What Are MOOCs?

The large MOOC platforms were introduced against the background of the occupational and educational crises after 2008. The first Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, were introduced in 2007 and entered the higher education scene and attracted immediate attention after the large platforms entered the scene after 2012. MOOCs had their origins in distance education, e-learning and open education. This chapter critically examines the meaning of the MOOC acronym, explains the vision and aims of the MOOC founders and charts the spread of MOOCs around the world and across the spectrum of learning situations after the launch of the big U.S. MOOC platforms.