A worthwhile take on the historical place of MOOCs.
The problem with these has always been not just that they are oversold, but sold from the wrong direction. Call them an alternative for the traditional college course, and we can see how cheap, watered-down, and mass-market they are compared to the real thing. Call them, instead, an alternative to the traditional textbook (or even traditional lecture) then the improvements are apparent, the possibilities open up before us.
The problem with these has always been not just that they are oversold, but sold from the wrong direction. Call them an alternative for the traditional college course, and we can see how cheap, watered-down, and mass-market they are compared to the real thing. Call them, instead, an alternative to the traditional textbook (or even traditional lecture) then the improvements are apparent, the possibilities open up before us.