MOOCs with attitudes: Insights from a practitioner based investigation

In the current educational landscape of shrinking public budgets and increasing costs, MOOCs have become one of the most dominant discourses in higher education (HE). However, due to their short history, they are only just beginning to be systematically investigated. In an attempt to shed more light on the MOOC phenomenon, this study complements other approaches by eliciting institutional attitudes to MOOC provision using qualitative content analysis on responses captured in a series of semi-structured interviews with participants who hold senior positions in universities and who are involved in creating institutional policy and/or the design and delivery of MOOCs. A context for these interviews was created by looking at MOOCs from historical, pedagogical, monetary and technological perspectives. Five topics emerged that were subsequently used as common points of reference for comparisons across the interviews: motivation, monetization, pedagogy, traditional universities and public access to higher education. The analysis of attitudes to, and the importance of, these topics are summarized, and also illustrated through quotes from the participants. Interestingly, it does not appear that MOOCs are regarded by insiders as disruptive as the media presents them, but rather are seen primarily as marketing vehicles for global education brands.