MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are free online courses that can be taken by anyone from anywhere. They were first created in 2008 by George Siemens and Stephen Downes as "Connectivism and Connective Knowledge." In 2012, Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig from Stanford University offered their artificial intelligence course online, attracting many students. There are two main types of MOOCs - cMOOCs focus on connectivity and contributions from participants, while xMOOCs have structured content from universities or companies. The author is most interested in cMOOCs so they can create their own biology blog and share knowledge with other learners.

1. MOOC’S: a gateway to
open learning
opportunities.
What are these MOOC’S I hear people
talking about?

2. ITS MASSIVE!

3. AND OPEN

4. BUT ITS ONLINE

5. AND THEY ARE
COURSES

6. What is MOOC‟S?
MOOC’S are Massive Open Online Courses that are delivered
online for free.
These courses do not have any entry requirements, all courses
can be taken by anyone from anywhere online and are usually
run two or three times each year, are led by world-class
academics and supported by teaching assistants, typically
require 1-2 hours of study each week for around 5 weeks, are
self-directed, meaning you follow the course materials,
complete the readings and assessments, and get help from a
large community of fellow learners through online forums, are
comparable to a standard University course in terms of content
and study level, meet high academic standards and are subject
to internal quality assurance processes. Although MOOCs do
not have formal university credits assigned to them, Statements
of Accomplishment will be available to any student who
completes a course with MOOC’S.
This is the
question I have
been waiting to
hear answered

7. Where and how did MOOC‟S
originate?
George Siemens and Stephen Downes
Created the first MOOC in the year 2008 called „Connectivism and Connective
Knowledge/2008‟. This was the first class designed behind the acronym of „MOOC‟
and used many different platforms to engage students with the topic, including
Facebook groups, Wiki pages, blogs, forums and other resources. Around 2,200
people signed up for CCK08, and 170 of them created their own blogs. The course
was free and open, which meant that anyone could join, modify or remix the content
without paying (although a paid, certified option was offered).

8. FURTHER HISTORY OF
MOOC‟S.Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig
In 2012, another MOOC experiment caught academics‟ attention. Two
Stanford Professors Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig decided to offer
“Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” for free online. Designed to resemble
real classroom experiences and offer high-quality classes for everyone, the
idea had the advantage of carrying the prestigious Stanford name .

9. TYPES OF MOOC‟S
cMOOC
Within a cMOOC, learners are encouraged (though not
required) to contribute actively, using these digital
platforms. Participants‟ contributions in form of blog posts,
tweets etc. are aggregated by course organizers and
shared with all participants via daily email or newsletter.
cMOOCs are also not typically sponsored or funded by
higher education institutions but are organized by
individuals with a passion for a specific content area.
Organizers commit their time to create a framework for
learning where participants from all over the world can
connect share, contribute, collaborate to learn and expand
their network professionally and personally. cMOOCs are
also open and flexible, responsive to needs of its
participants which can provide a tailored learning
experience.
xMOOC
xMOOCs are not better or worse than a cMOOC, just
different. xMOOCs fit the needs of many (though not
all) learners looking for academic courses that meet a
specific interest and need. Another significant factor
that differentiates an xMOOC from a cMOOC is who
are behind them. Rather than a group of individuals
building the course as in a cMOOC, an xMOOC
usually has one or more higher education colleges or
schools behind it, and, in some cases, a for-profit
company. A great deal of money is required to
develop video and other course content in a MOOC
and to operate the platform. Funds are provided either
by the institution, by private investors or through
grants.

10. TYPE OF MOOC I HAVE
INTEREST IN.
My field of interest is biology so I will do a cMOOC as then I could develop
my own blog where I could share information regarding biology and research
based on biology. My blog will be something like this:
It will have a different name and learners
Will interact and share knowledge on it.

11. REFERENCES
Bell, F. (2011) Connectivism: Its Place in Theory-Informed Research and
Innovation in Technolgy-Enabled Learning. International Review of Research
in Open and Distance Learning. Volume 12, Number 3. Retrieved from web
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/902/1664 (accessed 21
February 2014).
Downes, S. (2007). What Connectivism Is. Connectivism Conference,
University of Manitoba. Retrieved from web
http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2007/02/what-connectivism-is.html (accessed
22 February 2014)
Mc Auley, A., Stewart, B., Siemens, G. & Cormier, D. (2010). The MOOC
Model for Digital Practice. Retrieved from
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/MOOC_Final.pdf. retrieved(22 February
2014).

12. AUTHOR: ALLY
PHASHA