Abstract:

The democratization of education has become a key issue on the agenda of all countries today. The emergence of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) philosophy, the development of related and relevant communication technologies, and the methodological change for teaching and learning can generate a shift in the current educational paradigm in higher education institutions. The open resource philosophy that originated in 2002 is now expanding worldwide via MOOCs. For students, the chance to gain free, open access to top academics from prestigious institutions in a dynamic environment, and share experiences with other students from all four corners of the world represents huge added value. For an institution, making contact with highly motivated, participative international students presents an opportunity to extend its brand on the world stage, capture new students, and, additionally, test and develop innovative learning initiatives in virtual environments.

In this scenario, MOOCs offer a qualitatively differentiated educational alternative, have growing demand around the globe, and enjoy an exponential increase in people making use of them. However, because of MOOCs unrestricted and voluminous availability, including some options that lack rigor, relevance, quality or clear student authentication, several degree-granting institutions are having serious concerns when issuing academic credit for MOOCs. Additionally, the potentially dubious quality of some MOOCs is also negatively affecting the overall perception of fee-paying online and open courses and could also produce a market contraction.

In this context, we pursue a twofold objective: to analyze the positive and negative aspects of MOOCs and to perform an analysis of the current situation at the Polytechnic University of Valencia based on the classification made by "Arbaugh and Benbunan-Fich (2006-2007).