Abstract:

Choosing one of the platforms is a critical decision because it has to do with certain restrictions related to its pedagogical and technical policies. This choice depends on the objectives, the means, and the needs of those looking for a platform. Partnering with a platform means being something according to their pedagogical approaches, technical and financial requirements challenges’ and being ready to accept and follow them.

The main objectives of this work are to explore some non-academic MOOC providers by investigating milestones and understanding their different characteristics, as well as the policies followed by each of its platforms, through technical and pedagogical comparisons. The providers selected are Udacity and Udemy as they are the most widely used worldwide (Class Central, 2020). In general, these two platforms provide the same tools, with the differences mainly focusing on copyright policies and validation of the materials produced, as well as the costs for any "additives" that are intended to be used. (Udacity, n.d.) and (Udemy, n.d.).

There are no fees to become an instructor at Udacity or Udemy, therefore, both platforms offer opportunities for MOOC creators in very different ways.
On Udacity, authors/instructors are paid based on their experience (Udacity, n.d.). Instructors are selected by the administrator and paid regardless of the popularity of their courses. Support from the Udacity team helps instructors to create the course, launch, advertise, marketing, sales, and student management. On these platforms, instructors can collaborate with other Udacity instructors (who are also experts in their field).

On Udemy, authors earn based on the number of courses and their success (Udemy. n.d.). The courses posted on Udemy must obey a set of prerequisites such as videos must have less than 30 minutes of content and at least 5 minutes of separate classes; HD video quality should be 720p or 1080p; the audio should leave through both channels and must be synchronized with the video; have a complete course home page; a course image in line with Udemy's image standards; a course title and subtitle containing important keywords; a description of the course; a section on target learner; a complete instructor biography accompanied by a profile photo (Udemy, n.d.). Udemy is responsible for promoting, advertising, and marketing the courses. Everything else is given total control to the author over the design, content, structure and prices of his course, creation of online questionnaires, access coupons and discounts and direct new traffic to your courses. The authors are solely responsible for the content submitted on the platform.

Keywords:

MOOC, MOOC providers, Distance learning, Udacity, Udemy.