MOOCs
In 1999, the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair declared that 50% of young British people would be receiving HE by 2010 (BBC, 1999). In 1999, Blackboard – an innovation that could facilitate the practical “massification” of HE – was two years old. The introduction of fees, the call for widened HE, and the presence of mass delivery-capable teaching technologies are interpretable as a triadic symbiosis: market-capitalist incentives, ideological/social push, and technological pull. Arthur (2006, p. 241) made a synoptic analysis of HE’s transformation: “globalisation of higher education implies the application of market forces towards increased individualisation, competition, and a closer link with the world of business.”
The massive open online course (“MOOC”) exemplifies a disruptive HE innovation. Coined by Cormier (2008), the MOOC was envisioned as a revolutionising delivery tool, through which unlimited numbers of students could receive free or discounted education. Institutions running MOOCS offer unlimited access to the material and online platform of learning, but charge for assessment and certification.
Somewhat contrary to intuitive prediction, data from 2014 shows completion rates on MOOCs to be under 13% (Onah et al, 2014). Different forms of engagement, unhelpful course structuring, and lack of real time support have been posited as explanatory (Onah et al, 2017). As a commercial format then, the MOOC disappoints; inclusive though MOOCs appear (anyone with an internet connection and rudimentary digital literacy is a potential participant), the return on investment and the impact on society seems meagre, despite the scalability offered by digital format.
The MOOC has not been as disruptive as was initially believed: MOOCs have yet to compel revision of existing teaching modes in HE (Conole, 2013). It appears that for the present at least, market appetite exists for combinatory traditional and online methods, i.e. blended learning, and, as per Riepl’s Law, separate markets exist (as has been the case for many decades) for entirely remote online learning and site-based learning with online supplementation.