Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are digital online classes offered by universities.
Most MOOCs are free to learn and offer optional paid certificates.
Our directory lists more than 8,000 online courses across all providers.
How does a MOOC work?
MOOCs create a complete online learning experience:
Who offers MOOCs?
The course content is created by universities (such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Berkeley) and companies (Google, Microsoft).
Courses are offered on MOOC platforms. They provide the technology and this is where you enroll. The biggest platforms are Coursera, edX, FutureLearn, and Udacity.
Edukatico is a directory for online courses, listing MOOCs across all providers (jump to see all MOOCs here).
Who can enroll?
In theory, everybody.
However, most online students have some college-level education. MOOCs are often used for career advancement. Some learners are just interested in learning new things.
Are MOOCs free?
Yes, most MOOCs are free to learn! You can access course materials without paying anything.
However, if you want to get a certificate, you need to buy access to the certificate track of the course. This may cost something like $30-100 per course.
Do MOOCs offer certificates?
Most MOOCs offer optional (paid) certificates. ("Are the certificates worth it?")
Can you get a degree?
A regular MOOC will not get you a degree.
But some platforms offer Bachelor's and Master's degree programs based on MOOCs (for example, Coursera, edX, and FutureLearn).
You should always check the accreditation if you want to get an official degree.
What subjects are available?
Courses are available in most college and university subjects. You can search 22 subject areas in our directory. Most classes exist in computer science and business.
What are the best MOOC courses?
This depends on many things and your personal criteria. But some MOOCs have already reached more than 1 million students each.
Some of the most popular MOOCs are:
(Search all courses in our directory.)
First lecture of Harvard's Intro to Computer Science (starts at 0:50):
Who invented MOOCs?
Several university professors experimented with online teaching around 2012 (the "Year of the MOOC").
They realized they could reach thousands of students around the world at the same time. This led to the creation of Coursera (Koller/Ng from Stanford), edX (Agarwal from MIT) and Udacity (Thrun from Stanford).
What are the challenges?
The MOOC hype has slightly cooled down in recent years, and some observers criticize the low completion rates. (But other studies point out observable career benefits for learners.)
For universities and other providers, content creation can be expensive. It can cost up to $100,000 to produce a high-quality course. Thus, MOOCs need many learners to have enough students in the paid certificate track.
Are there other online courses?
Yes! MOOCs are just a subset of all online courses, and the differences become blurred anyway. Our directory lists more than 8,000 video-based online courses, no matter if they are called MOOCs or not.
Where can you get more information?
Our directory is a good place to start browsing through MOOCs from all significant providers. Let us know if you have questions.
Read more about the largest MOOC platforms Coursera and edX and how they compare. The history of MOOCs is described here. Recent developments are frequently reported here.
If you are new to online learning, check out these five tips about learning with MOOCs.
Edukatico is Your Search Portal for Online Courses
In our course directory, we list more than 8,000 video-based online courses, MOOCs, and online lectures from 22 subject areas and 50+ providers.
With our Course Manager, you can organize your online learning across various providers.
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