Abstract:

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) offer to education what downloads did for the music industry: a paradigm shift in the way learning content is accessed and consumed – one that offers far greater potential in supporting worker mobility across Europe. However the alarming disparity between enrolment and completion numbers (the average MOOC completion rate is 7%) shows that MOOCs have not yet realised their potential.

Whether MOOCs replace, reinforce or undermine the traditional university model, the real test of their success will be whether the sophisticated and high-tech learning content can be transformed into credible accreditations for employers.

Drawing a parallel from the rise of the IT certification in the 90s, this session will argue that MOOCs lack assessment credibility, and outlines the steps needed to build rigorous assessment on a level with traditional education, such as valid, fair and reliable exams and highly secure testing environments. The final piece of assessment credibility will come from the emerging trend of ‘badging’ – secure digital certificates of achievement – to give candidates shareable qualifications that are recognised by employers and desired by candidates.