfer is possible. The American Council on Education
(ACE) has evaluated and recommended college credit for five Coursera courses. Students can earn ACE
credits for taking those courses if they pass an online proctored credit exam at the end
(http://blog.coursera.org/post/42486198362/five-courses-receive-college-credit-recommendations ).
Supported by the government, in January 2013, San Jose State University and Udacity launched a pilot
program to award credits to three of intro-level Udacity courses at a cost one-tenth tuition of their regular
classes. In these special versions of MOOCs, enrollment is limited to 100 students per course and “the faculty
members will carry the sole authority and responsibility for assessing student learning”
(http://blogs.sjsu.edu/today/2013/sjsu-and-udacity-partnership/).
Providing learner services to MOOC participants. So far, the author has explored the ways to
integrate MOOCs into post-secondary curricula. Post-secondary institutions could benefit from MOOCs by
establishing MOOC learning centres, even if no MOOCs fit in their curricula. A MOOC can have local and
global learning communities. On the Meetup website (www.meetup.com, retrieved on April 14, 2013),
Coursera has more than 2500 meet-ups around the world in which the learners share ideas and form study
groups. With access to libraries, labs, meeting rooms and experts, post-secondary institutes are ideal
organizers of local learning communities for MOOC participants. Other learner services could include
hosting proctored exams, providing tutoring services, or organizing conferences and job fairs related to
existing MOOCs. Similar operating model has been successfully supporting distance learners across the word
for years. Other than pursuing academic credits, many think MOOCs provide great lifelong learning
opportunities and ways to update their knowledge and skills. The need for local learning communities will
increase as more and more people participate in MOOCs.
MOOC
learner
services
Learning
outcomes
Learning
activities
(Content)
Assessment
Relevancy of MOOC to postsecondary curriculum
MOOC as
Open
Resource
Flipped
Classroom with
MOOC
Challenge
course for
MOOC
Credit
transfer from
MOOC
Defined by
MOOC
Defined by
instructor/ few
overlaps with
MOOCs’
Defined by
instructor/ overlaps
with MOOCs’ at
various levels
Defined by
instructor/
overlaps with
MOOCs’
Defined by
instructor/
overlaps with
MOOCs’
Organizing
learning
communities
and hosting
proctored
exams, etc.
Designed by
instructor/ using
MOOC
components in
some learning
activities
In classroom
activities designed
by instructor/
studying MOOC at
home
Using MOOC
activities/ adding
a few tutorials or
lab session
Using MOOC
activities
Using proctored
exams in
MOOC
Designed by
instructor
Mainly designed by
instructor
Mainly designed
by instructor
(additional layer
of assessment)
Using proctored
exams in
MOOC
Low
Pedagogical Support
To benefit from existing MOOC, the post-secondary institutes need to provide a variety of support in
terms of curriculum development, instructional design, and faculty development, to their programs and
faculty members.
Outcome-based or competency-based curriculum. In the four out of five ways of using MOOC
resources discussed in this paper, the institutes or faculty members have control over their curricula. The
extent to which a MOOC is integrated in a curriculum depends on how the MOOC fits in or is relevant to the
curriculum. This suggests the importance of a well-defined outcome-based or competency-based curriculum
at both program and course level, and a well-categorized MOOC inventory. With these references at hand, it
is feasible to find spots in the curriculum where existing MOOCs can be plugged in. If the institutes build
their curricular to address both global and local issues and job markets, they will be able to leverage the
development of MOOC more effectively and reduce the risk of the McDonaldization of education.
High
Active learning and authentic assessment. MOOCs are free. Integrating MOOCs or MOOC
components in regular post-secondary courses means that instructors could have more time in designing and
development active learning activities and authentic assessments. When students learning in distance at their
own pace and own time, effective learning communities is key to student success (Mak, 2012; Morley, 2013).
However, both instructors and learners seem to need support for communicating online in MOOCs (Gibbs,
2012a, 2012b). Online course development is a team work and experience has shown that an individual
faculty is unlikely to produce courses of quality (Bates & Sangra, 2011). Instructors may need extra
instructional design support when they flip a classroom, create a challenge course for an existing MOOC, or
deliver a MOOC.
Instructors as facilitators. In Dr. Fisher’s flipped classroom at Vanderbilt University, students noticed
their instructor’s role in the course was different - he was more of a facilitator than lecturer (Bruff, 2013).
