
MOOCs no longer massive, still attract millions - henrik_w
http://venturebeat.com/2016/09/05/moocs-no-longer-massive-still-attract-millions/
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throwawayReply
One of the "o" in MOOC is "open", which many previous MOOCs no longer seem to
be.

One of the more impressive resources on the coursera of old was stanford's
CS103 course, which if it is still on there I can't find. In fact Stanford
seem to have pulled out all their coursera courses.

Most providers in the MOOC space moved away from open learning, which is a
shame.

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android521
MOOC really should be open and non-profit. I am sure there will people willing
to donate as it can have a really big impact on society.

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jclos
They can be! Our government (more specifically the ministry of public
education and research) in France is co-funding a non-profit MOOC called
France Université Numérique (France digital university) at [https://www.fun-
mooc.fr/](https://www.fun-mooc.fr/)

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diminish
As a frequent user of Coursera since the very first days I see the following
reasons for activity decline.

* UI change made the interface cluttered. Forums are hard to navigate recently. The old simpler html/CSS UI was more fluid.

* too much focus on monetization offers for unharmonious packages of courses as tracks.

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wodenokoto
> UI change made the interface cluttered. Forums are hard to > navigate
> recently. The old simpler html/CSS UI was more > fluid.

I disagree. Coursera has always had a terrible UI. The new one is just as bad
as the old one, just in a different way.

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tangue
Yes the old one was ugly. But the new is ugly _and slow_ ... It takes MINUTES
to load a forum...

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jbb555
This... failed to explain what a "MOOC" is anywhere.....

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henrik_w
MOOC = Massive Open Online Course
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course)

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behnamoh
MOOC websites have avoided to put a "Download All Course Material" option in
the courses. Udacity came close to it, but you still need to browse all the
lessons and download them individually. Coursera is even worse in this area.

I really get annoyed when someone has implemented a restriction in their
product, while they know everyone can use IDM or even Python to automate
downloading of the course material. (there are python tools for downloading
coursera and edx courses.)

Even if the course is free, the internet traffic you use for it isn't, that's
why I would really need the aforementioned option to download them in free-
internet-download hours.

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perseusprime11
The problem that is yet to be solved is to reduce the cost of tuition for
higher education so more people can participate and existing people can come
out without a major debt. This is where MOOCs can really shine if colleges and
universities allow for real credits towards a degree, not a look-alike feel
good certificate. I don't see any other plan on he table to reduce the costs
of higher education.

