Beyond the MOOC Hype: A Guide to Higher Education's High-Tech Disruption

Everyone is talking about MOOCs these days. They're either the answer to the biggest problems in higher education, or a sign of the commodification of college, depending on who you talk to. What exactly are they, and why all the fuss?

Beyond the MOOC Hype provides a helpful and compelling guide, with stories and analysis clearly organized around six big questions:

* What Is a MOOC?
* Where Did MOOCs Come From?
* What Is the Business Model?
* Will MOOCs Change Campus Teaching?
* Why Do Some Educators Object to Free Courses?
* Do MOOCs Work?

The short e-book (e-single) draws on years of reporting by Chronicle of Higher Education reporters, highlighting important moments in an up-to-the-minute narrative. It also contains plenty of new information that has never before been published, including details from dozens of fresh interviews with MOOC leaders, college presidents, professors, students, and education experts.

It turns out that the academics who coined the term MOOC can’t stand the style of courses that the acronym is now applied to; that futurists have predicted the automation of education for decades, though their visions haven't materialized; and that Stanford professor Sebastian Thrun wasn’t wearing pants when he recorded the intro video for his first free online course.

The e-book's author, Jeffrey R. Young, the technology editor for The Chronicle, argues that MOOCs are not your typical tech fad, though they may not be the savior their proponents promise. Succeed or fail, the free courses have touched off a battle over what the future of higher education should look like -- one that will be decided by the education leaders and students who read this e-book.