Der Begriff Massive Open Online Course (deu.: Massiver-Offener-Online-Kurs), kurz MOOC, bezeichnet eine spezielle Form von Onlinekursen, die offen (open) für alle eingeschriebenen Studenten sind und zahlreiche (massive) Teilnehmerzahlen aufweisen.
Universities have failed to recognize the pent-up demand for learning as the economy has diversified and society has become more complex and interconnected. As a consequence, the internet has contributed by creating a shadow education system where learners learn on their own and through social networks. MOOCs reflect society’s transition to a knowledge economy and reveal the inadequacy of existing university models to meet learner’s needs.
J. Kim, P. Guo, D. Seaton, P. Mitros, K. Gajos, und R. Miller. Proceedings of the First ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale Conference, Seite 31–40. New York, NY, USA, Association for Computing Machinery, (2014)
A. McAuley, B. Stewart, G. Siemens, und D. Cormier. (2010)Created through funding received by the University of Prince Edward Island through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council's "Knowledge Synthesis Grants on the Digital Economy". 2010 CC Attribution..