Why do we engage in MOOCs?

MOOCs are very useful for the University of Groningen as they are a valuable addition to our existing courses and enables our educators and researchers to reach a global audience. The university’s aims for MOOCs are to:

• Showcase our excellent education and research as part of the University of Groningen brand name all over the world.
• Attract more staff and students worldwide that decide to come and study or work here.
• Start new international collaborations.
• Find out how this online form of educations works and can stimulate education and innovation.
• Perform data analysis on study behaviour.

Creating and teaching a MOOC is a big challenge for our educators; they have to reinvent the way they look at how they should teach. These courses differ in structure and presentation and educators should be aware that their classroom is a global one. Also for learners MOOCs have something to offer, as they are now able to study for free, at home (or anywhere), at their own pace and can select a wide range of courses, but still be able to communicate and learn from other students and teachers. With an appreciation rate of over 95% for its first Massive Open Online Course, and over 34.000 enrollments for the MOOC ' Introduction to Dutch ', the University is confident that they have provided a service that people are looking for.