This is normal in a constructivist or connectivist course. Being a facilitator means the authority in a class
shifts from the instructor to students who start having more control over their learning process. Not all faculty
members and students are used to such changes. Faculty members may need training to perform well in this
new role.
The author has explored some ways of integrating MOOCs in post-secondary curricula in this paper.
Ignoring the development of MOOC is not wise. It is the time to discuss about the strategies that help us
leverage the strength of MOOC and overcome its weakness. As Daniel points out, the real revolution brought
by MOOC is that “universities with scarcity at the heart of their business models are embracing openness”
(2012).
References
Armstrong, L. (2012). Coursera and MITx: Sustaining or disruptive? Retrieved at
http://www.changinghighereducation.com/2012/08/coursera-.html accessed on Apr. 10, 2013.
Balch, T. (2013). About MOOC Completion Rates: The Importance of Student Investment. Retrieved at
http://augmentedtrader.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/about-mooc-completion-rates-the-importance-of-investment/, on
April 10, 2013.
Bates, A.W. & Sangra, A. (2011). Managing Technology in Higher Education: Strategies for Transforming
Teaching and Learning. Wiley.
Bates, T (2012). What’s right and what’s wrong about Coursera-style MOOCs. Retrieved at
http://www.tonybates.ca/2012/08/05/whats-right-and-whats-wrong-about-coursera-style-moocs on Apr. 10, 2013
Bruff, D. (2013). Who are our students? Bringing local and global learning communities. Retrieved at
http://derekbruff.org/?p=2558, on April 10, 2013.
Daniel, J. (2012). Making Sense of MOOCs: Musings in a Maze of Myth, Paradox and Possibility. Journal of
Interactive Media in Education, North America, 3, Dec. 2012. Retrieved at http://wwwjime.open.ac.uk/jime/article/view/2012-18 on Apr. 10, 2013.
Downs, S. (2011). Connectivism and Connective Knowledge. Retrieved at
http://www.downes.ca/files/books/Connective_Knowledge-19May2012.pdf on April 10, 2013.
Gibbs, L. (2012a). Yes, Plagiarism: How Sad is That? Retrieved at http://courserafantasy.blogspot.kr/2012/08/yesplagiarism-how-sad-is-that.html on April 10, 2013.
Gibbs, L. (2012b). Peer Feedback: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Retrieved at
http://courserafantasy.blogspot.ca/2012/08/peer-feedback-good-bad-and-ugly.html on April 10, 2013.
Kolowich, S. (2012). MOOCing On Site. Inside Higher Ed September 7. Retrieved at
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/09/07/site-based-testing-deals-strengthen-casegrantingcredit-mooc-students on April 10, 2013.
Lane, J. & Kinser, K (2012) MOOC’s and the McDonaldization of Global Higher Education. Retrieved at
http://chronicle.com/blogs/worldwise/moocs-mass-education-and-the-mcdonaldization-of-higher-education/30536,
on April 10, 2013
Mak, S. (2012). A reflection of MOOCs Part 3 The yin and yang of MOOCs. Rretrieved at
http://suifaijohnmak.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/a-reflection-of-moocs-part-3-the-yin-and-yang-of-moocs/ on April
10, 2013.
Matkin, G. (2012). Why MOOCs Are Good for Higher Education (And What MOOCs Will Make Your University
Do). Retrieved at http://slideshare.net/garymatkin/ncseonline on April 10, 2013.
Morley, M. (2013). Massive Open Online Course (MOOC): Personal experience from MOOCs and their Potential
for increasing diversity, social inclusion and learner engagement. Retrieved at
http://www.slideshare.net/markuos/mooc-lt-conference-2013-15903824 on April 10, 2013.
Roscorla, J. (2012). Massively Open Online Courses Are “Here to Stay”. Retrieved at
http://www.centerdigitaled.com/policy/MOOCs-Here-to-Stay.html on April 10, 2013.
Watters, A. (2012). Massive MOOC Dropouts: Are We Really Okay With That? Retrieved at
http://hackeducation.com/2012/07/23/mooc-drop-out/ on April 10, 2013.
Wukman, A. (2012). Coursera Battered with Accusations of Plagiarism and High Drop-Out Rates. Online Colleges.
Retrieved at http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/08/22/coursera-batteredwith-accusations-of-plagiarism-and-highdrop-out-rates/ on April 10, 2013.
Young, J. (2012). Dozens of Plagiarism Incidents Are Reported in Coursera's Free Online Courses. Retrieved at
http://chronicle.com/article/Dozens-of-Plagiarism-Incidents/133697/ on April 10, 2013.