Remember the MOOCs? After Near-Death, They’re Booming (Published 2020)

“The global pandemic forced people to embrace new ways of getting information in 2020, and brands that excelled earned attention by reimagining learning. And more importantly, they did so not by lecturing audiences, but by building edutainment experiences that didn't feel like a chore.”

Because most of the professional alternatives for individuals disappear in a recession, universities tend to see higher enrollment during economic crises (it's been long observed as a counter-cyclical economic phenomenon) however, this time around the recession is the result of a public health crisis that may affect higher education enrollment grea... See more

- Self-paced nature - what many have been quick to discount (due to the high failure rates of MOOCs in the last decade), is actually an important benefit to the millions of citizens with some college credit and no degree.

If online courses are poorly designed, why have they become so popular? To students, MOOCs offer more convenience and lower cost than traditional education. To educators, it offers an unbelievably attractive business model with infinite scalability. You prepare a course once and, in theory, millions of people can buy it without your additional inpu... See more

Why would it not be countercyclical now? The main factor is the disruption of the in-person student experience, as the idea of an online-first college will lose much of its former appeal as a "bundled" set of services