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In short, they are courses in which an unlimited number of participants can participate, with communication taking place through interactive user forums.
The popularity of MOOCs is due to various factors, but as one of the most important we can note the existence of a pedagogical basis. MOOCs are an excellent educational resource not only for students, but also for modern educators seeking continuous professional development.
It is clear that the rapid increase in the number of platforms that provide such courses is due to the development of web technologies. But the main driver for their emergence is people's desire to learn. The fact that MOOCs are easily accessible and well-designed makes them an excellent educational resource for anyone determined to improve their career development.
The pedagogical basis of MOOCs.
Although there is not yet a trend for online training to completely replace traditional classroom learning, MOOCs certainly represent an effective training method. This is due to the fact that their pedagogical basis is built in accordance with the needs of modern learners. Moreover, MOOCs are created by established educators whose courses follow the highest educational standards.
What kind of people sign up for MOOCs?
While it is logical to assume that people who have no other educational options sign up for MOOCs, the facts suggest otherwise. The largest proportion of working people are those who already have a college degree but want to improve their professional skills. Web programming and foreign language courses are the most popular, which is not surprising since these are the main requirements of the job market.
Which are the best MOOCs platforms?
The first online platforms for MOOCs courses were Coursera and EdX. They continue to be among the most popular, are used by thousands of learners and contain hundreds of courses on various topics. Their main advantage is that they offer courses created by professors from prestigious universities.
Other similar platforms are Udemy and Udacity. These two, however, offer courses created by professionals from a specific field of work.
Conclusion
Considering the wide variety of online courses available, we certainly have a large number of options for career development. Apart from being accessible anytime and from anywhere, MOOCs meet high pedagogical standards, which automatically makes them with a preferred educational tool by various people all over the world.
Source: http://elearningindustry.com/pedagogy-of-moocs-benefits-modern-professionals.